ATLANTA POP Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Atlanta International Pop Festival at the Variety Playhouse on December 6
TICKETS ON SALE SEPTEMBER 20

ATLANTA (September 13, 2019) – Good Times Productions and The Fox Theatre are proud to announce Atlanta Pop: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Atlanta International Pop Festival – taking place on December 6 at the Variety Playhouse. The concert – featuring an eclectic group of (mostly) Georgia-based musicians – will celebrate and pay tribute to the Atlanta International Pop Festival. The original event, considered Atlanta’s first music festival, was organized by a 17-person promotional team led by legendary Atlanta promoter, Alex Cooley. Held at the Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia on July 4-5, 1969, the concert was attended by over 140,000 people and featured superstars such as Jimi Hendrix; Janis Joplin; Led Zeppelin; Joe Cocker; Booker T and the M.G.’s; and Credence Clearwater Revival. The following year, over 300,000 people descended upon Byron, Georgia for the follow-up three-day festival, which included Allman Brothers Band, BB King, Col. Bruce Hampton’s Hampton Grease Band and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (the largest American audience ever for Hendrix). Honoring the legacy of the two Atlanta International Pop Festivals, Atlanta Pop will feature Atlanta-based super group, The Hues of Miriam – comprised of Jacob Deaton (Col. Bruce Hampton), Nick Johnson (Randall Bramblett), Kevin Scott (Jimmy Herring, John McLaughlin), Darren Stanley (Jimmy Herring), Matt Slocum (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Railroad Earth) and Duane Trucks (Widespread Panic) – all Col. Bruce Hampton alumni. The material for Atlanta Pop will be selected from the catalogs of the artists that performed at the original 1969 and 1970 events. Joining the house band will be a cross-section of special guests, including Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke), Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band), Jeff Mosier, Denny Walley (Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart), T. Hardy Morris, Sven Papien (Magpie Salute, The Black Crows), Cicada Rhythm, Thomas Johnson, Carter King, and Daniel Womack (Futurebirds), Cody Matlock, and many more. The concert will pay homage to the “southern Woodstock” – an event deserving of recognition for its immeasurable contributions to the historic fabric of Georgia and American music, generally. At the same time, Atlanta Pop will spotlight two dozen of the most accomplished Georgia-based (or Georgia-linked) rock, folk, jazz and blues musicians in the contemporary live scene. The event promoters, together with their non-profit partners – the Georgia Music Foundation and Fox Theatre Institute – aim to carry forward the inspiring legacy of Alex Cooley and the Atlanta International Pop Festival fifty years after the first notes were played at the Raceway in 1969.
Tickets, on-sale September 20 at zeromile.com, the Variety Playhouse Box Office and (404)-524-7354, start at $30.00, plus applicable fees.
About Good Times Productions
Good Times Productions is an Atlanta-based production company. The company, owned by partners, Matthew Wilson (Greater Thinking Music Group), Steve Lopez (Widespread Panic), and Kit Blanchard (PRISM), produced Hampton 70 – the Col. Bruce Hampton 70th birthday celebration – in 2017.