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GRAMMYs

Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock 1969

Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images

News
Why Can't Anyone Get Woodstock Right? why-cant-anyone-get-woodstock-right-15-original-fests-performers-weigh

Why Can't Anyone Get Woodstock Right? 15 Of The Original Fest's Performers Weigh In

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The Recording Academy spoke with 15 performers from Woodstock '69 about how they plan to ring in the 50th this weekend (or not), and why no one has successfully recreated the original experience
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Aug 14, 2019 - 11:14 am

John Sebastian was onstage at the Woodstock Festival when a stage runner came bearing rough news: the fence had come down. Despite a meager $6 per day admission, demand had vastly exceeded supply, and throngs of concertgoers had decided to break in by force. For its 24-year-old promoter, Michael Lang, this should have been a recipe for disaster. But he did what he does best, for better or worse—he thought on his feet.

"I saw Michael look into the middle distance for a minute and then say, 'I think we have ourselves a free festival,'" Sebastian tells the Recording Academy. "I said to myself, 'This guy is a genius.' And sometimes being a genius isn't making money. It’s realizing your situation and treating it for what it is." He breaks into a wry laugh. "In that case, a dangerous situation!"

50 years after Woodstock, time hasn't been kind to Lang’s seat-of-his-pants business style. Woodstock '94 was plagued with rain and became a gigantic mud slick. Woodstock '99 deteriorated into an alcohol-fueled nightmare, along with reports of arson, looting and allegations of sexual assault. And last month, an ill-prepared Woodstock 50 went into a legal and financial tailspin and was finally killed at the eleventh hour, after months of bluster from Lang that the show would go on.

Some surviving Woodstock acts, like Santana, Canned Heat, and Country Joe McDonald, were set to reappear at Woodstock 50; others declined the offer or weren’t asked. Now that the festival is dust, a few original Woodstock cats, like Ten Years After, Melanie and Canned Heat, plan to spend August 16–18, 2019, at small-town gatherings like WE 2019. Others are plugging away on tour that weekend. Quite a few have no plans to celebrate at all.

With Woodstock 50 a bust, the Recording Academy spoke with 15 of the original festival's performers about how they plan to ring in the 50th this weekend (or not), and why no one has successfully recreated the 1969 experience.

What was the original Woodstock like through your eyes?

John Sebastian: I had a pretty great catbird seat to the Woodstock festival. By that, I mean that I could go backstage at any time I wanted. I had access to a tent that was mainly for acoustic instruments, but [giggles] which at night I could use.

Nancy Nevins (Sweetwater): I felt stressed out, as much as any 19-year-old can feel that way. Woodstock was a mess in every way as far as being a performer there goes.

Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival): It was a logistical nightmare from where we were. We were exhausted from a red-eye flight, doing television all the day before.

Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival): It was the summer of festivals. There were a lot of big festivals. Bigger than Woodstock, actually, in terms of attendance.

Fred Herrera (Sweetwater): We had been playing numerous outdoor festivals at the time, each one larger than the last. Leading up to this one, it seemed like just another. When we arrived, we realized the magnitude of the event, but I figured the next one could be larger.

Nevins: Plus, Sweetwater had a serious mission to accomplish beyond Woodstock, which is why we played first. We had to get [keyboardist] Alex [Del Zoppo] back to Riverside, California by 6 a.m. on Saturday… or else. He was in the Air Force Reserve. Their annual two-week training camp started in Riverside the next [morning]. This was non-negotiable. I was preoccupied with that need, which made everything else, like the crappy sound and general stage conditions, enormously burdensome.

Clifford: We went in on a two-man helicopter with three people. I was half in and half out of the helicopter. I had my right foot on the skid, hanging out the door, which was open, of course. I was holding the seatbelt of the seat next to me to stabilize myself.

Gregg Rolie (Santana): [The view] really impressed me. Like ants on a hill. Past 10,000 people, it's just hair and teeth. It's just brown. It didn't register.

Roger North (Quill): Having studied structural engineering in college, I remember being very concerned that the overhead lights and rigging were in danger of being toppled onto the stage by the wind of the oncoming rainstorm.

