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

The Woodstock Music Festival began on August 15, 1969, with a half a million people waiting for the festival to start on a dairy farm near Bethel, New York. Known as an experience of a lifetime, Woodstock was a festival that lasted for three days of intense peace and music ("Peace and Music"). The epic event would later become simply known as Woodstock and became synonymous with the countercultural movement of the 1960s. Woodstock was a success, but the massive concert did not go off without a hitch: last-minute changes, bad weather, and throngs of attendees caused major headaches. Despite the rain during the festival, the vast quantities of drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll, Woodstock was a peaceful party and solidified 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, who were searching for an idea for an event that could blend business with their passion for hippie and rock culture. The founders were John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Lang.

These four businessmen were not new to the game. Lang had previously organized 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 organize a music festival.

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

Where Was Woodstock?

The original plan for Woodstock envisioned the event taking place at the Howard Mills Industrial Park in Wallkill, New York.

However, the city officials of Wallkill were spooked and backed out of the agreement by enacting a law that eliminated any possibility of holding the concert there.

Woodstock Ventures explored several other sites, but none worked out. Finally, just a month before the concert, Max Yasgur, a 49-year-old dairy farmer, offered to rent them a portion of his land in the White Lake area of Bethel, New York, nestled among the lush Catskill Mountains.

A month before the concert, the frenzied 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 pastoral pastures became a crossroads of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll during Woodstock, the music festival that changed the world.

Even though it's called the Woodstock festival, Yasgur's dairy farm was not even within walking distance of the town of Woodstock; it was over 50 kilometers away.

Woodstock Becomes a Free Concert

Woodstock was not supposed to be a free concert. However, due to time constraints and disorganization, 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's start. With no way to restrict access to the festival and collect fees from 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 gates and fences done, but you have your priorities. People are coming; you have to feed them, take care of them, and put on a show. So you have to set priorities."

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

A Huge Influx of Festivalgoers

Initially, around 50,000 people were expected. But on August 13, two days before the concert, that number had already gathered onsite, and over 100,000 tickets had been sold in advance.

As around a million people descended on Woodstock, the organizers rushed to add more facilities. Highways and local roads came to a halt, and many attendees simply abandoned their cars and made the rest of the journey on foot. Ultimately, around half a million people made it to the site.

The Audience

The Woodstock audience was diverse and reflected the fast-changing times. Some were hippies who felt alienated by a society saturated with materialism, while others were simply rock lovers.

In 1969, the country was embroiled in the Vietnam War controversy, a conflict that many young people strongly opposed. It was also the era of the civil rights movement, a time of great turmoil and protest. Woodstock provided an opportunity for people to escape into music and spread a message of unity and peace.

Although the crowd at Woodstock faced bad weather, muddy conditions, and a lack of food, water, and adequate sanitation, the overall atmosphere was harmonious. In retrospect, some attribute the absence of violence to the large amount of psychedelic drugs consumed.

Others believe the hippies were simply living their mantra of "make love, not war". Indeed, many people at Woodstock took this commandment literally and made love anywhere and anytime.

Safety and Security Issues

Doctors, paramedics, and volunteer nurses staffed the Woodstock medical tent. Most injuries were minor, such as food poisoning and injuries related to being barefoot.

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

Security was limited, as off-duty police officers were banned from the site. It’s estimated there were not more than a dozen police officers to monitor 500,000 people.

Performers at Woodstock

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

Havens was followed by an impromptu blessing from yoga guru Sri Swami Satchidananda. Other performers on the first day included:

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

Baez finished her set in pouring rain. The first day concluded around 2 AM on August 16.

The second day officially started around 12:15 PM, with the lineup including:

• 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 ended around 9:45 PM on Sunday, August 17.

The third day began around 2 PM. Joe Cocker was the first musician to perform. 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 from the rain kept him from going on stage until early Monday morning, and by the time he played, the crowd had dwindled to about 25,000 people.

There were also some artists who declined 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 came to an end on Monday, August 18, after Hendrix left the stage. Leaving Woodstock was not any easier than getting there. Roads and highways quickly became congested as festival attendees returned home.

Cleaning up the site was a colossal 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 the woods of Bethel, including some who took the stage at Woodstock, like Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Santana, Arlo Guthrie, and Joe Cocker.

Woodstock may be best described by Max Yasgur, the humble farmer who offered his land for the occasion. Addressing the audience on the third day, he said: "....you have proved something to the world...what you have proved to the whole world is that half a million kids, and I call you kids because I have children that are 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.