Woodstock Festival: Everything You Need to Know About This Historic Event.

The Woodstock Music Festival was born on 15 August 1969, when around half a million people gathered for the festival at a dairy farm near Bethel in New York State. Recognised as a must-experience event, Woodstock lasted for three days of intense peace and music ("Peace and Music"). This epic event would later be referred to simply as Woodstock, becoming synonymous with the 1960s counterculture movement. Woodstock was a success, but the massive concert wasn’t without its troubles: last-minute changes, bad weather, and the sheer volume of attendees caused significant headaches. Despite the rain during the festival, the enormous amounts of drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll made Woodstock a peaceful celebration that secured its place in the history of hippie culture.

The Creation of Woodstock

The Woodstock Music Festival was created by four men, all aged 27 or younger, searching for an event idea that could merge business with their passions for hippie culture and rock. The founders were John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Lang.

These four businessmen were no strangers to the field. Lang had previously organised the Miami Music Festival in 1968, and Kornfeld was the youngest vice-president at Capitol Records. Roberts and Rosenman were New York entrepreneurs involved in building a recording studio in Manhattan. The four men formed Woodstock Ventures, Inc. and decided to organise a music festival.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was the first major act to commit, and their involvement gave Woodstock the credibility it needed to attract other renowned musicians.

Where Was Woodstock?

The initial plan for Woodstock was for the event to take place at Howard Mills Industrial Park in Wallkill, New York.

However, the city officials of Wallkill got cold feet and withdrew from the agreement by passing a law that made it impossible to hold the concert within their jurisdiction.

Woodstock Ventures explored a few other locations, but none panned out. Finally, just a month before the concert, Max Yasgur, a 49-year-old dairy farmer, offered to lease them part of his land in the White Lake area of Bethel, New York, surrounded by the lush Catskill Mountains.

A month before the concert, the four frantic partners jumped at the opportunity and paid the asking price.

Woodstock, Not in the Town of Woodstock

Max Yasgur likely never imagined he would host half a million people on his 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York. But for three consecutive days in August 1969, his bucolic pastures became a hub of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll during Woodstock, the festival that changed the world.

Even though it’s called the Woodstock festival, Yasgur's farm was actually more than 50 kilometres away from the town of Woodstock.

Woodstock Becomes a Free Concert

Woodstock was not meant to be a free concert. However, due to a lack of time and organisation, the concert partners were forced to make the concert free. The main reason was that the ticket booths and security barriers were not ready for the event. With no way to restrict access to the festival and charge attendees (no ticket booth), they had no choice but to make the festival free.

According to Lang in an interview with the Telegraph, "you do everything you can to get the doors and fences finished, but you have your priorities. People are coming, and you have to feed them, take care of them, and give them a show. You have to set your priorities."

With no effective way to charge attendees, Lang and his partners decided to make Woodstock a free event.

A Massive Influx of Festival-goers

Initially, about 50,000 people were expected. But on 13 August, just two days before the concert, that number was already exceeded on-site, and over 100,000 tickets had been sold in advance.

As around a million people descended on Woodstock, the organisers hastily arranged for additional facilities. Highways and local roads became jammed, and many attendees simply abandoned their cars and walked the rest of the way. Eventually, about half a million people arrived at the venue.

The Audience

The Woodstock audience was diverse, reflecting the rapid changes of the time. Some were hippies feeling alienated by a materialistic society, while others were simply rock enthusiasts.

In 1969, the country was embroiled in the controversy of the Vietnam War, a conflict many youths opposed fiercely. It was also the time of the civil rights movement, marked by great turmoil and protests. Woodstock was an opportunity for people to escape into music and spread a message of unity and peace.

Even though the crowd at Woodstock faced bad weather, muddy conditions, and a lack of food, water, and proper sanitary facilities, the general atmosphere remained harmonious. In hindsight, some attribute the absence of violence to the large amounts of psychedelic drugs consumed.

Others believe the hippies simply lived by their mantra of "make love, not war". In fact, many people at Woodstock took that commandment literally and made love anytime and anywhere.

Safety and Security Issues

Doctors, paramedics, and volunteer nurses managed the medical tent at Woodstock. Most injuries were minor, such as food poisoning and injuries from being barefoot.

It was reported that eight women had miscarriages. A teenager died after being run over by a tractor. Another person died from a drug-related incident. But this is minimal compared to the sheer number of festival-goers (half a million).

Security was limited, as off-duty police officers were prohibited from attending. It’s estimated there were no more than a dozen police officers supervising 500,000 people.

Artists at Woodstock

Thirty-two musicians, a mix of local talents and world-renowned acts, performed at Woodstock. Around 5 PM on Friday, 15 August, Richie Havens took the stage and played a 45-minute set.

Havens was followed by an unexpected blessing from yoga guru Sri Swami Satchidananda. The other artists on the first day included:

• Bert Sommer
• Sweetwater
• Melanie
• Tim Hardin
• Ravi Shankar
• Arlo Guthrie
• Joan Baez

Baez performed the end of her set in heavy rain. The first day wrapped up around 2 AM on 16 August.

The second day officially began around 12:15 PM. The lineup for the second day included:

• Quill
• Country Joe McDonald
• John Sebastian
• Keef Hartley Band
• Santana
• The Incredible String Band
• Canned Heat
• Mountain
• The Grateful Dead
• Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Janis Joplin
• Sly and the Family Stone
• The Who
• Jefferson Airplane

The second day wrapped up around 9:45 PM on Sunday, 17 August.

The third day began around 2 PM. Joe Cocker was the first musician to take the stage. The rest of the lineup included:

• Country Joe and The Fish
• Ten Years After
• The Band
• Johnny Winter
• Blood Sweat and Tears
• Crosby Stills Nash and Young
• Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• Sha Na Na
• Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix was the last musician to perform at Woodstock. Delays caused by rain prevented him from taking the stage until early Monday morning, and by the time he performed, the crowd had dwindled to about 25,000 people.

There were also certain artists who refused to participate in the Woodstock event, such as:

• Simon and Garfunkel
• Led Zeppelin
• Bob Dylan
• The Byrds
• The Moody Blues
• The Doors
• Roy Rogers
• John Lennon
• Chicago Transit Authority
• The Rolling Stones

The Legacy of Woodstock

Woodstock officially ended on Monday, 18 August, after Hendrix left the stage. Leaving Woodstock was just as challenging as arriving there. The roads and highways quickly became congested as festival-goers headed home.

The cleanup of the site was a monumental task that took several days, many bulldozers, and tens of thousands of dollars.

In 2006, the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts opened on the hill where the Woodstock Music Festival took place. Today, it hosts outdoor concerts in its beautiful pavilion. There is also a 1960s museum on-site.

Many popular musicians have performed in Bethel Woods, including some who took the stage at Woodstock, such as Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Santana, Arlo Guthrie, and Joe Cocker.

Woodstock may be best summed up by Max Yasgur, the humble farmer who lent his land for the occasion. Addressing the crowd on the third day, he said: "....you have proven something to the world...what you have shown the entire world is that a half million kids, and I call you kids because I have children older than you, half a million young people can get together and have three days of fun, music, and nothing but fun, and music and may God bless you!"

Reliving the Woodstock Festival

Jimi Hendrix performs 'The Star-Spangled Banner' on the last morning of the Woodstock concert in 1969.

Santana performs 'Soul Sacrifice' on the second day of the Woodstock festival in 1969.

Jefferson Airplane performs 'White Rabbit' on the second day of the Woodstock music festival in 1969.

Festival-goers leave the Woodstock festival in 1969, returning to their lives after three days of music, peace, and love.