The Woodstock Festivals
In August 1969, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair took place on a dairy farm in Bethel, NY. Over half a million people came to a 600-acre farm t Joni Mitchell said, "Woodstock was a spark of beauty" where half-a-million kids "saw that they were part of a greater organism." According to Michael Lang, one of four young men who formed Woodstock Ventures to produce the festival, "That's what means the most to me – the connection to one another felt by all of us who worked on the festival, all those who came to it, and the millions who couldn't be there but were touched by it."
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The Producers:
The Line Up By Day
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o hear 32 acts (leading and emerging performers of the time) play over the course of four days (August 15-18). Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, the Who, Janis Joplin and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were among the line-up. Woodstock is known as one of the greatest happenings of all time and –perhaps- the most pivotal moment in music history. 
By Wednesday, August 13, some 60,000 people had already arrived and set up camp. On Friday, the roads were so clogged with cars that performing artists had to arrive by helicopter. Though over 100,000 tickets were sold prior to the festival weekend, they became unnecessary as swarms of people descended on the concert grounds to take part in this historic and peaceful happening. Four days of music… half a million people… rain, and the rest is history.To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock concert, producers Michael Lang, Joel Rosenman and John Roberts collaborated with PolyGram to stage “Woodstock 1994” also known as “Woodstock II”. The event took place on an 840-acre farm in Saugerties, New York and brought together more than 40 artists representing the very best names in every genre of popular music. 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. The line-up included names like Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers Band, Deee-Lite, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, The Cranberries, Green Day and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Special events included Peter Gabriel's WOMAD troupe, a three-hour presentation of world music, including Oreyema, Xalem and Hassan Hakmoun Performances took place on two main stages over the course of three days (August 12-14). An estimated 350,000 people attended the event that was sponsored by Pepsi, Apple Computers and Haagen-Dazs. 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.  |
The Producers:
The Line-Up
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To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original concert, Woodstock 99 was staged on July 23-25, 1999 at Griffiss Airforce base outside of Rome, New York. More than 45 musical acts performed on three stages during the festival. Two stages served big-name acts, while one was reserved for the promotion of emerging artists. Like the 1994 festival, diverse musical genres were represented including classic rock, metal, pop, hip-hop, country, Latin rock, funk, world, soul, punk, and electronica. The line-up included James Brown, Willie Nelson, Parliament/Funkadelic, Wyclef Jean, The Roots, The Dave Matthews Band, Counting Crows, Alanis Morissette and Metallica. Approximately 200,000 people attended the event.
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The Producers:
The Line-Up
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