The Denver Pop Festival was a three-day music festival promoted by

Barry Fey Barry Fey (1938 – April 28, 2013) was an American rock music, rock concert promoter (entertainment), promoter from Colorado who was best known for bringing prominent music acts to the United States for the first time. Early life Music ...

(Feyline) on June 27–29, 1969 which was largely overshadowed by

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

two months later. The peak attendance was estimated at 50,000.

History

Unlike the free-form happening in upstate New York, the Denver festival had the full support and local resources of a major city, taking place in Denver

Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001. The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...

. There were high expectations for the Festival; it was commonly called the "First Annual" Denver Pop Festival. The peak attendance was estimated at 50,000, though on Sunday when it was declared a

free festival Free festivals are a combination of music, arts and cultural activities, for which often no admission is charged, but involvement is preferred. They are identifiable by being multi-day events connected by a camping community without centralised c ...

, that number may have been higher. Ticket prices were $6 per day, or $15 for all three days (Fri, Sat, Sun). Frank Zappa is credited by some with inventing the

audience wave The wave (known as a Mexican wave or stadium wave outside of North America) is an example of metachronal rhythm achieved in a packed stadium when successive groups of spectators briefly stand, yell, and raise their arms. Immediately upon st ...

during his set. He assigned sections of the stadium (audience) to each make different odd sounds and gestures, including standing with arms raised. He then "played" a "tune" on his "crowd instrument". The festival featured the final performance of

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, then the highest paid act in rock. (

Noel Redding David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress. Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 a ...

left the Experience on June 29th, 1969.)

Performers

June 27

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), better known as Big Mama Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B genres. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's " Hound Dog", in 1952, which becam ...

* The Flock # Clown # Store Bought, Store Thought *

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...

# Liar # Celebrate # One # Drum Solo - Floyd Sneed performed his amazing solo featuring his "Lafrican" method of playing the drums for an aspiring 10+ minutes including over 3 minutes of Congo style hand playing. *

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

and

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

# Hungry Freaks Daddy # Downtown Talent Scout (long version, called "The Heat's Out Every Night") # The String Quartet # Some Ballet Music # A Pound for a Brown on the Bus # Zappa conducts the audience ("Teenage Stereo") *

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. ...

June 28

Aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...

Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind. Zephyr may also refer to: Arts and media Fiction Fiction media * ''Zephyr'' (film), a 2010 Turkish ...

(with Tommy Bolin) *

Poco Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassi ...

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

# Rollin' & Tumblin' # Help Me # Leland Mississippi # Going Down Slow # Mean Town Blues # I'm Not Sure # It's My Own Fault *

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...

# Dolphins # Gypsy Woman # Buzzin' Fly # The Train *

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

# Bad Moon Rising - note: the moon rising large and bright behind the stage at dusk prompting an immediate encore performance.

June 29

Aum ''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit-std=IAST) is a sacred sound, syllable, mantra, or an invocation in Hinduism. ''Om'' is the prime symbol of Hinduism.Krishna Sivaraman (2008), ''Hindu Spirituality Vedas Through Ved ...

* Zephyr (with Tommy Bolin) << Their Sunday show was not scheduled, they were filling in for an act that dropped out.Tommy Bolin Archives : Zephyr
/ref> * Rev.

Cleophus Robinson The Reverend Cleophus Robinson (March 18, 1932, Canton, MississippiJuly 2, 1998, Saint Louis, Missouri) was an American gospel singer and preacher. He hosted a gospel television series which ran for over 20 years. He was often referred to as "Th ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

* Three Dog Night *

(final performance together) # Tax Free # Hear My Train A Comin' # Fire # Spanish Castle Magic # Red House # Foxy Lady # Star Spangled Banner # Purple Haze # Voodoo Chile - Slight Return

References

External links

{{Rock festival Folk festivals in the United States 1969 in American music Rock festivals in the United States Music festivals established in 1969 Pop music festivals in the United States 1969 music festivals