Woodstock, The Festival That Defined An Era, Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The year was 1969 and it was a year that would forever change the music industry. Or, to be a bit more specific, the face of music festivals as we know it.

It was an event held at an alfalfa farm in New York and it was a celebration of peace, love, and music. Estimated figures tell us that there were about 400,000 to 500,000 attendees during the 3-day festival. The performers, meanwhile, was a solid line up of 32 artists that included Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and The Who, among many others.

Simply put, it was one heck of a party.

Woodstock has since been known not only as a game changer but also as a generation’s “cultural touchstone,” as a news site described it. And now that it’s celebrating its 50th anniversary, fans couldn’t help but look back at the one-of-a-kind festival.

It all began when four men namely Michael Lang, Artie Korn field, John Roberts, and Joel Rosen an pooled in their resources to create a music festival that would promote a recording studio. Back then, tickets for Woodstock were priced at $18 and the organizers only expected about 200,000 attendees. However, they were left without a choice but declare it a free concert once the event drew in more festival goers than they ever imagined.

The crowd’s energy didn’t die down despite the rain, the mud, and even the food shortage they experienced during the 3-day festival.

Major and minor setbacks aside, Annie Birch, one of the festival goers back then, said that Woodstock was indeed “so peaceful, given all that mass of humanity.”

Birch, now 70 years of age, added:

“That crazy rain, we had an amazing fire that never went out. All those bands became iconic. It was just like wow, let’s get together in a big way… It was amazing. I was happy to be a part of that experience.”

Watch this short documentary about Woodstock ’69: