A Gathering of the Tribes was a two-day music and culture festival organized by Ian Astbury and promoter Bill Graham, held in California in October 1990.
[3] The artists featured were Soundgarden, Ice-T, Indigo Girls, Queen Latifah, Joan Baez, Steve Jones, Michelle Shocked, Iggy Pop, The Cramps, London Quireboys, The Mission UK and Public Enemy.
When addressing the crowd, Ice-T, Queen Latifah, and Astbury all stated that Public Enemy was not at the festival owing to "pressure from local authorities", a claim denied by the Costa Mesa police chief.
Astbury had wanted other performers to be part of the program, including Guns N' Roses, Tracy Chapman, Living Colour, Ziggy Marley, and Julian Lennon, but they could not participate because of previous commitments.
[3] A Gathering of the Tribes was revisited in 1991 but this time as a traveling festival that was to visit multiple venues, with a bill featuring X, Fishbone, Steve Earle, EPMD, Hoodoo Gurus, Primus, and King's X, [9] among others.