The Woodstock Festival took place in the locality of Bethel, in the United States, from 15 to 18 August 1969. The organizers called him Woodstock because it was the name of the town, located about 70 km from Bethel, in which they had founded their company. At the concert assisted 400-500,000 young peoplein large part followers of the Hippie culture and the other youth countercultures symbols of the youth revolution of the 60s. During the iconic event, in which artists of the caliber of Janis Joplin, The Who, Joe Cocker And Jimi Hendrix, The spectators made wide use of drugs and expressed Pacifist and non -violent ideals.
Hippie culture at the Woodstock Festival
To understand the importance of the Woodstock Festival, it must be remembered that the 60s were a period of development of youth counterculturespartly derived from previous cultural “revolutions” such as that caused by beat generation of the 1950s. One of the most popular countercultures was the hippie, which preached the Return to nature and pacifismexpressed in the slogan “Put flowers in your cannons”. The hippies also followed one Alternative lifestyleargued the revolution of sexual costumeslistened psychedelic rock and made use of drugsin particular of Cannabis and LSD.
The 60s were also a period of evolution of musicbecause the rock, born in the previous decade, associated with other musical genres, giving life to new experiments: pop rock, psychedelic rock etc., particularly appreciated by young people and in particular by hippies. The context in which the Woodstock Festival is placed is that of new musical trends, made famous by groups such as the Beatles, the Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, which became one of the symbols of the period.
The organization of the music festival and the choice of the place
The festival was born from the idea of four young American producers – John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld And Mike Lang – intent on organizing a 3 -day musical “marathon”. The four therefore activated themselves to choose the headquarters of the event and, after some attempts to be emptied, found the agreement with a land owner of Bethela location in the State of New York, who agreed to rent his hold them. Therefore the festival, despite the name, It was not kept in Woodstock (far from Bethel just under 70 km), but it was called this because the city was home to the business activities of the organizers, who had founded a company, the Woodstock Venturesto organize the event. The name is the official of the event was An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music.
The organizers invited many of the best known singers and rock groups and expected an influx of about 50,000 spectators. The event was to take place from 15 to 17 August.
The artists present in Woodstock and the renunciations
Some of the best known musical artists of the moment followed the stage of the Woodstock Festival: Joan Baez (which was six months pregnant), Carlos Santana with his band, Janis Joplin, The Who, Country Joe and the Fish, Arlo Guthrie, The band, Shy and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix And others.
There were also numerous waste received by the organizers: among the artists who they did not accept The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, the Doors, the Led Zeppelin and other groups and musicians were participating.
The performance of the Woodstock Festival
The concert proved to be an event larger than expected. Already when the organizers put tickets for sale, they understood that the estimate of 50,000 presence was much lower than reality. They were sold, in fact, More than 150,000 coupons; Many other young people showed up at the gates that enclosed the festival area without a ticket and were equally able to access. It is estimated that in Bethel they were present among the 400,000 and the 500,000 people, staying better in curtains or in sleeping bags Lying on the ground, despite the fact that the rain had created a lot of mud. The spectators consumed cannabis and abundant acids and many artists also arrived on stage under the effect of drugs.
The influx of public created serious organizational problemsbecause the area was not equipped to host such a large number of people. In a vast sector of the New York State, the streets clogged, to the point that the artists had to be brought by helicopter to the concert area. Also at the bathrooms were kilometer files and the food was scarce. Nonetheless, young people did not show any intention to give up the event and the concert He lasted a day more than expected, The last performance was that of Jimi Hendrixwhich played on the morning of August 18th. During the Festival Two people lost their livesone for overdose and one because it was hit by a tractor while sleeping in the sleeping bag. According to some sources, during the concert also were born Two children And four other pregnant women met spontaneous abortions.
The meaning and myth of Woodstock
Woodstock was not only a music festival, but an event from strong symbolic charge and the expression of a different conception of the world. The young people who attend the event brought a Peace message In a world marked by the war in Vietnam and other conflicts. The Festival is now considered the symbol of an era And over the years books have been published and promoted initiatives to remember it. Already in 1970 the official movie of the event, entitled Woodstock and destined for great success, e Many other initiatives They were organized in the following years, especially on the occasion of the Anniversaries.
