Marin hosts First U.S. Rock Festival
by Laurie Thompson
Fifty years ago the Mountain Theater on Mt. Tam was the venue for what Rolling Stone Magazine deemed the “First U.S. Rock Festival.”
Known as the Fantasy Fair & Magic Mountain Music Festival, it was sponsored by local radio station KFRC as a benefit for San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point community. Though originally slated for June 3rd & 4th, it was rained out and held instead the following weekend — June 10–11th.
Many of the concert-goers were shuttled to the event in school buses which departed from Tam High School. Tens of thousands attended the two-day extravaganza.
The June 10, 1967 Daily Independent Journal reported:
There were flowers and there was love atop Mount Tamalpais today as with a ‘one, two, three’ the drummer beat out the rhythm launching the two-day Fantasy Fair …. At 8 a.m. the approaches to the music ‘happening’ were shrouded in fog but, on top the mountain, all was sweetness and light and togetherness…. Teen-agers began arriving on chartered buses shortly before 7:30 a.m. and the crowd had swelled to several thousand two hours later…. Pink orchids were given out by young girls….. Twenty-five rock ’n’ roll bands were scheduled to take the stage today and tomorrow. The first today was a group called Mount Rushmore followed shortly by hard rocker Roger Collins….
Other attractions included a geodesic dome light chamber and a giant Buddha with flowers at his feet. There was also a “giant slide” built of cardboard and old tires.
The Hells Angels provided security at the event. The June 12th Independent Journal reported that the festival was peaceful and that there were no major incidents:
Teen-agers and flowerbedecked hippies attending the weekend Fantasy Fair atop Mount Tamalpais, were handed bouquets for good behavior today by state park officials and law enforcement officers.
Learn more about the Fantasy Fair and Marin’s “Summer of Love” at the Marin County Fair opening on June 30, 2017. Visit the centerpiece exhibit which will include a display we’ve contributed with enlargements of some of the bands who played at the Fantasy Fair, courtesy of photographer Matthew Child. Some of the iconic groups captured by Child include: The Doors, The Animals & Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Originally published at https://annetkent.kontribune.com.
