Description

Author Dan Davis has generously donated a limited batch of his book The Bull Island Rock Festival: The Experience Had by Me and Others at 1972’s Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival to the Indiana Music History Shop, with all proceeds supporting our mission to preserve and celebrate Indiana’s musical legacy.

This captivating paperback chronicles Davis’s personal experience at one of the most infamous and chaotic music festivals in Midwest history. Held in 1972 on the banks of the Wabash River, the festival—officially known as The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival and nicknamed Woodstock on the Wabash—quickly spiraled out of control. Plagued by shortages of food and water, rampant drug use, canceled performances, and the eventual burning of the stage itself, it remains a legendary tale of what can go wrong when thousands gather for music without a plan.

Whether you’re a music historian, festival enthusiast, or curious reader, this book offers a vivid firsthand account of a long-overlooked moment in rock history.