Complementing the 1971 Festival's three thematic programs, a Main Stage featured performances introducing the diversity of American musical traditions and drawing together participants from each of the other programs. Highlights of the Main Stage programming included a Roots of Rock concert exploring the tributaries that shaped contemporary rock music; a New Music in the New World concert tracing the diversity of music for the five-string banjo and diverse ensemble traditions of African, French and Spanish origin; and a Hootenany that included a labor songfest and a blues and soul dance. Throughout the day, similar presentations offered the chance to experience diverse forms of contemporary traditional music and to compare related traditions from two or more of the Festival's programs.