Around This Time in 1968: The Miami Pop Festival

Today, December 29, marks 54 years since the second day of the Miami Pop Festival. 

Held from the dates of December 28-30, The Miami Pop Festival made history as the first major rock festival to take place on the east coast, and included bands and artists such as Joni Mitchell, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, Chuck Berry, and many more. The total crowd size for all three days was estimated to be around 100,000 people. 

At the festival, concertgoers received comic books commemorating their favorite musicians as superheroes in the form of the official program and map. If you're a collector (or just a fan) and would like one, there are some for sale, but they will run you a pretty penny. They're valued around 200-400 dollars now.

Source: Heritage Auctions

I've found a touched-up version of one of the promotional posters, which includes details on when performances are scheduled. There were two stages, several hundred yards apart, known as the Flower Stage and the Flying Stage. 

Also, look at that advance sale price. Six dollars. We could only wish for that nowadays. 

It's okay, my wallet is crying too.

Happy listening!


Hey there! I'm Olive, and I'm a part-time blog writer hoping to share my love of older music and countercultural history. I started this blog during my freshman year of college as a means to get a head start doing what I love most - writing. I've always loved writing and music, and wanted to do something that would involve doing both. Now, I've got this cool (totally not biased) blog page!

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