Monterey Pop Festival was a blueprint for future music gatherings

1967 Monterey Pop Festival
“Music, Love and Flowers”

Once upon a time there was a rebellion, a revolution against the status quo. The youth of America were sick and tired of the Viet Nam war, racism and the endless political whitewash in the media. Out of this anger and unrest came the world’s first Pop Music Festival.

The Monterey International Pop Festival was about music, flower children, and the celebration of life. The event was a protest manifesting in rock’n roll music, long hair, strange dress, drugs and free love. It was thrust in the face of what was then referred to as “The Establishment”.

The Monterey Pop Festival was the main event of 1967’s “Summer of Love” and one of contemporary rock’s defining moments. This peaceful revolution was expressed through a universal language of music, poetry, the graphic arts and new lifestyles. The lyrics of popular songs reflected the feelings of the movement. Monterey Pop was a gathering of the tribes to celebrate the dawn of a new age and bring about a positive change in existing politics, ideals and institutions.

Tom Wilkes
Art Director, Monterey International Pop Festival 1967
http://www.wilkesworks.com

Comment by motherdrum from Pioneertown, CA — June 8, 2007 @ 5:12 pm