Concert 10 was a rock concert held at the Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania on July 8 and 9 of 1972. The event attracted an estimated 200,000 people who were met with cold inclement weather, replete with rain and mud. The general atmosphere of the concert was compared to the Woodstock Festival of 1969. Concert 10 represented a successful revival of the American summer rock festival after the repeated failure of U.S. festivals during the previous two years.
Concert production was handled by Concert 10, Inc. First time concert producers Irving Reiss, vice president of the Candygram Company, and attorney George Charak put US$250,000 in escrow to avoid problems paying the artists faced by previous festivals. 66 people were hired from Bill Graham's road crew in Dallas to maintain the sound reinforcement system. 300 security people backed by University karate clubs maintained order, and the raceway's hospital was staffed by six physicians and eight nurses. 65 people from the Lackawanna County Drug Council were on site to handle adverse drug reactions (bad trips) from recreational drug users. The concert was promoted with radio commercials on rock music radio stations in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Concert ticket prices were set at US$11, with 90,000 tickets sold in advance of the show.
The July 8 concert was scheduled from 1-11 p.m. but due to intermittent weather-related delays, ended at 8:45 a.m. on July 9.
Performers
Black Sabbath and Badfinger were scheduled to appear, but canceled. According to Don Heckman of the New York Times, Edgar Winter's band received the greatest reaction from the audience, with long, bluesy rock jams like "Tobacco Road".
July 8th Mother Night - 1:00 p.m. Claire Hamill The Groundhogs Ramatam (w/ Mitch Mitchell) - 6:00 p.m. Bull Angus Cactus Edgar Winter - 10:00 p.m. LACE PAVEMENT
July 9th Emerson, Lake & Palmer - 4:00 a.m. Faces w/ Rod Stewart - 5:00 a.m. Humble Pie The J. Geils Band Three Dog Night - 7:40 a.m.