However, various court battles and restraining orders issued by local governments wary of large crowds prevented the festival from being held anywhere in the state.

[4] Shortly before the festival was scheduled to begin on the Labor Day weekend of 1972, the promoters decided on a site near Griffin, Indiana, known as "Bull Island".

The government of White County, Illinois, where Bull Island is located, was unable to prevent the festival from being held in the short time they had after learning of the promoters' plans.

[5] The scheduled festival lineup included Black Sabbath, Joe Cocker, the Allman Brothers Band, John Mayall, Cheech & Chong, Canned Heat, Fleetwood Mac, Ballin' Jack, Amboy Dukes, Bob Seger, Bang, Ravi Shankar, Albert King, the Doors, Brownsville Station, Mike Quatro, Gentle Giant, Black Oak Arkansas, the Eagles, the Chambers Brothers, Boones Farm, Slade, Birtha, Nazareth, and Delbert & Glenn.

However, most scheduled performers cancelled their appearances during the festival due to difficulty reaching the site and concerns about safety in light of the lack of security, open availability of illegal substances, unsanitary conditions, and flooding.

The promoters were subsequently sued by the landowner of Bull Island, onsite vendors, the Internal Revenue Service, the state governments of Illinois and Indiana, and a local farmer who alleged “cattle lost due to marijuana inhalation”; legal proceedings continued for nine years after the festival.