It may have all begun in 1969, but the first real anniversary celebration of Woodstock took place 20 years later, when a few people spontaneously trickled into Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York. Jimi Hendrix’s dad came by. Original Woodstock emcee Wavy Gravy dropped in, together with Ken Kesey. When Good Morning America got wind of the swelling ranks and broadcast live from the original site, 20,000 more straggled in, some to relive memories, others to catch the vibe. Pretty good numbers for a non-event.
Five years later, Woodstock producer Michael Lang stitched together the 25th anniversary in Saugerties, N.Y. With a major Pepsi sponsorship and a new commercial luster, artists ranged from Santana and Nine Inch Nails, to Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel. The three-day event came off without a hitch, prompting Lang to try again with Woodstock ’99, which was held at the defunct Griffiss Air Force Base (its entrance flanked with retired B-52 bombers). But ambitiously attempting to unite Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers with the fledgling Lost Generation, Lang slightly miscalculated. Featuring somewhat angrier music and more angst-ridden youths, the event melted down into mayhem and fires on the final day, with critics quickly and foolishly prophesying the death of Woodstock in a hollow, premature hype.
As the 40th anniversary proves (along with a lucrative cottage industry that has built up around the whole tradition) Woodstock is alive and kicking. On June 1 Michael Lang launched Woodstock.com, a website intending to keep the spirit of Woodstock alive. According to the site, the community is “The Woodstock Festivals, All Live Music, Sustainable Living & You.” Further, a nice handful of new Woodstock books just came out, including Lang’s The Road to Woodstock and a reissue of Joel Makower’s 1989 Woodstock: The Oral History. On the visual front, “Brokeback Mountain” director Ang Lee’s new film Taking Woodstock hits theaters on Aug. 28. Starring Demitri Martin and Emile Hirsch, the film, based on Eliot Tiber’s autobiography, explores how the whole 1969 Woodstock festival unfolded. A Village denizen, Tiber was there for the Stonewall Riot, and a month later he was credited for locating the venue that hosted the Woodstock festival while providing the headquarters for its organizers.
Although the festival didn’t take place (as originally planned) in Woodstock, New York, the town that bears its name kicks off the celebrations the weekend of Aug. 7 to 9 with the much-anticipated Woodstock International Walk for Peace, plus an advance screening of Taking Woodstock and other events. For those who want to relive some of the magic, on Aug. 14 to 15 the Heroes of Woodstock concert will take place at the original site, including performances by Woodstock vets the Jefferson Starship, Ten Years After, Canned Heat and others. The next day, a free speaking engagement called Woodstock Remembered will feature reminiscences by Max Yasgur, photographer Barry Levine, and author Jan Cheripko. Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is hosting the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Weekend celebration on Aug. 21 to 23, featuring piles of original posters and memorabilia, plus exhibits of the original Woodstock ’69 clothing worn by John Sebastian and Stephen Stills.
Woodstock’s ongoing health and vitality is as much a tribute to the counter-cultural spirit of an age as it is to younger generations who continually breath new life into the phenomenon. The eighth month of the ninth year of each decade now belongs to Woodstock, and if you don’t like it, a throng of aging nostalgics and nipple-ringed hipsters will probably stone you into oblivion.
Photos: Top, Wavy Gravy at Woodstock ’99 courtesy of Ben Corbett. Bottom, Taking Woodstock movie poster, courtesy of Film In Focus.