From the first moments, those who attended the Altamont concert say there was something off about the atmosphere. And it only got worse as the day went along. Scuffles with the Hells Angels, who were there to protect the stage, turned into outright violence. And ultimately, an 18-year-old black man named Meredith Hunter was killed just feet from where The Rolling Stones were playing their headlining set.
In this episode, interviews with the artists and others who were there, along with recordings from the concert, come together to recreate the story of that day and explore the complicated questions around how the situation devolved and whether it could have been prevented.
[To hear about how the idea for the concert came to be, and the red flags leading up to it, listen to Episode one of this two-part series.]
Credits:
Reporter/host: Geoff Edgers
Production/sound design: Bishop Sand
Editing: Carol Alderman with contributions from Lillian Cunningham
Archival audio provided by:
Rhino records
Sony
George Feist
Stefan Ponek’s recordings of KSAN radio on Dec. 7th, 1969, courtesy of Seth Ponek
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