Description
For most of the 1960s and ’70s Gaithersburg was an entertainment mecca for the greater DC area. The Shady Grove Music Fair—first under a big-top tent and then in a theater-in-the-round venue complete with a revolving stage—hosted Broadway hits and a wide variety of pop, rock and soul singers. Stars included Simon and Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Duke Ellington and even the Jackson 5 for a full week with tickets starting at $4.75. After only 16 years, the curtain dropped in 1978—but what a run!