Monterey Pop Festival 1967 Marks Summer of Love Milestone

On June 16‑18 1967, the Monterey Pop Festival took place in Monterey, California, becoming the first large outdoor music festival in the United States. It featured performances by Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel, Otis Redding, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas & The Papas and other leading artists.

The event is remembered for Jimi Hendrix’s dramatic act of setting his Fender Stratocaster on fire, an image that symbolised the era’s counter‑cultural energy. Organized by John Phillips, the festival attracted thousands of hippies from San Francisco’s Haight‑Ashbury district and beat‑generation figures, reflecting the broader “Summer of Love” movement.