Podcast: From 2019, a look at 1969′s Atlanta International Pop Festival

Peter Conlon, president of Live Nation Atlanta, talks about the International Pop Festival. Conlon was a mentee of concert promoter Alex Cooley, a producer of the 1969 concert the weekend of July 4. Peter has a lot of memorabilia from the event, including this framed T-shirt from the concert above a picture of Led Zeppelin. Photo: RYON HORNE/RHORNE@AJC.COM

Peter Conlon, president of Live Nation Atlanta, talks about the International Pop Festival. Conlon was a mentee of concert promoter Alex Cooley, a producer of the 1969 concert the weekend of July 4. Peter has a lot of memorabilia from the event, including this framed T-shirt from the concert above a picture of Led Zeppelin. Photo: RYON HORNE/RHORNE@AJC.COM

Throughout the summer, we are developing a brand new podcast with a new name and a new sound that will launch in late summer. In the meantime, we’ll be revisiting some of our favorite shows from our first four years while still keeping you up-to-date on things to do in and around Atlanta.

In 2019, we marked the 50th anniversary of the first Atlanta International Pop Festival. Some remember it as the first opportunity to witness Led Zeppelin live in the South. Others recall the steamy sun and hordes of, as one attendee called it, “hippies and wannabe hippies and people who were mentally hippies.”

A month before Woodstock would garner the headlines and catchphrases as the music festival that defined a generation, the Atlanta International Pop Festival at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton established the city — and the South — as a meaningful player in the music industry. We spoke to some of the folks who were there.

Brian Griffin is this week's adoptable pet from the folks at Lifeline.

Credit: Courtesy of Lifeline

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Credit: Courtesy of Lifeline

Brian Griffin is this week’s adoptable pet from the folks at Lifeline, who run the Fulton and DeKalb shelters, along with the Lifeline Community Animal Center. Brian is a very handsome boy who, like his “Family Guy” namesake, is super smart. A volunteer fan told us that he loves to fetch toys in the shelter yard and then go on a nice easy walk where he just takes it all in. Given the chance he will happily roll around in the grass and just stretch out and relax followed by giving lots of kisses. He loves treats, listens well, is eager to please and learns quickly. Brian Griffin is a definite catch you don’t want to miss. He’s at DeKalb County Animal Services on Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

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