& # 8211 ; A Festival Of Music And Art Essay, Research Paper

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 drew more than 500,000 people to a grazing land in Sullivan County, New York. For four yearss, the site became a counterculture state in which heads were unfastened, and drugs were accepted. The fans were attracted by the presence of the most celebrated stone sets and performing artists of the clip. The music began Friday afternoon August 15 and continued until mid-morning Monday August 18

The counterculture & # 8217 ; s biggest knock, which finally cost $ 2.4 million, was sponsored by four work forces: John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield, and Michael Lang. John Roberts supplied the money and he had seen one stone concert, by the Beach Boys. Joel Rosenman had merely graduated from Yale Law School, and was playing guitar for a sofa set in inexpensive motels. Artie Kornfield was a frailty president at Capitol Records, and he wrote vocals and produced music. Michael Lang had produced one of the biggest stone shows of all time, the Miami Pop Festival, and was a director of a stone group called Train. The oldest of the four was 26 yet they made a great squad.

One of their thoughts was a cultural exposition/rock concert/ extravaganza, the other for a recording studio. To this twenty-four hours, the laminitiss of Woodstock disagree on who came up with the original thought for the concert. They decided the net incomes from the concert would be used to pay for the recording studio. The four spouses formed a corporation in which each member held 25 per centum. The company was called Woodstock Ventures.

They instantly searched to happen a site for the concert. For $ 10,000, Woodstock Ventures had leased a piece of land of land in the town of Wallkill, New York. The 300-acre Mills Industrial Park offered perfect entree. It had the necessities, electricity, and H2O lines. However, Lang and Roberts were unhappy with the site. Woodstock Ventures set to work on the belongings, all the piece seeking for an option. The Wallkill Zoning Board of Appeals officially banned Woodstock on July 15, 1969. To the hand clapping of occupants, board members said that Woodstock Ventures plans were uncomplete. A adult male by the name of Elliot Tiber heard about Woodstock Venture & # 8217 ; s jobs in Wallkill, and informed them that he had a license for a music festival to be held in the town of Bethel, New York. Woodstock instantly began looking for land in Bethel, when they found Max Yasgur. Yasgur & # 8217 ; s 600-acre farm was perfect for the concert, a small rise for the phase, a lake in the background. Woodstock Ventures ended up leasing the land for $ 100,00.

The group settled on the motto of & # 8220 ; Three Days of Peace and Music & # 8221 ; . They figured & # 8220 ; peace & # 8221 ; would associate the anti-war sentiment to the stone concert, and they wanted to avoid any force. Woodstock Ventures were seeking to book the biggest stone & # 8217 ; n’roll sets in America, but the sets were loath to subscribe with a new company. Woodstock Ventures solved the job by assuring payroll checks.

Bethel, with a population of 3,900 psyches wasn & # 8217 ; t put to manage the coming inundation of people. Two hebdomads before the festival, Woodstock Ventures had already sold 180,000 tick

ets. A hebdomad before the festival, Yasgur’s Farm didn’t look much like a concert site. On August 7, Woodstock Ventures had a pre-festival festival on a phase still under building. Quill opened the show and Bethel occupants sat on the grass, anticipating theatre. Alternatively the Earthlight Theater stripped and screamed lewdnesss at the aghast crowd.

By the afternoon of Thursday August 14, Woodstock had 25, 000 invitees. Bases were ready to sell souvenirs, like hand-woven belts, headbands, and drug gears. Over the hill, carpenters were still slaming nails into the chief phase. The sound system was a infinite amplifier borrowed from the Grateful Dead.

Day One of Woodstock was supposed to be for the folkies. Three yearss of music started at 5:07 p.m. on August 15, 1969, with Richie Havens. Havens played for about three hours since the other Acts of the Apostless hadn & # 8217 ; t arrived. Then Country Joe McDonald, Sebastian, and Swami Satchadinanda played. They were non invited to execute at the festival, but they were used to kill clip. Finally, the sets had arrived via a big U.S. Army chopper. Bert Sommer, Sweetwater, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie Safka, and Arlo Guthrie played while waiting for Joan Baez. By the clip Joan Baez finished & # 8220 ; We Shall Overcome & # 8221 ; a electrical storm turned Yasgur & # 8217 ; s farm into a clay swamp. Within three hours more than five inches of rain fell.

Saturday August 16, 1969 & # 8211 ; the attending was estimated at 250,000 that forenoon, the biggest audience in history. The twenty-four hours began with Quill, Keef Heartly, Santana, Mountain, Canned Heat, and the Grateful Dead. Saturday ran much smoother, but by midday, the Sun was crushing down on Bethel. The afternoon continued with Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, and Jefferson Airplane. By Saturday eventide, there was no nutrient left. The trucks transporting the nutrient could non acquire to the festival due to the crowds, and vacant parked autos.

By Sunday, the province constabulary figure was 450,000 and attending kept lifting. Joe Cocker began around 2:00 and the concert was delayed due to the rain. After the rain, Country Joe and the Fish, Ten Year After, and The Band played into the dark. At 12:00 a.m. Blood, Sweat and Tears began and was followed by Johnny Winter, Crosby, Stills, & A ; Nash, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and finished with Sha-Na-Na. Jimi Hendrix began Monday forenoon at 9:00 a.m. to a mere 40,000 people. He had wanted to & # 8220 ; shut the show & # 8221 ; with his rendering of the & # 8220 ; Star-Spangled Banner & # 8221 ; .

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was officially over at 10:30 ante meridiem following Jimi Hendrix on August 18, 1969. Woodstock had 5,162 medical instances, and 797 documented cases of drug maltreatment. There were three births and eight abortions. Woodstock had two deceases by drug overdose and the decease of Raymond Mizak who was killed in a tractor accident.

The late Max Yasgur ne’er seemed to repent it all and said it from the phase Sunday afternoon, & # 8220 ; I think you people have proven something to the universe: that a half a million childs can acquire together and have three yearss of merriment and music & # 8212 ; and have nil but merriment and music & # 8221 ; .