The “Summer of Love” represented a pivotal moment in the 1960s political movement – the mix of music, psychedelic drugs, sexual freedom, creativity, and politics fostered the perfect environment for a distinct counterculture often referred to as hippies.
The event itself though occurred in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in 1967, when over 100,000 individuals flooded the area in an act of subversion, excitement, and cultural rebellion for a ‘human be-in’.
It’s been fifty years now and the city has embraced the anniversary. They’re not limiting the 50th anniversary celebration to simply recreating the live music and hippie explosion of 1967. There are museum exhibits throughout the metropolitan area.
The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMFA) has partnered with Adobe to create an augmented reality app in which users can write each other messages of love and support to find throughout the city. This partnered with their current Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia exhibit. The app also provides you with information about historical landmarks, including facts about the original live music in 1967.
As a means of celebrating that pivotal summer, previously the city of San Francisco honored the 40th anniversary with a concert featuring McDonald, Moby Grape, Taj Mahal, and more.
The 50th anniversary party was planned by Boots Hughston, who planned the 40th party, and promised to be even better. The lineup included artists“Eric Burdon and War, Country Joe McDonald, Santana Blues Band‘s original rhythm section, and the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane, who performed at the original gathering in 1967.
Unfortunately, the permit for the 50th anniversary of ‘Summer of Love’ concert and party was denied by the city. They cited concerns for “public safety” as the reason for the denial. There is currently a petition to convince local government to allow the concert to proceed, and is close to its goal of 2000 signatures.
Here at Four Over Four, we’re all about the freedom to listen to live music, so we’d say we gave the petition a little lovin’. Get involved here.
