put on a sequel at a racetrack near Byron, Georgia. They expected 100,000 but got upwards of a half-million, which backed up traffic all the way to Atlanta proper, 90 miles away. The 1970 bill was less eclectic: it included Jimi Hendrix (this was the largest crowd Hendrix ever performed in front of), the Allman Brothers Band, Procol Harum, Spirit, Ten Years After, Grand Funk, Mountain, and other festival mainstays. Jethro Tull was booked, but didn't play because Ian Anderson got laryngitis. Some fans recall the 1970 festival as a pale copy of the 1969 event. The disaster at Altamont had happened the previous December, and that festival's dark vibe was on the minds of many people who came to Atlanta. But others remember the 1970 festival as the time of their lives. Some people who were there probably don't remember it at all. By 1971, the festival spirit had dissipated. There was no third annual Atlanta Pop Festival. The 1970 event is noteworthy to me because it's remarkably well documented in photographs. Not so much of the performing acts, although there are a few of those, but of the people in attendance. Retronaut posted a set earlier this week; my research into the festivals led me to this magnificent collection of black-and-white photos and memories of people who were there. Look at the pictures, especially the black-and-white ones. There's a dreamlike quality about them. As you look, you begin to think, "Could this really have happened just this way?"