Justin Kite Interviews George Burrows About the 1969 Denver Pop Festival
“At 15 years old, I didn’t just watch the Denver Pop Festival — I was right in the middle of it.”
This interview began when Justin Kite, a graduate student at Rutgers University, reached out while researching the Denver Pop Festival for his master’s thesis, The Denver Pop Festival: An Examination of When a Cultural Movement Is Packaged and Sold for Profit (2018).
Kite contacted George after discovering a Facebook page dedicated to the festival that included personal memories and rare visual materials. His research involved newspaper archives, music publications, and firsthand accounts from people who were there.
Did the particular artists (or lineup) matter as much as the festival experience itself?
I could not separate the music from the vibe of the festival. The tear gas incident was a surprise which resulted in one of the best performances of the festival. Candy Givens and the band featuring guitar legend Tommy Bolin played a killer set in gas masks.
I was in a throng of concertgoers in the middle bleachers who rushed to the field. I sat with others as tear gas floated in the air and Denver’s iconic Zephyr played through the gas. Also, Jimi Hendrix was not happy during his set due to feedback — that was an experience (pun intended). I watched as all the musicians sat right in front of the stage as he performed. It was everyone who was performing or had already played.
It is said by many scholars and reporters that the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967 established the template for pop festivals that followed it — not just for artists and organizers but for attendees too. Had you seen the concert film Monterey Pop before you went to Denver? Have you seen it since? How do you think Denver followed the template Monterey ’67 set?
I had not seen the Monterey film before Denver. I was aware of the festival and had a recording of the festival. Festivals were everywhere, even in Iowa. I was 14 and had been to another festival prior to Denver.
I have since seen Monterey Pop many times. I am biased about the significance of Denver. It became the precursor to Woodstock. Vivid Seats later released their Top 100 Music Festivals of All Time — Denver Pop Festival was #33 and Monterey was #1. It is obvious the role Monterey played.
The Denver Pop Festival (June 27–29, 1969) featured artists including Tim Buckley, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Frank Zappa, Iron Butterfly, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Though swiftly eclipsed by Woodstock just two months later, it drew huge crowds and is remembered as the final performance of The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Did the DPF feel authentic or did it feel packaged? There was quite a debate in the final years of the ’60s as to whether “rock” was a community or a commodity. What are your thoughts on this?
That’s easy — it was a community. Everyone was into the music and smoking pot openly. I bought my first joint from a dude sitting behind me for $1.00.
Promoter Barry Fey put the event together. While his name may not be as widely recognized as Bill Graham’s, Fey had a long illustrious history of rock concert promotion. He promoted the first U.S. concert by Led Zeppelin in Denver in 1968. To me, Denver Pop felt like it belonged to the people, not corporations.**
Because of the political and social climate of the era, do you think that those who attended late ’60s festivals had different experiences than kids who attend similar festivals today? Were those early festivals iconic because they were first, or because of the time in which they happened?
Good one, Justin. As I told you, I was not really hip to the whole political scene. I had seen Abbie Hoffman in Minneapolis before an The Allman Brothers Band show in 1970, which had an impact.
Let’s put it into rebelling against our parents and the advent of smoking pot and listening to music. In the ’60s and early ’70s, people would pass joints at concerts — “Don’t bogart that joint, my friend.” That said, it was the time period.
As festivals grew, larger crowds and the start of the annual festival scene changed things big time. Designer drugs and alcohol became the choice of release. Weekend hipsters who drove $40,000 cars and wore dreads became a common sight. Corporate America took over, and money became the cause. *
George Burrows – Denver Pop Festival 1969 / Live Gig Source
Historical Note: The Last Performance of The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The headlining appearance by The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Denver Pop Festival on June 29, 1969, marked the final performance by the original trio of Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell. After the Denver show, Redding left the band, ending the lineup that had defined the Experience’s sound. Hendrix would not perform publicly again until later that summer at the Woodstock Festival with a different group of musicians.
About the Research Behind This Interview
Justin Kite’s master’s thesis at Rutgers University explored the cultural and commercial tensions surrounding the Denver Pop Festival. In his conclusion, Kite described the event as:
**“The story of the Denver Pop Festival is one of incredible music from legendary artists. It is also one of a hustling promoter who embodied the American Dream. It is also the rare time where mischievous lawbreakers defeated the establishment—and in Denver that happened three nights in a row. Most importantly the Denver Pop Festival was a monetized version of a vibe, and by packaging and selling that vibe, the essence of the vibe was removed, and this upset a good number of people. The establishment—the media, the police and the businessman—didn’t understand, but have they ever.”
This perspective helps frame why firsthand memories remain an important part of understanding what really happened that weekend. *Updated 2-5-26