On this day in 1969, the Woodstock Festival
concluded. During the three day music festival, thirty-two acts performed,
sometimes in the rain. The fete is largely considered a galvanizing moment for
both pop and rock music, as well as for the counterculture movement that was
building at the time. Songs
played at that event and later to commemorate the event are still well-known
and iconic.
The logistics of the festival itself were a disaster. The
for-profit venture was initiated through the efforts of Lang, Kornfeld,
Rosenman and Roberts – a mixed group of promoters, bankrollers and a musican. Creedance
Clearwater Revival was booked as the first act in April 1969, before the venue
had even been secured. The team, mired in local bureaucratic roadblocks and
resident opposition, eventually settled on the natural “bowl” design of Yasgur’s
Dairy Farm, and the town of Wallkill (the original venue location, and the site
of the proposed follow-up recording studio) lost out eventually on what could
have been lasting economy, tourism and fame.
Once settled on the late-change of venue, the
promoting team was presented with a bigger problem: they had few resources to build amenities and were left with the options to either build fencing and a ticket booth, or a stage. Afraid that the lack of
stage would cause disgruntled talent and audience, they opted for the latter.
As a result, those without tickets simply walked into the area, never bothering
to pay. And though the audience was estimated at 400,000, as a
result of the lack of fencing, the promoting team was forced to make the event
free, and were nearly bankrupt at the end of the weekend. But their ownership
of the film and recording rights more than covered their losses eventually,
proving that sometimes concession can lead the way to success.
The legacy of Woodstock is far reaching,
showing up in films, music, and
artwork…even eventually informing the name of this character:
Michael Lang said in 2014 that he is working toward
a 50th anniversary concert in 2019.
