A Gathering of the Tribes
Encyclopedia
A Gathering of the Tribes was a two-day music festival organized by The Cult
's Ian Astbury
with Bill Graham (promoter)
at the head of Bill Graham Productions. This two day music and culture festival was a precursor to the Lollapalooza
touring festivals of the 1990s. Held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View
and the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa
on October 6 and 7th 1990, the artists featured were Soundgarden
, Ice T
, Indigo Girls
, Queen Latifah
, Joan Baez, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop
, The Charlatans UK, The Cramps
, The Mission U.k. and Public Enemy. Ice T (in 1991) and Soundgarden (in 1992 and 1996) would later go on to play at Lollapalooza.
Due to recent violence at Public Enemy concerts, Public Enemy did not appear on the bill for the first concert in Mountain View. The news covered the potential security cancellation all day. The crowd was starting to drive in. Before disappointed Public Enemy fans arrived at the The Tent, it was announced they would not be performing.
Lenny Kravitz, also on the bill, did not perform that day.
Joan Baez sang a duet with The Inidgo Girls. Chris Cornell rocked his hair. Iggy Pop cut himself with glass and was bleeding during his performance of Lust For Life. The Cramps stole the evening. Queen Latifa and Ice T were at the top of their game and ruled the stage during the day. The gathering was a diverse, exciting sharing of a concert space of large pop sub-cultures that did not at that time normally attend concerts together. These two days capped a period of extreme eclectic cultures - Rap, Modern Rock, Grunge, Classic Rock, and Folk and brought them together in a way that defined the rest of the decade.
While the both concerts were sold out and the event influential, they were also problematic for Astbury. He believes he spent $50,000 of his own money without a profit return.
Held at the height of a "retro-sixties" psychedelic era, LSD, mushroom and marijuana use was commonplace in the crowd. The two day multi-location California event was held to raise money for and awareness of Native-American-related causes. Tribal Native American blessings were performed from the stage at the start each day's of music. The Cult leader was inspired by a chance meeting while on a 1989 tour with Metallica in North Dakota. After watching a Native American man fix his truck, he was invited to his house for dinner.
During an animated conversation, he found his new friend was about to study resource management at college to help purify his tribe's drinking water. "Then he asked me what I was doing for my community," Astbury recalled. "I could only answer 'Fuck all' and that came as a bad shock to me....I began to plan the Gathering of the Tribes, which was definitely the inspiration for Lollapalooza."
festival called Gathering of the Tribes was first held in Maryland in 1967 by Y Tylwyth Teg then by the Celtic Church of Dynion Mwyn, Inc. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/history.html The Gathering of the Tribes, hosted by Darkwood and the Celtic Church of Dynion Mwyn (Tylwyth Teg) was held at PanGaea Sanctuary in Georgia in 2008, which was the same event. The Dynion Mwyn/Y Tylwyth Teg Gathering is not affiliated with or associated with any other festival using the name Gathering of the Tribes, whether held in the U.S. or a foreign country. They have held the Gathering of the Tribes since 1967 in various locations: Forests of Maryland, near Atlanta Georgia, near Athens, Georgia, Unicoi State Park, near Waterloo, Iowa, Faerie Glen in South Carolina, Avalon Isle in Tennessee and several other locations including Indian Springs State Park, and Etowah River Campgrounds in Georgia. They claim that their Gathering of the Tribes was the original Pagan Gathering of the Tribes. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/gathering.html
There was another Pagan
festival called Gathering of the Tribes which was held in Virginia, both in the spring and the fall, and sponsored by Out of the Dark, Inc. & FCMS Inc. They falsely claimed that the one run by Y Tylwyth Teg copied them and their materials. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/plagerize.html After their founder, Betsy Ashby lost access to Blackwater Campground, they were asked to leave. Another group, Herding Cats, took over and their Phoenix and Ashes Gathering has been held there since 2010. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/HerdingCats/herdingcats.html
A Gathering of the Tribes is also the name of an alternative Rainbow Gathering
, held in Missouri and described as a Peaceful Freedom Assembly.
