Edition timeline
Central Park Conservancy traces the summer series at Wollman Rink to 1967, when the Rheingold-sponsored programme included Jimi Hendrix and the Young Rascals.
Central Park Conservancy traces the summer series at Wollman Rink to 1967, when the Rheingold-sponsored programme included Jimi Hendrix and the Young Rascals.
Schaefer Brewing took over sponsorship in 1968, after which the event became widely known as the Schaefer Music Festival.
Schaefer Brewing took over sponsorship in 1968, after which the event became widely known as the Schaefer Music Festival.
Promoter Ron Delsener and club owner/promoter Hilly Kristal are associated with the series; ticket prices remained deliberately low compared with major commercial arena shows.
Promoter Ron Delsener and club owner/promoter Hilly Kristal are associated with the series; ticket prices remained deliberately low compared with major commercial arena shows.
The rink's relatively modest capacity created an unusually intimate setting for artists who were becoming arena-scale stars.
The rink's relatively modest capacity created an unusually intimate setting for artists who were becoming arena-scale stars.
ABC filmed July 1971 concerts for the television special Good Vibrations from Central Park, providing a useful surviving broadcast layer.
ABC filmed July 1971 concerts for the television special Good Vibrations from Central Park, providing a useful surviving broadcast layer.
Why this event matters
The key story is affordability and urban access. This was not a remote counterculture encampment but a city-run/public-space concert tradition that let New Yorkers see major artists for a few dollars. Central Park Conservancy traces the summer series at Wollman Rink to 1967, when the Rheingold-sponsored programme included Jimi Hendrix and the Young Rascals.
Place, site and audience
Schaefer Brewing took over sponsorship in 1968, after which the event became widely known as the Schaefer Music Festival. Promoter Ron Delsener and club owner/promoter Hilly Kristal are associated with the series; ticket prices remained deliberately low compared with major commercial arena shows.
What the audience experienced
The rink's relatively modest capacity created an unusually intimate setting for artists who were becoming arena-scale stars. ABC filmed July 1971 concerts for the television special Good Vibrations from Central Park, providing a useful surviving broadcast layer.
What happened afterward
Schaefer Music Festival 1967–1976 is followed through later editions, institutional change and its documented endpoint.
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Follow the festival beyond the field
Timeline
Related genres
More routes will be connected as the archive grows.
Related band guides
More routes will be connected as the archive grows.
Explore by sound
More routes will be connected as the archive grows.
Essential listening
Sources and further reading
- Central Park Conservancy – Concerts of NoteEditorial source spine · accessed 23 July 2026
- Led Zeppelin official – Wollman Rink / Schaefer Music FestivalEditorial source spine · accessed 23 July 2026
Image credits5 licensed images
A large audience at the Schaefer bandstand during a Judy Collins concert. This NARA photograph is direct documentation of the Central Park series — Suzanne Szasz — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
Jimi Hendrix performing in Helsinki in 1967. Central Park Conservancy documents Hendrix in the first Wollman Rink season; this is artist context, not a Schaefer-stage image — Marjut Valakivi — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
Jimi Hendrix in 1967, providing close-period context for the first summer series at Wollman Rink. The separate venue is explicit — Anonymous Unknown author — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
A later Central Park view, used to locate the urban landscape around the summer series. It does not depict a historical concert — Dietmar Rabich — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source record · CC BY-SA 4.0
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
A second later Central Park view, used as clearly dated site context rather than 1960s or 1970s festival documentation — Dietmar Rabich — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source record · CC BY-SA 4.0
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.