New York (AFP)

If Woodstock entered the legend, becoming a mythical festival, several musical meetings at the time already gathered the crowds. And others followed. Here is an anthology.

- Monterey -

It was the "Summer of Love", the summer of 1967, the epitome of hippie culture: the California Monterey Pop Music Festival launched the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Who, rock legends .

The poster for this June 16-18 musical gathering near San Francisco, birthplace of the "Peace and Love" generation, attracted thousands of people, with 32 artists performing on stage, including Otis Redding, a soul singer.

It was during this event, considered as the first rock festival in history, that Jimi Hendrix fired his Fender guitar before smashing it on stage to conclude his piece "Wild Thing".

"Without Monterey, there would have been no Woodstock or Coachella, it was both a musical and cultural event that reflected all that was good in the 60s rock," says Bob Santelli, director from the Grammy Museum, which organized an exhibition on this event for its fiftieth anniversary.

- The Newport Folk Festival -

Founded in 1959 in parallel to the Newport Jazz Festival to stage the revival of folk, the Newport Folk Festival is best known for being the place where Bob Dylan released an electric guitar, stunning the folk purists of the time.

It will be necessary to wait for 2002 for the return of the living legend of the American music on the stage of this festival, where he will play, equipped with a wig and a false beard.

This annual weekend, surely one of the first modern music festivals in the United States, is held on the Atlantic coast in the state of Rhode Island. He is also known for his performances of political activism, such as Pete Seeger's interpretation of the spiritual "We Shall Overcome", a civil rights anthem in the 1960s.

This festival has more recently become a platform for feminism and the fight against climate change.

- Isle of Wight -

Organized for the first time in 1968, the Isle of Wight festival saw its reputation explode the following year, thanks in part to the appearance of Bob Dylan.

It was the first public performance since the poet-musician's motorcycle accident three years ago. Snobant Woodstock, the author of "Like a Rolling Stone" is setting sail for the British festival.

In 1970, this gathering transforms the test and receives between 600 and 700,000 people, becoming the biggest festival of its time with the stars like Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Miles Davis or Joan Baez.

Like Woodstock, the festival became free in the face of the arrival of a massive crowd.

But chaos has prompted British authorities to endorse a law preventing crowds of more than 5,000 people from attending an outdoor event on the island. The festival has been held again every year since 2002.

- Live Aid -

July 13, 1985 is Live Aid, double concert at the initiative of Irish rocker Bob Geldof at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in New York for the fight against hunger in Africa.

This concert with some of the most famous stars of the day, David Bowie, U2, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner or Bob Dylan is watched by more than a billion viewers around the world. one of the most followed events in the history of television.

Queen's performance, led by her singer Freddie Mercury, is considered one of the most incredible live performances of all time.

© 2019 AFP