Performers included the The Allman Brothers Band, Terry Reid, Spirit, B.B. King, Procol Harum, Jimi Hendrix (just ten weeks before his death),Grand Funk Railroad, Ravi Shankar, 10 Years After, Johnny Winter and John Sebastian.
Bill Mankin’s corrected list of performers.
Click here to read Bill Mankin’s story from pre-festival preparations to afterwards.
On July 4th, 1970 Jimi Hendrix played The Star Spangled Banner like never before. He and the air were electrified. Fireworks and heat lightning flashing overhead in competition. “All Along the Watchtower”. For more on the Hendrix set and videos see:
Hendrix plays Byron Great pictures of Hendrix onstage at Byron
Available at Amazon Kirk West on the CD
The Allman Brothers have released their set on CD. They were not famous enough to be allowed to play at the first Atlanta Pop Festival, then…
There is video The Strip project was honored to have invited a few guests to see of the Allman Brother’s performance at Byron. You can see they know this is their shot at the bigtime. They go on stage a Georgia band and play like their lives depended on it. They were on fire and the astounded audience was stunned, but loving it. Most had never heard electrified Southern blues, and no one played it better than Duane and Dickey’s entwined interplay of screaming notes. They came off the stage stars and the crowd demanded another set later.
Earl McGehee’s Photos on flickr
Were you at The Free Stage? – Carter Tomassi’s has the only photos of which I am aware. It was a long bulldozed trek into the woods. It had sprung up so many dealer’s camped with signs it became nicknamed Acid Alley. Many of the performers played here also. Much more up close and personal. We were unable to loacate its whereabouts in the now built up area. Memories?
We would like to collect your Atlanta stories at this site. Next time you’re deep in meditation about the 1970’s please feel free to send over any stories you remember. We hope to add on memories and pictures from as many people as possible.
Read The Great Speckled Bird’s “What beast is this that crawls to Byron to be born?”
came with a traveling head shop. the day before it started and left the day after. remember the free stage, acid ally. riding on the chief of polices car thru the woods. well tell more of my story one of these days.
I was ther, pecan trees LSD, saw it all did it all
We drove down from New York. I was at the free stage the night before the festival started. On my way from where we’d pitched tent to the free stage it was pitch dark at first and I fell into a deep hole that had been dug next to the road with no barrier around it. Luckily I didn’t get injured and made my way into the woods where they were playing. I remember seeing most of the Allman Brothers band on stage, but without Duane. He would arrive the next morning just in time to kick off the festival. Johnny Winter joined in on the free stage, and it was awesome. Hotter than hell the whole weekend, but well worth it for all the killer bands that played. Hendrix was amazing just 10 weeks before he was gone forever.
WOW, there really was a hole. I was kinda stoned and fell in. I remember that it was cool and all the people looked like giants. Then a buddy gave me a hand up and I went back to the pecan trees, where I spent the rest of the week end. It was great Bro.
The free stage was across the highway from the main gate to the festival. The Allman Brothers played at the free stage. I did not know about the Allman Brothers at that time because they were a local band known along the east coast. After the festival they were known all over the world. I camped about half way up the hill in front of the free stage.
Great times.
After being drafted out of college graduate school & sent to Ft. Gordon, GA, I was able to get a pass & made it to the festival. Upon drinking a bottle of Ripple (remember?) I made it to the front edge of the stage, placed my Argus C3 camera on it, and got two great up-close shots of Jimi on his guitar & singing. He later played the StarSpangled Banner with his teeth! What a memory…
I was at Byron. It was a time of purple haze acid/ also a gentleman name Owlsley stamped an owl on his tabs/ ounces of Thai pot for 15$. The bands Chambers Bros. Procal Harem, 10 Yrs after, Jimi, and on Monday after concert Delaney and Bonnie and Friends at Piedmont Park in Atlanta/ Better the Woodstock. I was at both
I agree, Buddy. I was at Woodstock and Atlanta Pop and the Atlanta Pop was better but as I remember the weather was really hot and muggy. Took a swim at a nearby lake to cool off!
Bless you son. The unlikely Promoter! Norman Pate Interpop Superfest. And LAFD.
I was there with my brothers and some new friends. We were walking around trying to score some weed but stopped to watch Hendrix play, way off in the distance. I figured I would catch him later but he died. Similar to meeting Janice Joplin at New Orleans Pop Festival, she died a few months later as well. I should have learned that our heroes often die young but it took another 20 years to figure it out.
We all traveled from Satellite Beach to the show. I was 17 at the time and it was a mind blowing experience. Listening to Hendrix play the Star Spangled Banner is now a distant memory but a great one
I was at Woodstock in 69. I left after the rain and did not hear Hendrix. But did hear him perform in 1970 at the Atlanta pop festival. Will never forget the jet that flew a low pass over the festival one night. That was awesome. Also remember skinny dipping in the lake.
I was stoned when Hendrix played and it blew me away. I also remember going to the swimming hole also while stoned. Some guy tried to scare me with a stick he was holding under the water and pretended that it was alive. My lack of response scared him even more.
