Experience the Monterey Pop Festival that saw Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and 200,000 fans come together to define a generation, pave the way for Woodstock, and change American music and culture forever.
Jimi Hendrix plays his guitar onstage.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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A hippie family, baby in tow, attends the Monterey Pop Festival.Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
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Guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who smashes his guitar during the group's performance.Paul Ryan/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Jimi Hendrix sets his guitar ablaze during his performance.Janus Films
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Two men in the crowd wear matching outfits that feature American flag-based shirt designs and fedoras. Ted Streshinsky/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
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Janis Joplin performs with her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
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A man stands near various festival signs.Henry Diltz/Corbis via Getty Images
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Jimi Hendrix plays his guitar with the pick clenched between his teeth.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Drummer Keith Moon of The Who performs during the Monterey Pop Festival's closing day. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Festivalgoers wear sunglasses as they watch the show.Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
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The Grateful Dead perform onstage during the final day. Paul Ryan/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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South African singer/trumpeter Hugh Masekela performs on the second day of the Monterey Pop Festival. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Jimi Hendrix performs during the festival's closing day.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Festivalgoers enjoy the show.Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
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Otis Redding sings onstage on day two of the Monterey Pop Festival.Bob Buchanan/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Simon & Garfunkel perform during the Monterey Pop Festival's opening day.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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A kid clearly amazed at all the talent onstage. Bob Buchanan/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Roger Daltrey, singer of The Who, performs during the festival's final day.Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Musician/model Nico (left) and Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones take in the show.Fotos International/Getty Images
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The crowd watches Joplin perform with Big Brother and the Holding Company.Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
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David Crosby performs on stage with Buffalo Springfield. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas watches the show from the crowd. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Otis Redding performs during the festival's second day.Bob Buchanan/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Ravi Shankar plays sitar during the third day of the festival.Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
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John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas stands backstage.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Guitarist Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones (right, with blonde hair) watches from the crowd alongside musician/model Nico (to the left of Jones).Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Jefferson Airplane perform during the festival's second day.Paul Ryan/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Michelle Phillips performs with The Mamas & the Papas. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Jimi Hendrix, illuminated by lights, sings onstage.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
29 Monterey Pop Festival Photos That Epitomize The “Summer Of Love”
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It was the Woodstock before Woodstock.
The Monterey Pop Festival kicked off 1967's "Summer of Love" with an epic three-day concert for the ages. Held in Monterey, California between June 16 and 18, this outdoor extravaganza saw legendary performances from a host of musical icons, established the tradition of the modern music festival, and launched many storied careers. Before the Monterey Pop Festival, names like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix hardly registered in the mainstream American consciousness.
Furthermore, Monterey Pop was the first major festival to bring together music acts not just from across the U.S. (Otis Redding, The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel) but from Britain as well (The Who, The Animals).
And with all this talent onboard, it's remarkable that the whole festival was organized in a matter of just seven weeks by notable figures like John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, producer Lou Adler, entrepreneur Alan Pariser, and publicist Derek Taylor. They wanted the Monterey Pop festival to help validate rock music as an art form — and they succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.
In addition to the artists mentioned above (all of which except Ravi Shankar donated their proceeds to charity) the promoters were able to secure performances from the Steve Miller Band, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, and Buffalo Springfield. The lineup might have been even more amazing had The Rolling Stones gotten the necessary visas, Bob Dylan accepted the invitation, or The Beach Boys overcome the number of internal issues that kept them away.
Of course, the artists that did perform put on an era-defining show for the 200,000 attendees, and later for all those able to watch director D.A. Pennebaker's concert film Monterey Pop.
Although Woodstock enjoyed more publicity two years later, the true pioneer of the rock music festival as we know it today was Monterey.
In the words of actor and festival attendee Dennis Hopper, "Monterey was the purest, most beautiful moment of the whole '60s trip. It seemed like everything had come to that moment. It was a magical, pure moment in time."
For more watch two of the most noteworth performances of the Monterey Pop Festival — The Who performing "My Generation" and Jimi Hendrix sacrificing his guitar in flames — below:
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers as a graphic artist.
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
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Kelly, Erin. "29 Monterey Pop Festival Photos That Epitomize The “Summer Of Love”." AllThatsInteresting.com, March 21, 2018, https://allthatsinteresting.com/monterey-pop-festival. Accessed February 22, 2025.
