More than 400,000 young people attended the legendary Woodstock festival on August 15, 1969. The event took place in a dairy farm in the town of Bethel, New York, for The Woodstock Music & Art Fair.
The “3 Days of Peace & Music” featured 32 acts including Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Santana, The Grateful Dead, The Who, and Jefferson Airplane. The festival is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history, with Rolling Stone listing it as one of the 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.
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#1. Event organisers weren’t expecting the massive crowd that turned up. Town officials were assured that only 50,000 people would show up.
#2. But thousands more flocked to the small New York town.
#3. There was so much traffic getting to Woodstock that ambulances couldn’t reach this young man who had suffered a head injury as a result of being thrown from the trunk of a car.
#4. Event organisers eventually started to offer admission free of charge.
#5. Women giving medical care during Woodstock. There were two recorded births at the festival. There were also two deaths: one from a heroin overdose and another when a tractor ran over a sleeping concert goer.
#6. The vibe was electric.
#7. Joe Cocker was among the big names performing.
#8. Woodstock perfectly captured the free spirit of the 1960s.
#9. Jimi Hendrix performed on day three.
#10. In the zone.
#11. People banded together to feed other concert goers.
#12. Spot the sheep.
#13. Woodstock is remembered as being a peaceful event — despite the size of the gathering.
#14. The Who rocking the crowd.
#15. Medical supplies arrived by helicopter.
#16. They don’t design them like they used to.
#17. Max and Miriam Yasgur, the farmers who owned the land on which Woodstock was held.
#18. Epic guitarist Carlos Santana and bassist David Brown performed on day two.
#19. The crowd was so large that at one point New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller considered sending the National Guard.
#20. Naturally, some questionable recreational drug use took place. The sign reads: “have a marijuana”.
#21. David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash performed on day three.
#22. You can almost imagine being there.
#23. Getting a good view.
#24. As you do…
#25. Nudity was fairly common.
#26. Peace, love, and freedom.
#27. Rock music legend Janis Joplin performed on the second day.
#28. Leaving the festival was just as hard as entering.
#29. Definitely not envious of the post-festival cleaning operation.
