Woodstock 1969

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a historic event held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York from August 15 to August 18, 1969. The original Woodstock Festival of 1969 has proven to be unique and legendary. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest moments in music history and yet to say it changed music history is an understatement; clearly, in retrospect, it was a landmark in American history.

Woodstock has been idealized in the American popular culture as one of peak events of the hippie movement — a festival where nearly 500,000 "flower children" came together to celebrate. At the time, it held the record for the largest music audience in the world.

For many, the festival exemplified the counterculture of the 1960s and the "hippie era." Thirty-two of the best-known musicians of the day appeared during the sometimes rainy weekend. Some of the musicians at Woodstock:Joan Baez, Snatana, Who, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.



Woodstock began as a profit-making venture; it only became a free festival after it became obvious that the concert was drawing hundreds of thousands more people than the organizers had prepared for, and that the fence had been torn down by eager, unticketed arrivals. Tickets for the event cost $18 in advance (approximately $100 today adjusted for inflation) and $24 at the gate for all three days.