Monterey International Pop Festival
2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey montereypopfestival50.com
Teens today will never know what it was like to live in the height of the Summer of Love or to see Jimi Hendrix burn his guitar on stage. But here, they could come close. The first festival, as Lou Adler – one of the original founders of the Monterey Pop Festival – says “cannot be duplicated, but it can be celebrated.” And celebrate, Monterey did. It showcased the popular music of today with voices like Norah Jones (daughter of Ravi Shankar, who was an original performer in 1967), Father John Misty and Leon Bridges. This one also rolled out some old-schoolers like Eric Burdon & The Animals (who played in the original concert) and Charles Bradley and the Extraordinaires. It happened in Monterey – maybe not in the same way – but it did and that’s a story worth sharing with your grandkids.