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

The Woodstock Music Festival took place on 15 August 1969, as half a million people waited for the festival to open on a dairy farm near Bethel, in New York State. Recognised as an experience of a lifetime, Woodstock was a festival that lasted three days of intense peace and music ("Peace and Music"). This epic event would later simply be known as Woodstock, becoming synonymous with the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Woodstock was a success, but the massive concert was not without its challenges: last-minute changes, bad weather, and large crowds caused significant headaches. Despite rain during the festival, the huge amounts of drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll made Woodstock a peaceful celebration that deserves its prominent place in the history of the hippie culture.

The Creation of Woodstock

The Woodstock Music Festival was created by four men, all aged 27 or younger, seeking an event idea that could merge 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 scene. 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 talent to sign on, lending 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 in Wallkill were frightened and withdrew from the agreement by passing a law that effectively eliminated any possibility of hosting the concert in their town.

Woodstock Ventures explored several other sites, but none were suitable. 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 near Bethel, New York, surrounded by the lush Catskill Mountains.

With just a month to go before the concert, the four frantic partners seized 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 fields became a crossroads of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll during Woodstock, the music festival that changed the world.

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

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 start of the event. With no way to restrict access to the festival or charge festival-goers (there were no ticket booths), 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 have to feed them, take care of them, and give them a show. So you have to set priorities."

Lacking an effective way to charge attendees, Lang and his partners decided to make Woodstock a free event.

An Enormous Influx of Festival-goers

Initially, around 50,000 people were expected. But by 13 August, two days before the concert, that number was already present on site, and more than 100,000 tickets had been sold in advance.

As about a million people flocked to Woodstock, the organisers hurried to add additional facilities. Highways and local roads became congested, and many attendees simply abandoned their cars and walked the rest of the way. Ultimately, around half a million people gathered at the site.

The Audience

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

In 1969, the country was embroiled in the controversy of the Vietnam War, a conflict that many young people vehemently opposed. It was also the time of the civil rights movement, a period of great unrest 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 experienced 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 amounts of psychedelic drugs used.

Others believe that the hippies were simply living out their mantra of "make love, not war". In fact, many attendees at Woodstock took this command at face value and made love anytime and anywhere.

Safety and Security Issues

Doctors, paramedics, and volunteer nurses operated the Woodstock medical tent. Most injuries were minor, such as food poisoning and bare-foot injuries.

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

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

Performing Artists at Woodstock

Thirty-two musicians, a mix of local talents and worldwide legends, performed at Woodstock. Around 5 p.m. on Friday 15 August, Richie Havens took the stage and delivered a 45-minute set.

Havens was followed by an unexpected blessing from yoga guru Sri Swami Satchidananda. 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 pouring rain. The first day concluded around 2 a.m. on 16 August.

The second day officially began around 12:15 p.m. 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 ended around 9:45 p.m. on Sunday 17 August.

The third day began around 2 p.m. Joe Cocker was the first musician to perform. The remainder 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 due to rain prevented him from taking the stage until early Monday morning, and by the time he performed, the audience had dwindled to about 25,000 people.

There were also some 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

Woodstock officially came to an end on Monday 18 August, after Hendrix left the stage. Leaving Woodstock was no easier than arriving there. The roads and highways quickly became congested as festival-goers tried to return home.

Cleaning up the site was a colossal 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 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 lent his land for the occasion. Addressing the audience on the third day, he said: "....you have proven something to the world...what you have shown the entire world is that half a million children, and I call you children because I have kids older than you, half a million young people can come together and have three days of fun, music, and nothing but fun, and the music and may God bless you!"

Reliving the Woodstock Festival

Jimi Hendrix performs 'The Star-Spangled Banner' the final 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 leaving the Woodstock festival in 1969 to return to their lives after three days of music, peace, and love.