Woodstock-festivalen | Alt du trenger å vite om denne historiske begivenheten.

The Woodstock Music Festival began on August 15, 1969, when half a million people gathered at a nearby dairy farm in Bethel, New York, eagerly awaiting the festival’s opening. Known as an experience of a lifetime, Woodstock was a festival that featured three days of intense peace and music (“Peace and Music“). This epic event would later simply be known as Woodstock and become synonymous with the 1960s countercultural movement. Although Woodstock was a success, the massive concert faced challenges: last-minute changes, inclement weather, and overwhelming crowds led to significant headaches. However, despite the rain during the festival, the immense amounts of drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll made Woodstock a peaceful celebration that earned its place in the history of hippie culture.

Creating Woodstock

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

Woodstock Creators / Producers

These four businessmen weren’t new to the event scene. 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. Together, they formed Woodstock Ventures, Inc. and decided to host a music festival.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was the first major act to sign on, giving Woodstock the credibility it needed to draw in other renowned musicians.

Where Was Woodstock?

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

However, local officials in Wallkill got cold feet and backed out of the agreement by passing a law that eliminated any possibility of hosting the concert in their area.

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

With only a month to go before the concert, the four frantic partners jumped at the opportunity and paid the asking price.

Woodstock, Not in the Town of Woodstock

Sign Indicating the Location of the Woodstock Concert

Max Yasgur likely never imagined he would welcome half a million people to his 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York. But for three consecutive days in August 1969, his pastoral pastures became a hub for 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 miles away.

Woodstock Turns Into a Free Concert

Woodstock Concert

Woodstock was not meant to be a free concert. However, due to the lack of time and organization, the concert partners were forced to make the concert free. The main reason was that the ticket booths and security barriers weren’t ready in time for the start of the event. With no way to restrict access to the festival or 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 gates and fences finished, but you have your priorities. People are coming; you need to be able to feed them, take care of them, and give them 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 Festival-Goers

Woodstock Festival 500,000 People

Initially, about 50,000 people were expected. But by August 13, just two days before the concert, that number had already been surpassed, with over 100,000 tickets sold in advance.

As approximately one million people headed to Woodstock, the organizers rushed to add more facilities. Highways and local roads became congested, and many attendees simply abandoned their cars and trekked the rest of the way on foot. Ultimately, about half a million people made it to the site.

The Audience

The Audience of Woodstock

The audience at Woodstock was diverse and reflected the rapid changes of the era. Some were hippies feeling alienated by a society steeped in materialism, while others were simply rock lovers.

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

Though the crowd at Woodstock faced bad weather, muddy conditions, and lacked adequate food, water, and sanitation facilities, the overall atmosphere remained harmonious. In retrospect, some attribute the absence of violence to the large presence of psychedelic drugs used.

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

Safety and Security Issues

Woodstock Participant on a Rafter Without Security

Doctors, paramedics, and volunteer nurses ran the medical tent at Woodstock. Most injuries were minor, like food poisoning and injuries from going barefoot.

Reports indicated that eight women suffered miscarriages. One teenager died after being run over by a tractor. Another person died of a drug-related incident. But this remains minimal compared to the large number of festival-goers (half a million).

Security was limited since off-duty police officers were banned. It’s estimated that there were no more than a dozen police officers supervising 500,000 people.

Performers at Woodstock

Artists Present at the Woodstock Event

Thirty-two musicians, a mix of local talent and world-renowned artists, 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 unexpected blessing from yoga guru Sri Swami Satchidananda. Other artists on the first day included:

Baez performed the end of her set in heavy rain. Day one concluded around 2 AM on August 16.

The second day officially began around 12:15 PM. The line-up for the second day was:

  • 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

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

The third day began around 2 PM. Joe Cocker was the first artist 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 performer at Woodstock. Delays caused by rain prevented him from hitting the stage until early Monday morning, and by the time he performed, the crowd had dwindled to about 25,000 people.

There were also several artists who declined to participate in the Woodstock event, including:

  • 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

The Woodstock Festival Film

Woodstock officially ended on Monday, August 18, after Hendrix had left the stage. Leaving Woodstock was not any easier than arriving. 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, requiring numerous 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 at the 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 described by Max Yasgur, the humble farmer who offered his land for the event. Addressing the audience on the third day, he said, “….you have proven something to the world…what you have proven to the entire world is that half a million young people—and I call you young because I have children older than you—half a million young people can gather and have three days of fun, music, and nothing but fun, and music, and God is my witness!”

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.

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

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