3 Rock Concerts That Changed Music History

All it takes is one concert and the music industry can be changed forever. It has happened a fair few times. Artists are meant to shake up conventions. They are our free-thinkers and our risk takers. They do the hard job–breaking free of the mold–and the rest of the world follows suit. Find three examples of a concert completely shifting the ideals of the music industry as a whole, below.

3 Concerts That Changed Music History

1. Elvis Presley at Pan Pacific Auditorium (1957)

Prior to the late ’50s, sexuality was something that was better left out of the public eye. Artists stuck to family-friendly programming and music never strayed too far to the sensual side. That illusion of pureness was quickly shattered once Elvis (affectionally nicknamed for his gyrating pelvis) skyrocketed into an unsuspecting music industry.

While his entire run as an artist was era-defining, there was one concert in particular that really got his teenage fans’ pulses racing. In 1957, Presley took to Pan Pacific Auditorium to play a particularly sexually-charged show. As history would later find out, that performance was a watershed moment in rock. Long gone were the ideals of shielding the youth from sex. Presley put it center stage with a spotlight on it. Check out an equally as blushing performance from Presley, below.

[RELATED: 3 Eternal Acoustic Classics by Elvis Presley from His 1968 Comeback Special ‘Elvis’]

2. Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Festival (1965)

Though fans might not have expected it, they were privy to a rock concert at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Bob Dylan used his time slot at the festival to make music history. He was about to take his politically-minded, visceral songwriting to the rock world. Needless to say, it was shock not everyone was ready for.

It would become known as the day “Dylan went electric.” Though a small act on paper, it sent shock waves through the folk community. They were about to lose their Bard to the rough-and-tumble ways of rock & roll.

3. The Rolling Stones at Altamont (1969)

The ’60s saw a widespread call for peace from fans and musicians alike. Many songs were written in an effort to bolster that dream and concerts were used as an opportunity to connect with others that felt similarly impassioned by it. That is, until The Rolling Stones came in and pulled the curtain on the “Summer of Love” in 1969. You can’t make a list about world changing concerts and not include the Stones at Altamont.

The band played a free set at the Altamont Speedway. Instead of it becoming a breeding ground for peace fighters, it became one for well…fighters. Violence broke out resulting in one man, Meredith Curly Hunter Jr., being stabbed by the security for the evening: the Hells Angels. Needless to say the sentiment of Altamont was a far cry from Woodstock.

(Photo: Scott Gries/ImageDirect)