Miller Anderson (Keef Hartley Band): Our manager refused to let us be filmed without a contract. That was a big mistake for our band.

Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane): By the time that it came for us to go on, it became apparent that they were running really behind schedule. As everybody knows, we waited around all night and didn’t go on until Sunday morning. 

Sebastian: I was standing on the stage when the runner came from the back porch of the festival, saying "The fence has gone down." I saw Michael look into the middle distance for a minute and then say, "I think we have ourselves a free festival." I said to myself, "This guy is a genius." And sometimes being a genius isn't making money. It’s realizing your situation and treating it for what it is. In that case, a dangerous situation!

David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears): We were basically only there for a couple of hours. We did our encore, got a tremendous reception and immediately after the show, back on the helicopter and gone.

Billy Cox (Jimi Hendrix/Gypsy Sun & Rainbows): Jimi looked out from behind the curtain at the crowd and said: "That crowd out there will be sending us a lot of energy up onstage, so let’s take that energy, utilize it and send it right back to them." Mitch had a bottle of Blue Nun wine with him. As if we were making a toast, Jimi, Mitch and I each took a large swig from it, smiled at each other, and went out and played for almost two hours.

Robin Williamson (The Incredible String Band): I’d rather not keep getting dragged back into the '60s. I’d like to be one of the first people over the mountain.

David Crosby (Crosby, Stills & Nash): What happened was that half a million people treated each other decently. I don’t think there's ever been a gathering of half a million people anywhere where there were no rapes, no robberies, no murders. None. People behaved differently with each other. It was so stunning for those of us that were there that we can’t get it out of our heads. There was a moment where everything worked the way we dreamed it could.

What do you think about the troubles Woodstock has faced over the years? Why has it been so difficult to maintain the brand over time?

Anderson: Woodstock was very disorganized. It was nobody's fault. The organizers did not expect so many people and it just got out of hand.

Crosby: Since then, it’s been people trying to use that word, "Woodstock," as a way to make a ton of money. That's the truth of all of the rest of it that’s gone on since then.

Cook: There's a lot of people involved in that pie. If you recall, the first one was almost a disaster as well. The main problem is that the people behind the festival are not concert promoters. They have another agenda.

Skip Taylor (producer/manager of Canned Heat): Unfortunately, Michael Lang has gotten a lot of credit, but he hasn’t gotten a lot of criticism, and I’m one to give it. 

Herrera: I would surmise that the original had a great deal of luck associated with its outcome, busted finances aside. Maybe the promoters of the current and subsequent ones took for granted more than they should have.

Cook: The first one happened miraculously. That was a cosmic, universe-exploding experience that could never be duplicated. The brand has suffered because it’s impossible to top itself. It can’t even match itself. Everything comes up short.

Clifford: It’s not something you can manufacture or recreate. It was real. It was the spirit of mankind, the way it was supposed to be in the first place.

Crosby: The people who did it were in it to make a ton of money. They did not care about the audience’s experience at all. They didn’t know what that experience is. They don’t really understand what magic music can [create]. If you get the right kinds of music next to each other in the right place with the right people, you can get magic. They thought you could simply buy it by the pound. You can’t.

"The first [Woodstock] happened miraculously. That was a cosmic, universe-exploding experience that could never be duplicated. The brand has suffered because it’s impossible to top itself. It can’t even match itself. Everything comes up short."

Nevins: The "bliss" that is Woodstock can't be duplicated because it's not for sale. Such acceptance, love, and good-naturedness can't be re-packaged. Try marketing authenticity and unity. It can't happen. By their nature, true spirituality and acceptance can't be marketed.

Crosby: They made a terrible mistake and all of these gigs have been failures, in my eyes anyway. Woodstock ‘94 made money, but it was a horrible, horrible experience for everybody who was there.

Sebastian: Also, the intoxicants were different in 1969. Pot being the major recreational drug, and then you compare that to Woodstock ‘99, where the problem was alcohol.

