About Woodstock 1994

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Diversity was the theme of Woodstock 1994, the 25th-anniversary celebration of the original Woodstock festival. More than forty artists, representing nearly every genre of popular music, played on two stages over the weekend of August 12 -14, 1994. Three-fourths of Woodstock Ventures, Michael Lang, Joel Rosenman, and John Roberts, reconvened with PolyGram's then-president John Scher to plan the gathering in Saugerties, New York, a few miles from the village of Woodstock, for which the festival had initially been named back in '69. In fact, the bucolic 840-acre Winston Farm, where Woodstock II occurred, had been an early choice for the original fest – but the owners had declined Woodstock Ventures' offer to lease the land.

"Woodstock means different things to different people," Joel Rosenman explains. "For me it has always been about three things: A big community listening to the best bands in the most beautiful setting. After 1969, I felt those elements were essential to any future Woodstock festival."

This time around, logistics and planning went more smoothly than for the original Woodstock, with festival permits secured as early as March 31, 1994 (in '69, that was the approximate date when the initial Wallkill site was found, only to be lost three months later). To deal with the rising costs of mounting such an event, corporate sponsorship was obtained from Pepsi, Apple Computers, and Haagen-Dazs. "Philosophically, it's always bothered me that [the original] Woodstock worked in all respects but as a business venture," Joel Rosenman explained. Its original slogan was "Two More Days of Peace and Music," but a third day, Friday the 12th, was added; tickets for the three days cost $135.

As for the lineup, the producers wanted to include some artists from the past festival and the 1960s music era, as well as young musicians important to a new generation of kids. A member of one of those, Cypress Hill's B-Real, said in advance of Woodstock II: "The whole thing Woodstock represented was just everybody hangin' together for three days. That's hard to do these days. It's going to be interesting to see how it happens this time." The goal was to present a rich musical offering that would appeal to those who attended Woodstock in '69 and their children, possibly even their grandchildren. The festival logo, then, featured two birds (rather than one) perched this time on an electric guitar neck. "I think kids have been tortured by the ‘60s and this is an interesting opportunity to let them have their own event," Michael Lang said at the time. "I hope the kids get to take home a little bit of what the festival was all about."

Over three days, an estimated 350,000 people got to experience music of the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. Music icon Bob Dylan, whom the producers had wanted for the original Woodstock, performed. Also appearing were Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, Santana, Joe Cocker, The Band, and Crosby, Stills and Nash] – all of whom made stellar appearances at the festival back in 1969. Other ‘60s acts included [[The Allman Brothers Band and Traffic[[, who reunited for the occasion. (Going even further back, the producers heard that [[Frank Sinatra wanted to perform, but this did not come to pass.)

Among the genres of music culled from four decades of sounds were: rock, hip-hop, R&B, pop, soul, funk, blues, folk, singer-songwriter, metal, industrial, thrash, punk, grunge, alternative, reggae, gospel, country, electronica, house, and World. Special events included Peter Gabriel's WOMAD troupe, a three-hour presentation of world music, including Oreyema, Xalem, and Hassan Hakmoun, among others. Africa's Youssou N'Dour and Italy's Zucchero added to the international flavor.

A nod to the past, The Band[[ backed [[Woodstock veterans The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, and Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, who'd formed Hot Tuna, as well as Bruce Hornsby (part-time member of The Dead and founder of The Range) and Roger McGuinn, of The Byrds. Another intriguing aggregation was the gospel-soul group, The Sisters of Glory, comprised of vocalists extraordinaire Phoebe Snow, CeCe Penistron, Mavis Staples, Thelma Houston, and Lois Walden.

Looking to the future, Saturday night featured Ravestock, a six-and-a-half hour rave spotlighting The Orb, Orbital, and Deee-Lite. A mix of heavies from three decades of rock, The [[Paul Rodgers Band]] included the Bad Company vocalist flanked by Guns' ‘n Roses guitarist Slash, Journey's axman Neal Schon, Bluesbreaker bassist Andy Fraser, and drummer Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham.

Like the original Woodstock, some fairly new artists broke big – either right before or at the festival: Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge (who'd just come out with Yes, I Am), and The Cranberries, among them. Though not a free festival without gates, as in '69, this time about 50,000 people managed to sneak in, and rain once again pelted festival goers, with mud races gleefully being re-enacted on Saturday afternoon. Green Day, whose manager had played the original Woodstock as a member of Sha Na Na, started an onstage mud fight, and mud-covered bassist Mike Dirnt got smashed in the mouth by an overzealous security guard who mistook him for a stage usurper from the audience. Some young artists paid homage to their predecessors, with The Red Hot Chili Peppers essaying "The Star Spangled Banner" and Melissa Etheridge belting Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart."

Wavy Gravy, a member of the Hog Farm commune who was a big part of the original Woodstock, returned in '94 and did some of the emceeing. "The ‘90s are the ‘60s standing on your head," he pointed out. "I love your spirit!" he told the crowd. "Woodstock is not a geographical location, it's the spirit of the people!"

The proceedings were televised on cable via pay-per-view, with fourteen cameras filming 28 hours of coverage. Part of the festival later appeared in Barbara Kopple's 2001 film, My Generation. "I think the vibe here is amazing," Henry Rollins told Kopple.

Says Michael Lang, "In true Woodstock style, the communal spirit lived, it rained like hell, Mud People abounded, and Woodstock ‘94 made money for everyone but us."

As for Joel Rosenman, "The vibe at Woodstock '94 was mellow. Spirits were high, the music was great, the setting was beautiful and a huge community had a great weekend party in the country. One message was the same [as at the original fest]: as far as the eye could see, there was a vast crowd of people like you, with similar goals with a similar dream of a peaceful world community."

