Miami Pop Festival

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The Miami Pop Festival was a two day pop music event at Gulfstream Race Track on May 18-19, 1968. It was attended by an estimated 100,000 people.This concert was promoted by Michael Lang ( Promoter of Woodstock)

Bands featured at the festival included Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix, The Mothers of Invention, Blue Cheer, and Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Jimi flew in and sang Fire , Foxy Lady, Getting my Heart back Together and Purple Haze. Sunday's concert was rained out; Hendrix wrote "Rainy Day, Dream Away" about this. Chuck Berry, Blues Image, Pacific Gas and Electric and Three Dog Night also performed. The opening act on the main stage on Saturday was a little known group called The Package and the closing act on that same stage was Jimi Hendrix.

Jimi Hendrix at Fillmore East, Monterey, Woodstock... these are the shows that people talk about. Only the fans know of the lesser-known shows such as the Miami Pop Festival in 1968.

"I saw Hendrix at the May 1968 Gulfstream Pop Festival in Hallendale Florida, just north of Miami. (There was a second festival in December.) This was after his first album was released and Purple Haze was getting a little airplay on the radio. But he was just a new and strange act at that time, not the legend he became later. I sat on a blanket about 50 feet from the stage, (everyone sat back then). Anyone could have walked right up to the stage and held out their hand and he would have shook it. I saw a girl walk up and hand him a rose, and then walk back to her blanket and sit down. Anyway, he did a straight set of the songs on Are You Experienced. I can't remember if he did any extra songs, but he didn't do anything wild like set his guitar on fire. He did play with his teeth and behind his head on one song. There were only about 400 people interested enough in him to watch his performance. There were two stages going at the same time and someone more popular in '67 was probably on the other stage.This was a difficult gig for the Experience as is was raining and the equipment was having difficulties. Hendrix did burn his guitar and toss it in the audience, Frank zappa ended up with it. He rebuilt it and used it in the studio, a picture of it can be seen on the cover of Guitar Player magazine along with an interview.

"I too saw this show. It was one to remember always. Allow me to set the scene. Three stages were set on flatbed trailers just to the outside of the westernmost stretch of track with the fans either on the lawn or in the stands to the west of the racecourse. The Mothers were playing on the southernmost stage when out of the northern sky came two choppers. The lead helicopter said "Are You" the second, "Experienced?" As the whirlbirds landed on the infield grass we were all atwitter with anticipation. From the lead airship stepped Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchel. Out of the second, Jimi Hendrix in his magnificent costume which featured a large fedora adorned with a billowy feather. His trousers were velvet bellbottoms, his blouse silk. Many of us quietly relocated to get better viewing of the center stage as the band came silently to their marks and began a respectful tuneup. The Mothers completed their fabulous set, Jimi spoke for the first time thanking the audience for our patience and promising a party for our ears."One, two, three..." he said and struck the first chord of "Foxy Lady". My Owsley purple kicked in and the rest, as we say, is history. The greatest set I ever saw from anyone ever. And, my friends, I saw many."