Rolie: Society changes. The social structure back then was one thing, and now, there’s a lot of angry people out there, obviously. They may have disagreed strongly [back then], but there wasn’t such violence as what you see now. Now, they try to repeat it and they charge $30 for a bottle of water!

Kaukonen: Whatever magic was in the air that gave whatever you want to call it, the counterculture, a sense of visible and concrete identity in the world at that time, that’s not going to happen today, because... that’s not going to happen. It’s not that time anymore! You just can’t expect things to magically happen anymore.

Nevins: That is why the 50th anniversary concert failed. It was designed around maximizing profit and ego strokes.

Crosby: They’re very, very greedy people doing really dumb stuff. I think that’s probably what went wrong this time.

Taylor: I blame [Lang] singlehandedly for ruining this celebration of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, which was and still is the greatest festival that ever happened in the world.

Cox: You know, it would have been interesting had a call been made for as many of the gatherers and performers at Woodstock to convene on the 50th anniversary and help tilt the scales and maybe fate would have been pleased. We’ll never know.

Williamson: I don’t really know anything about what’s going on with Woodstock 50. I haven't been following that at all. I’ve been trying to do things in the present time and look toward the future, really.

What do you plan to do to celebrate Woodstock’s 50th anniversary, if anything?

Crosby: Nothing.

Clifford: Probably take my grandkids out to dinner.

Jocko Marcellino (Sha Na Na): Cruising the North Sea on vacation.

Cook: Scuba diving in Roatán.

Rolie: I’ll be there on August 16th with Ringo [Starr & His All-Starr Band] at Bethel Woods [Center for the Arts]. We’re going to be doing the Santana stuff. That’s what I play with Ringo.

Kaukonen: Let’s see. I’m going to be on the road. If I was home, I’d probably take my wife and daughter out to dinner.

Williamson: In the U.K., there’s not much to celebrate here. I wasn’t planning on doing anything about it here.

North: I will be thinking about the festival, but I have plans to maybe spend some time in the woods that weekend.

Kaukonen: You know what, honestly? I’ll probably write something on my blog about it, just from a memory point of view. I don’t see how you can celebrate something in a concrete way that was that ephemeral.

Anderson: I have my own band, the Miller Anderson Band. We are playing festivals celebrating 50 years of Woodstock all over Europe.

Nevins: I'm celebrating the 50th with gratitude. For living through those years, for knowing most people have goodness in them, and knowing that our current states of material ignorance are not the Alpha and Omega of humankind. There is a better us and the artists will bring it out first. The entrepreneurs and business addicts never will.

Clayton-Thomas: They’re not "celebrating" [with these 50th anniversary shows]. It’s just a bunch of promoters trying to cash in on the name again. People aren’t buying it. People understand that it was a unique moment in history and it will never happen again.

Herrera: Sweetwater has already been performing at a number of Woodstock-themed events, including outdoor and indoor concerts, TV shows, radio, blogs and Q&A appearances, all associated with the 50-year anniversary.

Sebastian: I’m playing all around that date like crazy, and I would have played the date if [Michael Lang] hadn’t moved to Maryland, because I already had a gig in Maryland, and they’ve got those kinda rules where if I’m gonna hire you to play my gig, you can’t play somewhere [nearby] next week. I was right there with him up until when I couldn’t be with him.

Taylor: There are other things happening around the country other than just the one Woodstock 50. Fortunately, we’re partaking in a lot of them.

Clayton-Thomas: I don’t. I’ve turned down half a dozen offers to play these reunions. It’s mostly cover bands, other bands or a band that was at Woodstock’s bus driver who now has a band… you know? It’s gone. It’s history. It’s over.

Crosby: What I told you definitely happened. That was the significance of it. If you give a sh*t about what I’m telling you, pay attention to that. That’s where the real value was. And that’s what’s absent here.

David Crosby On 'Remember My Name': "It's An Opportunity To Tell The Truth"

Santana

Santana at Woodstock

Photo: Tucker Ransom/Getty Images

News
New Woodstock 50th Anniversary Box Set Announced new-woodstock-50th-anniversary-box-set-offers-complete-listen-summer-69-fest

New Woodstock 50th Anniversary Box Set Offers A Complete Listen To The Summer '69 Fest

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The limited-edition set will allow music fans to listen to the powerful live performances from Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and every other artist who played Woodstock '69
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 8, 2019 - 6:01 pm

An official 50th Woodstock anniversary concert may or may still not be in the works, but one thing's for sure: a lot of music fans really want to celebrate the Summer of '69 on its 50th birthday.