Woodstock 1994 Artists

Woodstock 1994 Attendees

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Woodstock 1994 Dates

08/12/1994 - Woodstock 1994 - NY, Saugerties - United States of America

08/13/1994 - Woodstock 1994 - NY, Saugerties - United States of America

08/14/1994 - Woodstock 1994 - NY, Saugerties - United States of America

Woodstock 1994 Reviews

Show Notes

Melissa Ethridge - Woodstock 1994, Saugerties, NY - 08/13/1994

I listened to this show on the radio, unfortunately. I would love to get a copy , or know where to ...

Candlebox - Woodstock 1994, Saugerties, NY - 08/12/1994

please do it again another woodstock concert for me is the biggest rock festival in the world do a s...

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Woodstock 1994 Official Photos

North Stage set-up	Norths Stage - Melissa Etheridge	North Stage Set-up Thursday afternoon	Mural Wall
North Stage Set-up	North Stage/behind VIP Fence - Joe Cocker on stage	South Stage Friday afternoon	South Stage Friday afternoon

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Woodstock Editor Video Picks

Primus - Primus - My Name is Mud at Woodstock 94	Candle Box - Candlebox Performing Arrow LIVE at WOODSTOCK 94	Collective Soul - Collective Soul-Woodstock 94-Shine	Metallica - Metallica - Woodstock '94(Live)
Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill at Woodstock '94 Part 1 of 11	Blind Melon - Soup live at Woodstock '94	Green Day - Green Day Basket Case (Woodstock 1994)	Metallica - Metallica - Enter Sandman (Woodstock 94)
Metallica - Metallica - One (Woodstock 94)	Rollins Band - Rollins Band - Alien Blueprint (live @ Woodstock '94)	The Cranberries - The Cranberries - Dreams (live at Woodstock 1994)

Woodstock Experiences

Share Your Woodstock Experience

Grateful Dead > Woodstock 1994 > Woodstock 94 Posted: Dec 03, 2009

met congo player who played with Jimi Hendrix at original Woodstock. Saw Joe Walsh play late-night in the campground with just a guitar & portable amp. Waking up 2 my tent & rain water in my face. Bob Weir and Warren Hayes..NIN..Chile Peppers, Aerosmith...

stoweme > Woodstock 1994 > A life well lived Posted: Sep 27, 2009

I missed the 69 fest by 4 years 73 being the first of a hundred concerts. Woodstock is a place in our hearts and a view in our mind of all things good. The 94 concert was a gathering again for those who searched this utopian outlook. The best in people r...

Trish_reiki > Woodstock 1994 > I sang on a small stage in the vendors village in 94 Posted: Aug 19, 2009

Because of the good-heartedness of Michael Lang who was my friend at the time..He build a small stage in the vendors village for the local musicians and my band mercabah played there on the 2nd night with alot of great local bands. It was an amazing expe...

Randall Peenk > Woodstock 1994 > Doing my own thing in my own time Posted: Aug 16, 2009

Woodstock 94 was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Sure, it was corporate, but at least there were plenty of toilets and good food. On my way from florida I seen this cat (mark) holding up a sign hitch-hiking to the event. We'll he lucked out and...

dan0824blndmln > Woodstock 1994 > I had the time of my life at Woodstock 94 Posted: Aug 15, 2009

When it was announced there was going to be another Woodstock to commemorate the original 25 years later (1994), my buddy Chad called me and told me we needed to be there. We were both just 1 year out of high school and heavily into Classic Rock (60's and...

ceewee > Woodstock 1994 > Start of me collecting woodstock material Posted: Aug 15, 2009

I was also webmaster for borstrock.nl and borstrock.com, nowadays I make every year a dvd-movie of the people and bands. Some band attending Borstrock (end of May) since 1989: Saxon, Krokus, Di-rect, Within Temptation. Start of me collecting woodstock an...

Moses > Woodstock 1994 > Had a great time at 1994 Posted: Aug 13, 2009

I wasn't even born yet when the original went down. Went to 94' on a whim and had one hell of a good time! This weekend a small group of friends and close family will be camping out all weekend and listening to Woodstock artists. Basically we will be hav...

hawkwindz > Woodstock 1994 > Was a 3day weekend that was BRILLIANT Posted: Aug 12, 2009

!994..... drove from Minneapolis,mn arrived Friday,about 10am..... Had a little festiva [little ford].got me to the very first car at ONE of the entances.... Very lucky... tent/needed items and couple friends [3]. the 3 days were a unique 3/chapter book.....

speechlady > Woodstock 1994 > Woodstock 1994 visit Posted: Jul 30, 2009

In 1994, my future husband, daughter and her boyfriend along with me decided to go to the original Woodstock site rather than attend the concert in Saugerties. We brought a tent, sleeping bags and some food. This venture turned out to be a wondeful expe...

salbelloise > Woodstock 1994 > On My Way To Woodstock!
Posted: Jul 22, 2009

ON MY WAY TO WOODSTOCK Music & Lyrics: Sal Belloise AUGUST 1994: My name is Sal Belloise, and I turned 40 on July 28th. I've been planning my birthday present since April, a trip to the 25th anniversary of Woodstock at Yasgar's farm. I've been...

GoldenRoad > Woodstock 1994 > Dream Come True Posted: Jul 22, 2009

Growing up, I had watched the Woodstock movie many times. The music, the community and the spirit had always resonated with me. I was hopeful that I would be fortunate enough to attend the next Woodstock Festival, whenever that might be. Little did I know...