The grim reality of Woodstock that iconic photos don't show
If you think of Woodstock in the 60s, you’d probably imagine peaceful hippies, music, and love. The reality however, was unadulterated chaos.
Woodstock’s 1969 event, which took place on the weekend of August 15-18, was promoted to festivalgoers as ‘three days of peace and music'. While this description did tick a couple of boxes, it was also dirty, disorganized and ultimately dangerous as two people - of the almost half-a-million who visited the dairy farm in Bethel, New York - ended up dead.
The legendary festival was created by John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Lang, four young entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who were initially seeking a profitable business opportunity.
After they managed to sign Creedence Clearwater Revival to their festival, they gained legitimacy. But town officials in Wallkill - a hamlet in New York - got scared and passed laws to prevent the concert from ever happening on their turf.
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Just one month before the event was set to go ahead, a 49-year-old dairy farmer called Max Yasgur saved the day by offering his land in the Catskill Mountains for the panicked venture.
Logistical nightmares quickly mounted as fences, gates, and ticket booths were not ready when thousands of attendees started arriving early, forcing organizers to make a wild last-minute decision.
Lang explained to The Telegraph: "You do everything you can to get the gates and the fences finished - but you have your priorities.
“People are coming, and you need to be able to feed them, and take care of them, and give them a show. So you have to prioritize."
With no way to charge incoming crowds, Woodstock instantly became a free gig. Soon, roughly one million people attempted to descend upon the small location.
Highways were completely grid-locked as desperate concertgoers abandoned their vehicles right on the road and trekked miles on foot just to reach the farm.
Around 500,000 attendees eventually made it inside, with the crowd reflecting a country divided by civil rights unrest and the ongoing Vietnam War.
Despite torrential rain, thick mud, and severe shortages of food, water, and toilets, the overall atmosphere remained remarkably peaceful throughout the weekend.
Medics handled endless minor injuries like food poisoning and cut feet, while shockingly, eight women reportedly experienced miscarriages during the event.
Tragically, two people lost their lives - one person suffered a fatal drug overdose, while a teenager was accidentally crushed by a moving tractor.
With off-duty police banned, barely twelve officers monitored half a million attendees. Security was instead handled by the Hog Farm, a New Mexico commune led by Wavy Gravy.
Wavy Gravy threatened to spray unruly attendees with seltzer water or throw pies, while the commune also ran a playground, free kitchen, and assistance tents for people ‘freaking out’ on drugs.
As for the acts, 32 people performed, with Richie Havens kicking off Friday at 5pm, followed by a special blessing from yoga guru Sri Swami Satchidananda.
Acts like Santana, Janis Joplin, The Who, and Grateful Dead rocked Saturday's stage through until Sunday morning, while headline act Jimi Hendrix's initial Sunday night start delayed due to the torrential rain.
The legendary guitarist finally climbed on stage for the closing performance on Monday morning - when only 25,000 exhausted fans remained.
Joe Yates