Woburn
Rock Festivals of the 1960s

Did you know that the first outdoor festival in the UK that is regarded as a 'flower power' rock festival took place at Woburn Abbey?
The first Woburn Rock Festival was held on 26th - 28th August 1967 and featured the Small Faces, Eric Burdon and the New Animals, Jeff Beck Group, The Bee Gees, The Alan Price Set, Marmalade and many more
The significance of the 1967 event is recognised in a work by the official body National Statistics in a book called 60 years of social survey 1941 2001. The book's 1967 - 1968 timeline says 'Woburn Rock Festival heralds era of Flower Power'
The following year there was another rock festival at Woburn Abbey. The second festival was on 6th - 7th July 1968 and was headlined by Jimi Hendrix
Other performers at the 1968 festival included Pentangle, Alexis Korner, Donovan, Geno Washington, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Family, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Champion Jack Dupree, among others
The 1968 Woburn festival was the third time that Hendrix had played in Bedfordshire. In 1967 he had given a concert on 11th April at the Granada Cinema in Bedford and on 28th October at the California Ballroom in Dunstable. However, at the Woburn concert, Hendrix played to crowds, unlike the previous year in Dunstable when he was just at the edge of his great fame, the audience was much smaller and it was easy to stand and watch right in front of the stage!

The archive: a history of UK rock festivals, a web site that includes photos. In the list headed 'UK Festivals of the 60s' see the links 'Festival of Flower Children. Woburn 67' and 'Woburn 68'
60 years of social survey 1941 2001, by the Office for National Statistics, 2001
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Page last updated: 4th February 2014