Outdoor live music events are almost always governed by Murphy’s Law. And the festival colloquially known as the Miami Pop Festival was certainly no exception. These kinds of events have a myriad of logistical tightropes to navigate in order for them to be successful. The performers, vendors, organizers, and attendees all have to be in sync. To quote Top Gun: Maverick, “That’s miracle number one.” The second miracle is having the weather cooperate. “That’s miracle number two.” Unfortunately, the latter didn’t happen.
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Richard O’Barry and Michael Lang hosted their two-day festival in Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida, just north of Miami. Some refer to this event as the Miami Pop Festival. But organizers technically billed the live music event as the 1968 Pop Festival and the 1968 Pop and Underground Festival. Another event that actually was called the Miami Pop Festival took place later that year in December, also in Gulfstream Park…