The First (and last) Annual Palm Beach International Music and Arts Festival was held Nov. 28-30, 1969 at the Palm Beach International Speedway about 3½ months after Woodstock.
Iron Butterfly opened the concert around 2 hours after the gates opened. Some acts including Jefferson Airplane, Sly Stone and Janis Joplin, who was dead in less then a year, were flown in by helicopter from nearby Singer Island.
Other bands that performed:
The Rolling Stones
The Chambers Brothers
The Byrds
Steppenwolf
Spirit
Pacific Gas & Electric
Sweetwater
Country Joe & The Fish
Johnny Winters
King Crimson
Grand Funk Railroad
Palm Beach International Speedway
17047 Bee Line Hwy
Jupiter, FL 33478
That short but Very SWEET period was SURE a FERTILE and AMAZING MUSICAL period, just before and for a time AFTER Woodstock (the One All OTHERS are Judged by, including THIS ONE- and others like this West Palm Beach Fla, at a raceway, just after Woodstock, where Johnny and Janis met for the first time on the chopper ride over to the venue, and had Many of the same acts that WERE at Woodstock, but Also the Stones (who were so stoned and played so Badly when they walked on at 3-4am or something, and were saying ‘where are we?’ while most of the freezing hippies (us) barely stirred, it was SO COLD! One of the Very Early shows of Crimson in the US (they SAID it was there VERY FIRST SHOW that night in West Palm!
Funny Story: On our way THERE- Chip Monck, and John Law, ‘the Voice of Woodstock’ gave my brother and I a ride hitching to the Site- and All we talked about was Woodstock, which had just Happened….one of my Most Precious Memories, meeting them! For ME, seeing Janis again, and Johnny- in his most amazing, rooster-like prowling and strutting across the stage, and at his most INSANE, Playing-wise… imho- just had me in AWE…..except we were boogie-ing too hard to JUST ‘watch’, but many WERE……just….watching him. Put the Stones- who just kinda ‘showed up’…to SHAME! Back Then. Then they came out w/that song ‘Silver Train’, in honor of Johnny. THAT’s a TRUE ROCK STORY! Johnny’s bio said that janis asked JW to come to her upcoming HS Reunion, so she could ‘show them’ that she had ‘Made It Big’, etc…..but he turned her down, or didn’t GO! Why, Johnny??? They were even from the same home town in Texas, Port Arthur!! Tres COOL, RIGHT???? Wonder if they ever ‘did it’???
I was Security Chief at Palm Beach. On Sat. morning, Nov. 29th I walked on stage to prepare for the days activity. It was a beautiful sunny morn and walking backstage I ran into Johnny Edgar and several of their roadies smoking a doobie. I spent easily 30 minutes as they continually hinted about a big show they had planned that evening. They wouldn’t fill me in but it turned out to be an outrageously great show with the Winters, Vanilla Fudge and Janis. What a treat! Six months later I was drafted for Vietnam. End of my festivals!