1969: The Year of Woodstock

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a historic event held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York from August 15 to August 18, 1969. Bethel (Sullivan County) is 43 miles southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York. To many, the festival exemplified the counterculture of the 1960s and the "hippie era." Thirty-two of the best-known musicians of the day appeared during the sometimes rainy weekend. Although attempts have been made over the years to recreate the festival, the original event has proven to be unique and legendary. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest moments in music history and was listed on Rolling Stone's 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.

The event was captured in a successful 1970 movie, "Woodstock", and Joni Mitchell's song of the same name became a major hit for music group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Woodstock was a profit-making venture, aptly entitled Woodstock Ventures, only becoming a free festival after it became obvious that the concert was drawing hundreds of thousands more people than the organizers had prepared for. Around 186,000 tickets were sold beforehand and organizers anticipated approximately 200,000 festival go-ers. The fence was purposely cut by the UAW/MF family in order to create a FREE EVENT prompting many more to come to the event. Tickets for the event had cost US$18 in advance (approximately US$100 today adjusted for inflation) and $24 at the gate for all three days. Ticket sales were limited to record stores in the greater New York City area, or by mail via a Post Office Box at the Radio City Station Post Office located in Midtown Manhattan.

Culture

The festival came amidst military conflict abroad and racial discord at home. It was the biggest bash for the Counterculture and is a reminder of the youthful hedonism and 60s excess. It was a culmination of what the Counterculture meant, the bands appealed to the generational gap who were questioning the purpose of American Society. Many of the biggest artists of the 60s were at the Festival and it was their influence on the youth that brought them together to a farm in Bethel to struggle against bad weather, food shortages and poor sanitation. The site of Woodstock had become, for four days, a countercultural mini-nation. Minds were open, drugs were obtainable and love was ³free². It was a festival where nearly 1,600,000 "hippies" came together to celebrate under the slogan of ³three days of peace and music². Especially memorable were the sense of social harmony, the quality of music, and the overwhelming mass of people, many sporting bohemian dress, behavior, and attitudes.

After the concert Max Yasgur, who owned the site holding the event, saw the event as a victory of peace and love. He spoke of how nearly half a million people filled with possibilities of disaster, riot, looting and catastrophe spent the three days with music and peace on their minds. He states that ³if we join them, we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful futureŠ²

Music

Many popular bands of the time were present to perform at the 3-day musical event. Among these were: Country Joe and the Fish, John Sebastian, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Santana, Canned Heat, Janis Joplin, Sly & the Family Stone, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, The Band, Jimi Hendrix, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.