50th anniversary Monterey Pop Festival kicks off Friday

©2017 Monterey International Pop FestivalThe 50th anniversary Monterey International Pop Festival gets underway tomorrow at the same site as the famous 1967 event — Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. As previously reported, the three-day extravaganza’s lineup includes three artists who played at the original fest: Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, Animals frontman Eric Burdon, and soul great Booker T. Jones of Booker T. and the M.G.’s fame.

Burdon will perform Friday with the latest incarnation of The Animals, while Lesh and Jones both will play Sunday — Phil with his current group, The Terrapin Family Band, and Booker T. with an outfit called the Booker T. Stax Revue. Other acts on the 50th anniversary Monterey Pop bill include Jack Johnson, My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, Gary Clark Jr., Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, The Head and The Heart, North Mississippi Allstars, Leon Bridges, and Father John Misty.

In celebration of the festival’s golden anniversary, several of the younger artists on the bill will pay tribute to some of the famous acts that hit the stage back in ’67. Johnson will salute the Steve Miller Band, Bridges will pay homage to Otis Redding, The Head and The Heart will honor The Mamas & The Papas, Clark Jr. will pay tribute to Jimi Hendrix, James will salute The Who, Rateliff & the Night Sweats will honor Big Brother & the Holding Company, and Nicki Bluhm & Dirty Dozen Brass Band pay homage to Jefferson Airplane.

The festival also will feature a pop-up gallery offering signing sessions with famed rock photographer Henry Diltz on Friday at 1 p.m. local time, and with D.A. Pennebaker, director of the acclaimed Monterey Pop documentary, on Saturday at 1 p.m. local time.

For more details, visit MontereyPopFestival50.com.

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