Seminal music festival boosted careers of many of today’s rock icons
The Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts presents a newly restored, 4K version of Monterey Pop, the groundbreaking documentary of the 1968 musical festival that skyrocketed the careers of artists such Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding and portended major music festivals to come. Screenings are on July 7 and 8 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. and July 9 at 2 and 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $9.50 general admission, $7.50 DIA members, seniors and students.
On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the height of the Summer of Love, the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival captured a decade’s spirit and ushered in a new era of rock and roll. Today, the eclectic roster reads like a “Who’s Who” of music royalty and includes acts such as Simon and Garfunkel, the Mama and the Papas, the Byrds, High Masekela, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, the Grateful Dead and Lou Rawls.
The crowd was treated to what are now seen as legendary moments in rock history: Jimi Hendrix playing guitar with his teeth and tongue, lighting his guitar on fire, smashing it and throwing what was left of it into the crowd; The Who’s first major U.S. appearance, which ended with smoke bombs going off behind the amps and guitarist Pete Townshend smashing his guitar and kicking over the drum set before leaving the stage; Ravi Shankar’s four-hour set; and Otis Redding’s last live performance before his death in a plane crash less than six months later.
Museum Hours and Admission
9 a.m.– 4 p.m. Tuesdays –Thursdays, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. General admission (excludes ticketed exhibitions) is free for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county residents and DIA members. Beginning July 1, admission for all others is $14 for adults, $9 for seniors ages 62+, $8 for college students and $6 for ages 6–17. For membership information, call 313-833-7971.
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