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
's Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury is an English rock musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist for the rock band, The Cult.-Pre-Cult:...
with Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
at the head of Bill Graham Productions. This two day music and culture festival was a precursor to the Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
touring festivals of the 1990s. Held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
and the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
on October 6 and 7th 1990, the artists featured were Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, Ice T
Ice T
Tracy Marrow , better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American musician and actor.He was born in Newark, New Jersey and moved to the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles when he was in the 7th grade. After graduating from high school he served in the United States Army for four years...
, Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
, Joan Baez, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, The Charlatans UK, The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
, The Mission U.k. and Public Enemy. Ice T (in 1991) and Soundgarden (in 1992 and 1996) would later go on to play at Lollapalooza.
Due to recent violence at Public Enemy concerts, Public Enemy did not appear on the bill for the first concert in Mountain View. The news covered the potential security cancellation all day. The crowd was starting to drive in. Before disappointed Public Enemy fans arrived at the The Tent, it was announced they would not be performing.
Lenny Kravitz, also on the bill, did not perform that day.
Joan Baez sang a duet with The Inidgo Girls. Chris Cornell rocked his hair. Iggy Pop cut himself with glass and was bleeding during his performance of Lust For Life. The Cramps stole the evening. Queen Latifa and Ice T were at the top of their game and ruled the stage during the day. The gathering was a diverse, exciting sharing of a concert space of large pop sub-cultures that did not at that time normally attend concerts together. These two days capped a period of extreme eclectic cultures - Rap, Modern Rock, Grunge, Classic Rock, and Folk and brought them together in a way that defined the rest of the decade.
While the both concerts were sold out and the event influential, they were also problematic for Astbury. He believes he spent $50,000 of his own money without a profit return.
Held at the height of a "retro-sixties" psychedelic era, LSD, mushroom and marijuana use was commonplace in the crowd. The two day multi-location California event was held to raise money for and awareness of Native-American-related causes. Tribal Native American blessings were performed from the stage at the start each day's of music. The Cult leader was inspired by a chance meeting while on a 1989 tour with Metallica in North Dakota. After watching a Native American man fix his truck, he was invited to his house for dinner.
During an animated conversation, he found his new friend was about to study resource management at college to help purify his tribe's drinking water. "Then he asked me what I was doing for my community," Astbury recalled. "I could only answer 'Fuck all' and that came as a bad shock to me....I began to plan the Gathering of the Tribes, which was definitely the inspiration for Lollapalooza."
Other Gathering of the Tribes
A PaganNeopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
festival called Gathering of the Tribes was first held in Maryland in 1967 by Y Tylwyth Teg then by the Celtic Church of Dynion Mwyn, Inc. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/history.html The Gathering of the Tribes, hosted by Darkwood and the Celtic Church of Dynion Mwyn (Tylwyth Teg) was held at PanGaea Sanctuary in Georgia in 2008, which was the same event. The Dynion Mwyn/Y Tylwyth Teg Gathering is not affiliated with or associated with any other festival using the name Gathering of the Tribes, whether held in the U.S. or a foreign country. They have held the Gathering of the Tribes since 1967 in various locations: Forests of Maryland, near Atlanta Georgia, near Athens, Georgia, Unicoi State Park, near Waterloo, Iowa, Faerie Glen in South Carolina, Avalon Isle in Tennessee and several other locations including Indian Springs State Park, and Etowah River Campgrounds in Georgia. They claim that their Gathering of the Tribes was the original Pagan Gathering of the Tribes. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/gathering.html
There was another Pagan
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
festival called Gathering of the Tribes which was held in Virginia, both in the spring and the fall, and sponsored by Out of the Dark, Inc. & FCMS Inc. They falsely claimed that the one run by Y Tylwyth Teg copied them and their materials. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/plagerize.html After their founder, Betsy Ashby lost access to Blackwater Campground, they were asked to leave. Another group, Herding Cats, took over and their Phoenix and Ashes Gathering has been held there since 2010. http://www.dynionmwyn.net/HerdingCats/herdingcats.html
A Gathering of the Tribes is also the name of an alternative Rainbow Gathering
Rainbow Gathering
Rainbow Gatherings are temporary intentional communities, typically held in outdoor settings, and espousing and practicing ideals of peace, love, harmony, freedom and community, as a consciously expressed alternative to mainstream popular culture, consumerism, capitalism and mass media.Rainbow...
, held in Missouri and described as a Peaceful Freedom Assembly.