Now, with an expansive special-edition box set titled Woodstock 50 — Back to the Garden — The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive, listeners can hear full performances from the original Woodstock concert.

Spanning 38 CDs, the limited-edition (of 1,969 copies, of course) set, which will be released on Aug. 2 via Rhino, will include 432 songs, 267 of which are previously unreleased, from the three-day event. It will be the most comprehensive look at Woodstock '69, i.e., the first time every artist, including greats Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead, are included on record.

Rock On: Jimi Hendrix's 'Electric Ladyland' Turns 50

As reported by Rolling Stone, the tracks are ordered chronologically based on the actual lineup order and sets performed during that mystical weekend of Aug. 15–17, 1969, with each artist's set on one disc.

The collection came together from the work of Los Angeles producer and archivist Andy Zax and co-producer Steve Woolard, who had the herculean task of making a pile of 8-track tapes from 1969 see the light of day in the digital age of music. Zax was originally sent to take a look at the tapes back in 2005, and realized there was a massive musical treasure that needed to be unearthed. He didn't have the resources to do a fully comprehensive release with the 2009 40th anniversary Woodstock set he also worked on, so the new set will finally give (almost) all of the tracks the light of day.

"The Woodstock tapes give us a singular opportunity for a kind of sonic time travel, and my intention is to transport people back to 1969. There aren't many other concerts you could make this argument about," Zax said to Rolling Stone. "From the moment I saw those tapes, I was like, 'Oh my God, there's so much more than I'd ever thought. It was clear to me that no one was exploring this stuff and dealing with it in totality. Here was this vast trove of material not treated correctly."

The three tracks that didn't make the cut include two songs from Hendrix's set, per the request of his estate, for "aesthetic reasons." The only other missing song is from Sha Na Na.

The first 37 CDs take you through each act's show, and the 38th "bonus" CD features audio extras, like attendee anecdotes recorded during the fest. 

The non-musical audio moments, also featuring off-kilter announcements, are hidden gems of the archival work themselves. Zak speaks to the 38th disc, which includes "this one guy moaning about what a disappointing experience [Woodstock] was and that it was a sell-out. It's a great slice of real people in the moment reacting to it, which pleases me immensely."

In addition to the CD collection, the deluxe edition of the new set also includes a DVD of the director's cut of the 1970 Woodstock film, the 2009 "Woodstock" book by Michael Lang and various replicas of Woodstock '69 paraphilia, like a copy of the original program book. This deluxe set, housed in a plywood box designed by GRAMMY-winning graphic designer Masaki Koikethe, costs $800 and is the only option with the full audio.

Rhino also offers more economic 10-CD, 3-CD or 5-LP vinyl sets; all four options are available for pre-order now.

Pieces Of Woodstock's Original Wooden Stage Are Now Collectibles

Woodstock 50

Photo: Woodstock 50/Billboard

News
Woodstock 50 Music Festival Has Been Canceled funder-announces-woodstock-50-music-festival-has-been-canceled

Funder Announces Woodstock 50 Music Festival Has Been Canceled

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The three-day event in Watkins Glen was set to be the official 50th anniversary celebration of the iconic 1969 fest
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 29, 2019 - 12:03 pm

Today, the company funding Woodstock 50 released a statement that the music festival is canceled. Rumors have surrounded both the festival's details and feasibility long before the lineup was revealed on March 19, and were reignited following ticket sales not launching as planned on April 20. Woodstock 50 has not updated either their website or social accounts to reflect this news.

Dentsu Aegis Network, a multinational media and marketing company funding Woodstock 50, shared an official statement with Billboard this morning detailing the cancelation:

"It's a dream for agencies to work with iconic brands and to be associated with meaningful movements. We have a strong history of producing experiences that bring people together around common interests and causes which is why we chose to be a part of the Woodstock 50th Anniversary Festival. But despite our tremendous investment of time, effort and commitment, we don't believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners and attendees.

