However, by the time of the third festival from 25 to 27 August 1967, rock and pop acts had edged out most of the jazz bands and become the main attraction.
[5][6][7] The concept caught fire and spread quickly as rock festivals took on a unique identity and attracted significant media attention around the world.
[9] Today, rock festivals are usually open-air concerts spread out over two or more days and many of the annual events are sponsored by the same organization.
[10] Production and financing Several of the early rock festival organizers of the 1960s such as Chet Helms, Tom Rounds, Alex Cooley and Michael Lang helped create the blueprint for large-scale rock festivals in the United States, as well promoters such as Wally Hope in the United Kingdom.
[19] Many early rock festivals successfully relied on volunteers for crowd control, for example individuals like Wavy Gravy and biker groups such as the Hells Angels[20] and Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club.
[21] Gravy in particular called his security group the "Please Force," a reference to their non-intrusive tactics at keeping order, e.g., "Please don't do that, please do this instead".
When asked by the press — who were the first to inform him that he and the rest of his commune were handling security — what kind of tools he intended to use to maintain order at Woodstock in 1969, his response was "Cream pies and seltzer bottles.
"[20] Other rock festivals hire private security or local police departments for crowd control, with varying degrees of success.
Sunday, 22 June - Ronnie Hawkins, Chuck Berry, Kensington Market, Tiny Tim, Nucleus, Dr. John & the Night Tripper, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Steppenwolf A recent innovation is the traveling rock festival where many musical acts perform at multiple locations during a tour.