I will point out that the International Pop Festival in Atlanta in 1969 and 1970 were bigger and had none of the problems Woodstock had. Woodstock was terribly run and organized and they lost out on a lot of ticket revenue because they ended up letting anyone in. Of course they made money on the film and records sold but I am not sure how much the promoters really got on that end of it.
That's where Grand Funk Railroad got their big break.
“I will point out that the International Pop Festival in Atlanta in 1969 and 1970 were bigger and had none of the problems Woodstock had. Woodstock was terribly run and organized and they lost out on a lot of ticket revenue because they ended up letting anyone in. Of course they made money on the film and records sold but I am not sure how much the promoters really got on that end of it.”
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During those years, and into the early 80’s Atlanta had some great concerts! Very little trouble at all with minor security presence. Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, and many other bands played at the Fox Theater. Also, Elvis played there at least once or twice in the late 50s.
Soon, all that fun without a lot of crime came to a screeching halt. The last Republican mayor of Atlanta left after 1982. I think that was the year Andrew Young was elected and there hasn’t been a GOP mayor since. You can track the downfall of that once great city since then.
There is a certain segment of society now that will not allow us to have such nice times!
The 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen — featuring the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers — was much bigger than Woodstock, too.