Today is the 45th Anniversary of the Watkins Glen Summer Jam
On the weekend of July 28, 1973, The Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead and The Band held a massive concert in Upstate, NY
“Forty-five years ago my girlfriend and I drove her grandfather’s VW bus from LA to Vancouver, British Columbia, across the newly completed TransCanada Highway to St Johns, Newfoundland, down the Eastern Seaboard and home through the south,” recalls Archive.org member Faberglas on the page where the Dead’s four-hour-long performance is available to stream. “After two days of driving around the Great Lakes in the hardest rain we had ever seen, we arrived at Watkins Glen Racetrack in NY to see the Dead. Coming from the north we were able to drive right to the racetrack. We heard the Friday soundcheck and then left just before the rain started. We weren’t going to relive the Woodstock experience. Today is the first time I’m listening to the recording and it’s just how I (barely) remember that day.”
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of this significant event in New York State rock history, which featured at least 600,000 people in attendance, please enjoy these bootleg recordings we found on YouTube of each act in action during the Summer Jam at the Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen…
You can also find the complete Grateful Dead performance from July 28th on YouTube by clicking here.
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Went with 2 others. Never dreamed I’d see so many f—— people in one place ever in my life!!!! Think we paid $25 per ticket – included camping. What a weekend. Tremendous music from three of some of the best bands touring at the time. Sad memory though, seeing the parachutist that perished. Called my buddy today who’s still my best friend – – re-hashed memories of what we could remember LOL