In August of 1969, the most famous music festival in American history occurred near Bethel,
New York.
What was this remarkable event?
How did it happen?
The music festival now known as Woodstock was originally conceived by Michael Lang,
Artie Kornfeld, Joel Rosenman, and John P. Roberts.
They were a group of promoters and entrepreneurs who formed Woodstock Ventures and envisioned
a large music festival somewhere in New York.
Initially, they had difficulty finding a suitable venue, as more than one community rejected
their offer.
After considerable searching, they were introduced to Max Yasgur, a dairy farmer.
Yasgur agreed to allow them to hold the concert on his land, despite opposition from the local
residents of the nearby town of Bethel, New York.
The concert was set for Friday, August 15th through Sunday, August 17th of 1969.
Tickets for the concert cost $18 in advance and were to be $24 at the gate (in today’s
currency, this is approximately $120 and $160).
The tickets were sold in record stores in the New York City area or could be purchased
by mail.
More than 185,000 tickets were sold, and the concert promoters anticipated about 200,000
to arrive.
However, because of the difficulty finding a venue, the promoters did not have enough
time complete the facilities before concert-goers started arriving.
All resources had to be placed in completing the stage.
As a result, the fences and ticket booths were never finished.
Thousands upon thousands of people began to arrive on Wednesday and Thursday, quickly
overwhelming the concert organizers.
They were forced to allow people in for free, because there were no ticket booths or fences
to keep them out.
As more people continued to arrive, traffic quickly became an issue.
Some were forced to park miles away and walk to the venue.
Reports indicate that traffic jams extended for as much as seventeen miles, with some
sitting in traffic for over eight hours.
At one point, it was even announced that the New York State Thruway had been closed, but
this never officially happened.
As a result of the abysmal traffic (and subsequent news reporting about it) many potential concert-goers
stayed away and chose not to attend.
Food and water supplies quickly became a major issue as the crowd continued to swell.
Far more people had arrived than the promoters were planning.
This caused most of the food concessions to be used up prior to the concert even starting.
All of those attending were forced to find food wherever they could.
Some had brought food and water with them and shared it with those in need.
The grocery stores and restaurants in nearby Bethel quickly ran out of food as well.
Volunteers from the community began making thousands of sandwiches that were then flown
in by helicopter to help feed the large number of people.
Sanitation also quickly became an issue.
The promoters had procured a large number of portable restrooms for the event, but as
the number of people continued to grow, it quickly became apparent that these facilities
were not adequate.
Many had to stand in long lines, waiting to use the restroom, while others just went where
they could.
A nearby pond, known as Filippina Pond, became a popular spot for bathing.
The weather was horrible for most of the weekend.
Rain fell intermittently throughout the entire event, which turned the grounds into a sea
of mud.
The rain also wreaked havoc on the musical performances, resulting in long delays between
performers.
For example, Joe Cocker performed at 2:00 PM on Sunday afternoon, but because of rainfall,
the next performer did not take the stage until 6:30.
The weather also created another more serious issue.
Standing water on the stage presented the real possibility and fear that performers
might be electrocuted.
The concert itself is nearly unrivaled in the annals of music history.
Thirty-two acts took the stage over the course of four days.
Amongst those who performed were some of the most legendary names in popular music.
Arlo Guthrie, Ravi Shankar, and Joan Baez were amongst the nine performers who appeared
on Friday.
Saturday was supposed to feature Santana, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, and Jefferson Airplane, amongst many
others.
However, due to the technical difficulties and the rain delays, The Who found themselves
finishing their performance at sunrise on Sunday.
Jefferson Airplane took the stage at 8:00 AM.
Sunday’s performers included Blood, Sweat, and Tears; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young;
and Jimi Hendrix.
Again, because of weather-related delays, the festival ran on into Monday morning, with
Jimi Hendrix beginning his concert at 8:30 AM.
By this point, the crowd had dwindled to about 30,000, but Hendrix played for two hours.
The highlight of his performance was a stunning rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
which has become one of the defining sounds of the decade.
At its peak, it has been estimated that the crowd at Woodstock reached approximately 450,000.
This crowd included an incredibly diverse group of people from a wide range of backgrounds.
Many were anti-war protesting hippies while others were Vietnam veterans.
African-American civil rights activists, gay and lesbian activists, anti-government protesters,
pro-government protesters, some supporting the legalization of drugs, and still others
opposing the legalization of drugs were all amongst the groups represented.
Yet, still others simply came to hear the great music and incredible performers.
Despite the wide range of people and the miserable conditions, there were very few reported incidents
of violence.
Unfortunately, there were two fatalities reported.
One occurred because of an overdose of insulin, the other when a young man who was sleeping,
was accidentally ran over by a tractor.
There were a large number of other minor medical emergencies such as cut feet and food poisoning.
Most of these were attended to by volunteer doctors and nurses.
There were also two births reported during the event.
After the festival had ended, and the concert-goers had departed, the grounds were a disaster.
It cost $100,000 and required several days to clean up the site.
Enormous amounts of garbage were bulldozed and burned.
The concert promoters, Woodstock Ventures, were sued by local farmers whose lands had
been ruined.
Additionally, Woodstock Ventures had incurred $1.4 million in debt.
This debt and the lawsuit settlements were eventually paid off in 1970 after releasing
the successful documentary, Woodstock, which chronicled the festival.
For years, the town of Bethel attempted to distance itself from the famous music festival.
The community, and the state of New York, even passed laws which barred mass gatherings,
in an effort to prevent it from happening again.
Over time though, the region began to embrace the history associated with Woodstock.
In 1984, a monument was erected dedicating the event.
In 1997, signs were erected, welcoming tourists.
In 2008, The Museum at Bethel Woods was opened to the public.
This museum contains various displays and artifacts related to the Woodstock Music and
Art Fair of 1969.