As a result and after careful consideration, Dentsu Aegis Network's Amplifi Live, a partner of Woodstock 50, has decided to cancel the festival. As difficult as it is, we believe this is the most prudent decision for all parties involved."

Billboard also writes that over $30 million has already been spent on the festival's lineup, as most artists had already been paid. Festival organizers were concerned about the venue, Watkins Glen International Speedway, located in a remote area of upstate New York, being able to safely support a 100,000-person capacity event.

As previously mentioned, the Woodstock 50 site still reads that tickets will go on sale soon, although the organizers have yet to release an offical statement. Today, the Poughkeepsie Journal detailed the conflicting messages about the fest, including a note from the organizers that say it has not been canceled.

The three-day event was set to take place in Watkins Glen, New York on Aug. 16–18 to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the original Woodstock festival in 1969. The lineup boasted a range of big name acts including Jay-Z, The Killers, Miley Cyrus, Dead & Company, Imagine Dragons, Chance The Rapper and Santana.  

The unofficial 50th anniversary celebration to be held at the original fest's location at Bethel Woods is still set to take place during the same weekend, albeit in a smaller, non-festival format than originally announced. The 15,000 capacity venue sits on what was the farm where the first fest was held back in 1969 and has announced two nights of concerts with several '69 alumni.

GRAMMY-winning legends Santana will take to the Bethel Woods stage exactly 50 years after their breakthrough Woodstock performance, with the Doobie Brothers as part of their Supernatural Now tour.

Pieces Of Woodstock's Original Wooden Stage Are Now Collectibles

Woodstock 1969

Woodstock 1969

Photo: John Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

News
Official Woodstock 2019 Festival Venue Confirmed official-woodstock-50th-anniversary-festival-location-date-confirmed-2019

Official Woodstock 50th Anniversary Festival Location & Date Confirmed

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"Woodstock, in its original incarnation, was really about social change and activism. And that's a model that we're bringing back to this festival," organizer Michael Lang reveals
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jan 9, 2019 - 2:27 pm

As the 1969 Woodstock Music And Arts Fair approaches 50 years, music fans have been anticipating any and all news surrounding a possible half-century celebration. Now, Michael Lang, one of the original event's organizers, has shared new details around Woodstock’s confirmed 50-year event, including a new location.

https://twitter.com/woodstockfest/status/1082991031971442688

The Bird of Peace is Back #Woodstock50 ☮️❤️🎵 pic.twitter.com/H3iuebpjnu

— WOODSTOCK (@woodstockfest) January 9, 2019

Today, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Lang re-confirmed that the official event will be taking place Aug. 16–18 in Upstate New York, but not in Sullivan County, home to Bethel Woods. He also revealed the challenge of finding a space that would work, settling on Watkins Glen, a more remote location with enough open space to host what will around six figure’s worth of attendees. The rustic locale has hosted several huge concerts before, including approximately 600,000 people in 1973 for the Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead and the Band (all of whom also performed at Woodstock '69).

There may not be many hotels by Watkins Glen, but apparently there will be glamping: "I was desperate to keep it in New York. I looked everywhere because I needed 1,000 acres of clear land with access and infrastructure," Lang told Rolling Stone. "When I looked [at Watkins Glen], I knew it was the perfect facility for what we had in mind. It was reminiscent to me of finding Max [Yasgur]'s field."

Watkins Glen is about 160 miles from Sullivan County, so for music fans who have already booked rooms (a large portion of hotels and Airbnbs are already booked for Aug. 16–18) and want to attend the official Woodstock '19, you may want to reconsider your concert accommodations.

While no performers have been announced for either the official event or the previously announced unofficial anniversary concert at Bethel Woods Center For The Arts, Lang did offer some juicy hints as to what’s in store, namely that performers will begin to be announced in February when tickets go on sale.

