Before Woodstock, there was this Northwest music festival

And Mossback was there.

Hippies, mud dancing, big name rock and roll bands — you’ve heard about Woodstock, but what about the music festival that came before? Knute Berger takes a trip down memory lane to the mother of all music festivals in the Pacific Northwest. Over Labor Day weekend of 1968, the sleepy logging town of Sultan, Washington played host to the Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter Than Air Fair. Tens of thousands of hippies showed up.

About the Authors & Contributors

Knute Berger

Knute Berger

Knute “Mossback” Berger is Crosscut's Editor-at-Large.

Eric Keto

Eric Keto

Eric Keto is formerly a video producer for Crosscut and KCTS 9.