On this day in music – August 1, 1971 – George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh took place at New York’s Madison Square Garden. While star-studded benefit concerts would become a common occurrence over the next decade, The Concert for Bangladesh marked the very first event of its kind. Organized by the Beatles alum, alongside Ravi Shankar, the event raised funds and awareness for victims of famine and war in the South Asian country. Over two shows, 40,000 attendees enjoyed a supergroup of players, including Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, members of Badfinger, and Harrison’s former bandmate, Ringo Starr. Recordings of the concert would top the UK chart the following year and earn Harrison a Grammy Award.
Two years earlier, in 1969, the Atlantic City Pop festival kicked off in New Jersey, just two weeks before Woodstock. Taking place at the Atlantic City Race Track, the three-day event featured performances from some of music’s biggest names, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Little Richard, Janis Joplin, Santana, The Byrds, The Mothers of Invention, Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, and Joni Mitchell, who abruptly ended her set after three songs. Allegedly, she was frustrated at the crowd’s lack of attention.
On this day in 1963, the very first edition of Beatles Monthly was published. The fan zine would continue until 1969, following the breakup of the Fab Four, with 77 total editions and a peak circulation of more than 350,000 copies per month.
In 1970, the cult classic Performance premiered in London. The stylish movie, filmed during the height of the swinging sixties, starred Rolling Stones frontman, Mick Jagger, as well as “it girl” Anita Pallenberg, the longtime romantic partner of Keith Richards.
In 1971, Sonny and Cher’s variety show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, premiered on CBS. The show, which featured a mixture of musical performances, banter between the (soon-to-be-former) couple, and sketch comedy, would be hugely popular in the US throughout its run.
Finally, on this day in music in 1987, teenagers across Europe rejoiced as MTV Europe premiered on the continent. The first video? Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing,” which includes the ironic (and iconic) lyric, “I want my MTV.”
BORN ON AUGUST 1
1942: Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead)
1959: Joe Elliot (Def Leppard)
1960: Chuck D
1963: Coolio
1964: Adam Duritz (Counting Crows)
1968: Dan Donegan (Disturbed)
1981: Ashley Parker (O-Town)
The Songs of Summer Festival in Litchfield is coming up – just two weeks from today – on August 15th. It will be held in Memorial Park by Lake Ripley again this year, with gates opening at 4 p.m. and the music starting at 5.
Sarah Jones says there will be three musical acts – Michael Shynes, South 40 and the Fabulous Armadillos, and the already have two of three acts booked already for 2026. She says Memorial Park is a great location which they have utilized now that the Litchfield Area Recreation Center has been constructed on their previous site.
Jones says there will be lots of food vendors at the Songs of Summer Festival. She says you should bring lawn chairs. Amanda Nelson says they’ve selected three youth-related groups to benefit from this year’s festival – the Meeker County 4H Dog Project, the Litchfield Spitfire Special Olympics team, and Boy Scout Troop 353, and the amount they are able to grant to each group is based upon how many raffle tickets they sell. She says raffle tickets are available at Mid-Country Bank in Litchfield and from any board member.
Nelson says more people are welcome to join their board so if you have an interest in volunteering, they could use you as it takes a lot of people to put on this event each year. She says they have lots of great sponsors who help make the Songs of Summer Festival possible and they accept freewill donations for attendance – so give whatever you are able to give. The Litchfield Watercade royalty will be helping with the raffle drawing which will be held around 8 p.m. on August 15th at the Songs of Summer Festival.
The Rox Community Foundation – an arm of the Northwoods League Rox Baseball Club, based in St. Cloud – in partnership with Wells, CliftonLarsonAllen, and NAPA Central, has awarded fifteen $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors across the Central Minnesota area. The students were selected by a panel of judges who carefully reviewed all applications and voted to determine the recipients.
The Rox Community Foundation has awarded $86,000 to central MN students through the scholarship program since 2019. This year saw a record-breaking 285 applications submitted for the Rox Community Foundation Scholarship, 42 more than in 2024, marking the highest number of applicants in the program’s history.
Scholarships were awarded across six application categories: Arts, Athletics, Automotive, Disabilities, Education and Volunteerism. Each category highlights the diverse talents, passions and contributions of students throughout the region.
The winners of the $1,000 scholarships include Addison Hoglund (St. Michael-Albertville High School), Ainsley Kresha (Little Falls Community High School), Brady Cronen (Hancock Public School), Cole Hofstad (Royalton High School), Evan Stoltman (Elk River High School), Faith Beuning (Albany Area High School), Grant Tylutki (Rocori), Graysin Miller (Paynesville Area High School), Josie Bierbaum (Albany Area High School), Joseph Marlette (St. Cloud Tech High School), Kaylee Walklin (Rocori), Madi Wendlandt (Paynesville Area High School), Mitchell Lipinski (Eden Valley-Watkins High School), Riley Geislinger (Eden Valley-Watkins High School) and Sydney Breimon (Maple Lake High School).
Rachel Thiesse, Chief Administrator of the Rox Community Foundation, says every year the decision gets tougher because the applicants just keep raising the bar. She says these students are doing amazing things in the classroom, in their communities and in so many different areas and supporting them through these scholarships is one of the best parts of what the Rox Community Foundation does.
