Woodstock Music & Art Fair 1969

by Felix P: Roger Daltrey

The Woodstock Music & Art Fair in upstate New York wound down on Sunday, August 17, 1969, after more than three days defined by peace, love, and rock 'n' roll. Rain and various delays forced the event, which was originally meant to conclude before midnight, into a marathon session that lasted well past dawn. The festival had been conceived under the banner of "Three Days of Peace and Music." It was organized by John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Lang. Their primary objective was to generate funds for a recording studio near the town of Woodstock. When they could not secure a location there, they selected a 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York, situated about 50 miles away and owned by Max Yasgur. Ticket sales reached 186,000 by the weekend, with organizers anticipating an attendance cap of 200,000. However, thousands of early arrivals crowded the gates on Friday night. The promoters decided to open the concert free of charge because they feared an inability to control the swelling crowds. Ultimately, nearly half a million people attended, resulting in eight miles of traffic jams around Bethel. The audience, composed mostly of young "hippies," stood in muddy fields soaked by rain while watching performances from Janis Joplin, Arlo Guthrie, Joe Cocker, Joan Baez, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Many of these musicians performed songs opposing the Vietnam War, a sentiment shared by the vast majority of the crowd. The Who took the stage in the early morning hours of August 17. Roger Daltrey performed "See Me, Feel Me" from Tommy as the sun rose. Jimi Hendrix closed the festival on the morning of August 18 with a searing, improvisational guitar rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Conditions throughout the event were chaotic. Bathroom facilities and first-aid tents proved inadequate for the massive crowd. Despite this, there were surprisingly few acts of violence. One teenager was accidentally killed by a tractor, and another individual died from a drug overdose. The phrase "Woodstock Nation" later emerged to describe the youth counterculture of the 1960s. Subsequent attempts to revive the festival yielded mixed results. Woodstock II took place in 1994 in Saugerties, New York, attracting about 300,000 people despite recurring rain and mud. A 1999 edition was far less successful. A major 50th-anniversary celebration planned for 2019 never came to fruition.