Geezerpalooza on Industrial, Oct. 20
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Excerpts reprinted from a Discover Denton article by Kim Phillips
Is an article about Pop and Rock festivals “out-of-bounds” for Denton Jazz Chronicles. Yes. I couldn’t resist relating details of the Oct. 20th Industrial Street International Pop Festival and the 1969 Texas International Pop Festival it honors.
I cannot think of a more fitting way to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of what was at the time Texas‘ largest 3-day, open-air, Woodstock-esque event, just down I-35 in the Lewisville area. Kim Phillips, Vice President of the Denton Convention & Visitors Bureau, has just released an article, Industrial Street International Pop Festival aka “Geezerpalooza, a Denton Original.”
Texas International Pop Festival Original Promo Poster
…two weeks after the famous Woodstock festival. Over 100,000 people, hippies included, converged on the then sleepy little town for a Woodstock repeat in the area of Lewisville now known as Waters Ridge, just off I-35 E. The A-train actually runs right through the original site and an historical marker placed there just a few years ago will tell the story of the 3-day-long Texas Woodstock for generations to come. It was called the Texas International Pop Festival and featured many of the Woodstock flock on stage: Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Santana, Canned Heat, plus a lot of the era’s greats that skipped New York like Led Zeppelin and B.B. King.
To commemorate and re-live that wondrous event, Industrial Street International Pop Festival aka “Geezerpalooza, a Denton Original” comes to Denton on Sunday, October 20, from 1-7 p.m.
The geezer team is headed up by Geezer-in-Charge (GIC) Randy Robinson (President of Access Bank) along with Tim House, Richard Hayner, Dan Mojica, Shaun Treat, Pete Kamp, and a few helpers like Julie Glover and yours truly (Kim Phillips). The event will unfold in the heart of Denton’s music scene, the Industrial Street entertainment district, surrounded by Denton’s hot spots for food and beverages. Back porch conversation areas are designated for ’69 alums to
rehash the old days. And, the festival hours keep bedtime in mind, so we can make it to work feeling chipper on Monday.
Dan Mojica (Dan’s Silverleaf) is the music planner and he’s got quite the lineup of super tribute bands playing the genres of our younger years:
- Psycho Pony – Crazy Horse/Neil Young
- The Buick Six – Bob Dylan
- The Allmost Brothers – The Allman Brothers
- Remain in Light – Talking Heads
- Forgotten Space – The Grateful Dead
Everyone is invited, and it’s free, though donations benefiting Serve Denton are welcome.
Check out details on Facebook: Industrial Street International Pop Festival.
To sponsor, volunteer, or get involved, contact the GIC Randy Robinson at (817) 996-5076.
To learn more about the 1969 event in Lewisville, visit the Texas International Pop Festival –http://www.cityoflewisville.com/index.aspx?page=896
(www.discoverdenton.com/)
Related articles
- Watch Led Zeppelin Perform at the 1969 Texas International Pop Festival (wzlx.cbslocal.com)
