Festival year 1970

During the first five years of the festival the concerts were organized by amateurs who ran the association – people mainly learned from mistakes. The festival was cozy and home made. Volunteer workers did everything.

Summer 1970 was a turning point for the festival. The steady growth of the audience attending the festival lead the organizers to think about developing the association.

The first research was published in March stating that though people mainly wanted the festival to consist of jazz, there were also some wishing to hear blues as well.

The festival was held from July 17th to 19th and some 15 000 people were expected to attend. A pontoon bridge had been built to connect the Kirjurinluoto Island to the mainland so now it was easier to stay on schedule. It rained during the week before the festival but just before the concerts started the sun started shining.

Pori Jazz 70 -festival had a sell-out crowd with 17 000 tickets sold. There were plenty of good Finnish musicians but for some reason the critics weren’t all that happy with the performances of the foreign musicians.