Monterey Pop Festival Site — Monterey County Fairgrounds

The Monterey International Pop Festival took place on June 16-18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds — the first major rock festival and a direct precursor to Woodstock. The three-day event introduced Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin (with Big Brother and the Holding Company), the Who, Otis Redding, and Ravi Shankar to mainstream American audiences, and its influence on the development of rock as a serious art form was immeasurable. Hendrix set his guitar on fire on stage; Pete Townshend smashed his; Otis Redding performed with a ferocity that stunned the crowd. All of this was captured in D.A. Pennebaker's documentary Monterey Pop (1968).

The festival was organised by John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, music publicist Derek Taylor, and producer Lou Adler. It was a non-profit event — all proceeds went to charity — and its atmosphere of musical discovery was unlike anything that had preceded it. The audience of approximately 55,000 witnessed performances that changed the direction of popular music: Hendrix's US debut, Redding's crossover from R&B to the rock audience, Shankar's introduction of the raga to Western listeners, and the Who's destructive theatricality were all revelations.

The Monterey County Fairgrounds continue to operate at 2004 Fairground Road and host the annual Monterey Jazz Festival. A plaque commemorates the 1967 Pop Festival, and the arena where the performances took place is still in use. The festival's legacy is inseparable from the Summer of Love and the explosion of San Francisco psychedelic culture.