I was A 19-year-old premed student from the University of Kentucky. I came with a bunch of friends were dope heads. I didn’t use any illegal drugs and my friends all called me Jesus. I went sideways at the Atlanta Pop Festival and impulsively dropped acid that a friend gave me. I was mesmerized for hours my 7-Up machine on the back of a flatbed truck. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I was quite frightened of the pecan trees near our tent because the leaves head all turned into bees. After several hours of staring at the 7-Up machine some people took me to the GOOD NEWS CAMP Where they gave me donuts and coffee. I sort of remember somebody preacher and then we were all singing gospel songs. I woke up on a mat the next morning to find a bus did you take all of of we lost souls to the good news camp in North Carolina. Hey there donuts and drink some coffee and then ran away . I wonder what happened to those other kids got on the good news bus. I hope they weren’t turned into sausages. I never touched another drug and I’m now practicing medicine in Atlanta. An incredible time in my life, and an incredible era. Hard to make subsequent generations understand it.
Does anyone know who was playing at 10:43 pm on July 5, 1970?
It was whoever played right before Jimi. Possibly find the lineup online.
Pretty sure it was Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
I was in the Army (Infantry). Training at Ft. Benning,— I remember I saw an ad for the festival and tickets were $14 for all 3 days as I recall. Me and 2 other GI’s bought tickets and we drove to Byron. — As we would all be in Vietnam 6 weeks later— it was more momentous than we realized before the concert. I can truthfully say that Pop Festival had a huge impact on me. —-It was my first time to smoke Pot. It’s been a near half century now. Best performance to me— was notHendrix Star Spangled Banner—- rather it was Blood Rock’s “Gotta find a way”—- and then on Sunday afternoon— Spirit—“Got a like on you”. — I’m grateful I Had the experience of the people and the music
Mike in Charlottesville, Va. Nov 2019
I drove my white ‘65 Olds 442 to Byron from Rockwood, TN with a buddy…we got there Friday night and went to the free side to score some acid. After consuming some blotters (purple haze?) and drinking some wine (Boone’s Farm 😂) we hung out at the stage, gawking at the naked people walking like zombies back and forth from the road to the stage. Crowded? Yeah, packed! But everyone was agreeable and the cops never interfered, unless you needed help. I fell in “the hole” and thought I was a lizard! What a night!! Never forgotten…the endless line of cars, the nude guys hanging off the back of PU trucks – traumatizing the locals. The swimming pool was crowded with nude “gymnasts” performing lude maneuvers down the huge slide into the water 😂 and we ate old cheese sandwiches the Army brought in for free. Music was awesome, both on the free side and in the arena. Drugs were plentiful but water was hard to come by for some. My “guardian angel” rescued me and I finally “came down” at the First Aide tent sometime Sunday morning!! What a blast!! We made it home Monday afternoon – and my car was filthy!! I cleaned for two days, getting food, drug paraphernalia and condoms out from cracks and crevices 😂. The most memorable 4th of July experience in my life!!
I was 20 yrs old and a student at UT and bought the tickets. Hank drove with his wife and Freak Fred and me in the back seat of a black VW Beetle. I remember sitting in the back seat and at 6’4” and hotter than hell I could not think about anything but getting the hell out of that car. It took 7hrs to get to the Byron exit. Their were tents set up along I-75 for a mile on both sides of the interstate. We were lucky and able to park under a pecan tree in the orchard.
I was stoned the whole time I was their and it was hot as hell. I watched the Almond Bros. Band in the afternoon sitting in the sun for about an hr. I started to get dizzy and didn’t have water and left. Water was hard to come by they didn’t have bottle water then.
Byron had become the second largest city in Ga.at that time with an estimated 1 million stoned kids their. I remember a lot but being stoned forgot a lot more. I did see Hendricks play the Star Spangle on his guitar and it made tears come to my eyes.
This was the largest pop festival in history and I am proud I was their along with the million other young people that are still with us. In the last couple years the State has put up a Historical Marker at the entrance. In Honor of what took place here July, 1970.
I was there to. It was one of the biggest things that happened to me at the time. I was stationed at warrenrobins air force base at that time. That was the most people I have ever seen in one place. I had to go see. It got kinda fussy. After got there. It got real funny after that
I was ther, pecan trees LSD, saw it all did it all
The free stage is probably, in my recollection, somewhere in the red circle on this Google Map. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10230428266830151&set=a.10230428287030656
So where was the main stage located in reference to the race track?
Saw a cute young lady that the entire 3 days wore nothing but flip flops, a cloth carpenter’s apron with her pot and money in it and an accordion on her back. Never saw her play the accordion. Those 3 days were far out man…
this is me sitting in the van. Saw this article several years ago. Remember the day and the morning….Was close to Hendrix AND…..johnny Winter….https://www.salon.com/2011/04/26/rock_festival_changed_my_life_open2011/
I was young, 9? I was a local. My older sister was 17. We begged her to drive us to see the “nekkid” people. She did. It was quite the sight! Drugs came to Central GA heavy after the festival.in my mind I thought they came back for three years. Many stayed all year. It changed people’s attitudes. I was smoking pot by the time I was 10 and dropping acid by the time I was 12. One could get drugs anytime anywhere! Life was different now.