A rock concert planned for June 22 in the Cushing Memorial Amphitheater on Mount Tamalpais will bring the mountain alive with rock 'n' roll for the first time since 1967, the Summer of Love.
The Mount Tam Jam, a benefit for Mount Tamalpais State Park's rangers and emergency services, will feature New Orleans funk band Galactic, alt rockers Cake, the classic Americana group the Taj Mahal Trio and Marin's Danny Click and the Hell Yeahs.
The show is set for noon to 7 p.m. in the 4,000-seat Cushing Memorial Amphitheater on Mount Tam's East Peak.
"This is pretty historic," said Larry Minikes, president of the Mount Tamalpais Conservation Club, the century-old organization producing the concert.
For decades, the only mass public events allowed in the World War II-era amphitheater have been the six performances of the annual Mountain Play. Coincidentally, this year's play is "The Sound of Music." It begins May 19 and runs Sundays through June 16.
Minikes said it took 46 weeks to win state approval for Tam Jam, even though it's a fundraiser for the state park.
"It's not been easy," he said, noting that the conservation club plans on making it an annual event. He expects the show to gross a minimum of $200,000 in its inaugural year.
"But what our profit will be, we don't know yet," he said.
Mount Tam Jam will be the first rock concert in the amphitheater since the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival on June 10 and 11, 1967, the first outdoor rock festival in history, foreshadowing Woodstock, Altamont and the Monterey Pop Festival, which took place a week later.
Over the two days, some 20,000 young people packed the amphitheater, attracted by a bill that included the Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Marin's Sons of Champlin, Steve Miller, the Doors and the Byrds, among others. Tickets were $2.
Afterward, concerned about the large crowds and worried about public safety and damage to the environment, state officials formed a citizen commission to establish guidelines that essentially barred rock concerts with amplified music. Until now.
Ticket prices have gone up a bit since the Summer of Love. Tam Jam tickets are $25 for kids 12 and younger and $50 to $100 for adults at www.tamjam.inticketing.com. Parking on the mountain is $20, but $4 shuttles will be available from several Mill Valley locations. That evening, Galactic plays an after-party at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley. It's $30 with the purchase of a Tam Jam ticket.
Contact Paul Liberatore via email at liberatore@marinij.com. Follow him on Twitter @LibLarge. Read his blog at blogs.marinij.com/marinmusicman/ ___
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