It’s easy to look at Woodstock (1969) and wish you were a part of it. Over 32 musicians from Janis Joplin and Joan Baez to The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix performed. What were the chances that these big-name musicians would perform together again? Not to mention the event happened at the height of the flower child era, which meant that fashion was flowing and freedom was ringing.
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The festival brought half a million fans and paved the way for future music festivals in the U.S. But how did Woodstock get its start? Let’s behind the scenes of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, music festivals of all time.
The Brains Behind the Festival
Woodstock was organized by four men, all under the age of 27—John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Leng. The four entrepreneurs wanted to contribute something to the arts. At first, that something was a recording studio in Woodstock, New York. Before the men settled on the biggest music festival in the country, they thought they were going to simply build a recording studio in a highly celebrated arts community in New York, where musicians like Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix lived. Their plan changed, though, when a better investment came along: a groovy rock & roll concert festival.
The Location
Even though the name of the music festival is “Woodstock,” it was actually held in Bethel, New York. The men kept the original name Woodstock for the artist community in which Bob Dylan lived. Dylan didn’t actually perform at all that weekend. The men also tried to hold the music festival in Wallkill, New York, but quickly backed away once the town passed a law that refused any concert in their community. A farmer in Bethel, New York, found out about their dilemma and offered to rent his land to them. Little did he know he was about to have the festival that shaped all music festivals in his backyard.
“Make Love, Not War”
The ’60s quickly made Woodstock’s theme their mantra, “make love, not war.” Over half a million people gathered in a small town in New York as part of the counterculture movement. The festival was rooted in protests against the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. It was a way for participants of the counterculture movement to spread peace and break free from America’s overpowering government and conservative culture. They could listen to music for free, explore and experiment with psychedelics, and peacefully protest the war. Woodstock intentionally paved the way for the following: psychedelic music (look at The Grateful Dead) and “rebel” children.
Santana’s Dazed and Confused Performance
It would be a real shame to write about Woodstock and not include the trippy psychedelics that came with it. Bands like The Grateful Dead, The Who, and Sly & The Family Stone were known for their experimental drugs and performances on stage. But a different band is associated with the dreamy drugs at Woodstock. That band? Santana. That’s right, the Latin and Africana rock & roll group, who hadn’t even released their first album yet, is known for having one of the greatest performances of the weekend.
Carlos Santana believes it’s because of the mescaline that Jerry Garcia gave him right before performing. The band’s manager, Bill Graham was able to get Santana’s foot in the door at Woodstock of all places, and the audience went wild after they performed under the influence. In fact, according to a 2019 interview with Santana himself, he told Garcia, “Just help me stay in tune and on time.” Just like that, he quickly became the performance of the night.
(Photo by Henry Diltz/Corbis via Getty Images)
