The Mississippi River Festival was a pioneering experiment in regional cooperation between Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the St. Louis Symphony, which established a residence on the university campus and offered a summer series of concerts and cultural programs in an outdoor amphitheatre constructed on this site. From June 1969 through August 1980, nearly 1.5 million people attended performances here by many of the best artists of the day, including The Who, Elton John, Judy Collins, Bob Hope, B.B. King, Tina Turner, the Allman Brothers, James Taylor, The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, The Beach Boys, Henry Mancini, Gordon Lightfoot, The Grateful Dead, the National Dance Troupe of Zambia, Jean Luc Ponty, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago, Chick Corea, Joni Mitchell, Barry Manilow, Bob Dylan, EmmyLou Harris, Smokey Robinson, Stanley Clark, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Yes, Itzhak Perlman, Van Cliburn, Willie Nelson, and the Eagles. Crowds sat on the grass or beneath the spacious MRF tent, and the excellence of the performances, the unique charm of the setting, and the enjoyment shared by diverse attendees elevated the festival to legendary status among artists and fans. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville also used this site from 1963 to 1982 for commencement exercises involving nearly 35,000 graduates, along with their family and friends, giving the place powerful personal historical significance.
