THIS DAY IN THE YESTERYEAR: FIRST ROCK FESTIVAL HELD IN THE SOVIET UNION (1980)

First Rock Festival Held in the Soviet Union (1980)

Dubbed the “Soviet Woodstock,” the 1980 Tbilisi rock festival is widely considered the turning point in the history of Russian rock music. Held in Tbilisi—capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic—the event was the USSR‘s first official rock festival. However, unlike Woodstock, the high point of youth counterculture in the US, freedom of expression at Tbilisi-80 was limited, and the jury stormed out after one performer’s provocative moves. Which bands performed at the event? More…Discuss

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