Lang said that over 40 performers have been booked three stages, including some big names. "It'll be an eclectic bill. It'll be hip-hop and rock and some pop and some of the legacy bands from the original festival," he explained.

He continued that attendees and those tuned into the live stream can expect that newer artists will pay tribute to original Woodstock performers like Santana, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.

"Having contemporary artists interpret that music would be a really interesting and exciting idea. We're also looking for unique collaborations, maybe some reunions and a lot of new and up-and-coming talent," Lang shared.

He hopes that this mix of talent and sounds, along with promotion of Woodstock's peace, love and activism ideals, will help draw a "multi-generational" crowd.

"A lot of festivals these days are kind of cookie-cutter,” he said. Very few of them have any sort of social impact [and] that's a wasted opportunity. Woodstock, in its original incarnation, was really about social change and activism. And that's a model that we’re bringing back to this festival. It's a gathering for fun and for excitement and for experiences and to create community, but it's also about instilling kind of an energy back into young people to make their voices heard, make their votes heard."

Stay tuned to grammy.com for updates on the Woodstock '19 lineup, and for all the big 2019 festivals as well.

Dove Statues To Decorate Upstate New York For Woodstock's 50th Anniversary

Michael Lang

Michael Lang, Woodstock co-organizer

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

News
Woodstock 50 Festival Finally Finds Venue woodstock-50-music-festival-finally-finds-venue-merriweather-post-pavilion

Woodstock 50 Music Festival Finally Finds Venue, Merriweather Post Pavilion

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The music fest celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock '69 is reportedly confirmed for Aug. 16–18 at the historic amphitheater in Columbia, Md., although a final lineup or ticket details have yet to be revealed
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 26, 2019 - 1:31 pm

Following months of struggle to finalize major details for the Woodstock 50 music festival, including venue and ticketing info, The New York Times reported yesterday that organizers have secured the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md as a site for the fest. The fest has been hyped as the official 50th anniversary celebration of the iconic Woodstock Music And Arts Fair, which was billed as "three days of peace & music" in the historic Summer of '69.

Woodstock 50 will now reportedly take place on Aug. 16–18 at the independently run amphitheater in Maryland, although a final lineup or ticketing details have yet to be revealed.



View this post on Instagram


Thank You Woodstock Nation! #WoodstockNation #Woodstock50

A post shared by Woodstock (@woodstock) on May 3, 2019 at 5:01pm PDT

"Woodstock 50 approached Merriweather about hosting their event here in Columbia," Seth Hurwitz, operator of Merriweather Post Pavilion, said in a statement shared by the Times. "The Woodstock folks are working on securing the artists now. If the bands come, we'll produce the show. We're looking forward to getting an update as soon as Woodstock 50 has one."

Related: Carlos Santana On Woodstock & The Power Of Music: "These People Wanted The Same Things We Want Today"

Woodstock 50 announced its lineup back on March 19, along with the venue set at Watkins Glen, N.Y. That announcement revealed performers that included JAY-Z, The Killers, Miley Cyrus, Dead & Company, Chance The Rapper, as well as original fest acts John Fogerty, Santana and others.

Tickets have yet to go on sale and, as the Times points out, it is unclear who will perform at the new venue, as "artists; contracts with Woodstock 50 were tied to its originally planned venue, in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and they may have a right to refuse to play." Today, the Associated Press reported that both JAY and Fogerty have reportedly dropped out of the event.

Despite the original funder pulling out and unilaterally declaring the event canceled, along with four venues denying permits, Michael Lang, one of the organizers behind Woodstock '69 and this event, has continually affirmed it is indeed happening.

A separate 50th anniversary celebration at the site of the original fest, now home to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, will be taking place during the same weekend, with individual concerts each night from Ringo Starr, Santana and the Doobie Brothers and Fogerty closing it out on Sun., Aug. 18.

This may be history repeating itself, 50 years later; Woodstock '69 was kicked out of its original venue, in a small town called Wallkill, only several weeks before the event. The festival was ultimately saved by dairy farmer Max Yasgur, who lent his land to the fest in Bethel, N.Y.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Unveils 2019 Lineup: Iron & Wine, Margo Price & More

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