Woodstock 1969

Three days of Peace and Music

On the 50th anniversary of Woodstock it seemed only fitting to write about it… I have been watching so many documentaries and interviews recently of stories from people that attended!

Woodstock was held at a dairy farm in the town of Bethel, New York and ran from 15th August to 18th August 1969. It was organised by four men all in their 20s. The idea behind the event was to make enough money to build a recording studio near the arty New York town of Woodstock, and it is now known as the most famous and most talked about concert throughout history.

There were over 500,000 people who attended the three day concert. The tickets were originally sold for $18 in advance and $24 at the gate, but the fence was so flimsy it was knocked down and hundreds of thousands more people attended for free. They ran out of food on the Friday night and resorted to concession workers from Food for Love. The army had to air lift in the supplies and the performers. One thing we can learn from this event and the hippy generation is that with 500,000 concert goers there was no violence that occurred – just peace ✌️

The line up of artists was incredible and included:

• Jimi Hendrix
• The Who
• Janis Joplin
• Grateful Dead
• Joe Cocker
• Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
• Joan Baez
• Santana
• Richie Havens
• Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Sly and the Family Stone
• Jefferson Airplane
• Blood, Sweat and Tears
• and so many others

Wow… how impressive!!

There was a lot of nudity, music, love making, drugs, yoga in the fields, fun and games, dancing, and a whole lot more love making and drugs. In interviews they described themselves as “spawning in the water like fish”, swimming and bathing in the same water. There were other stories of babies being born in the fields but no evidence is available.

The concert ended with Jimi Hendrix playing the Star-Spangled Banner.

It would have been a life changing experience to have attended Woodstock. This 3-day festival has changed the world, becoming a cultural touchstone and paving the way for rock festivals and outdoor concerts we attend today.