- Alan Taylor
- August 14, 2019
- 32 Photos
- In Focus
Fifty years ago, more than 400,000 people descended on Bethel, New York, headed to a dairy farm owned by Max and Miriam Yasgur, where the Woodstock Music & Art Fair was being held. Planners had told the Yasgurs and town officials that they expected no more than 50,000 attendees, and were overwhelmed by the huge crowds. Over three days, 32 acts performed onstage, including Joan Baez, Santana, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Jimi Hendrix. Woodstock became a major cultural event, amplified by news coverage, a popular documentary film, and the music that became symbolic of an era.
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A wide-angle view of the huge crowd facing the distant stage during the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in August 1969 #
John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
A man drives a Volkswagen Beetle ahead of a long line of cars on the way to the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, while flashing a peace sign through the sunroof of the car, in Bethel, New York, in August 1969. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
Young people on the road arrive at the Woodstock Music Festival on August 16, 1969. #
Owen Franken / Corbis via Getty
A group of people step over a torn-down fence in order to enter the Woodstock grounds in August 1969. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
A red six-wheeler drives down the side of a dirt road to the camping area. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
A woman named Psylvia dances in the midst of the crowd. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
A man sits atop a treehouse-like platform playing the guitar, during Woodstock. #
John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Young men and women skinny-dip in a river during Woodstock. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Festivalgoers hang from bent metal tubing as another untangles rope to tie the tubes together to form a tent frame on the grounds of the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
Audience members watch a performance at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
The crowd looks toward the stage during a performance by the band Santana. #
John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
The musician Carlos Santana (right) and the bassist David Brown perform with the other members of Santana at Woodstock on August 16, 1969. #
Tucker Ransom / Getty
A sound man stands on scaffolding with his equipment in front of the Woodstock crowd. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
An unidentified woman smiles while her pet monkey sits in the middle of her group. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
John Sebastian performs at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in August 1969. #
Baron Wolman / The Museum at Bethel Woods via Reuters
Near the "Free Stage" at the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair, a shirtless young man in a leather vest makes a face as he leans against a decorated school bus used by the Hog Farmers, a group who had been asked to help construct, ensure security, and provide food for the event. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
A bedraggled young woman stands in the mud on the grounds of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Rock-music fans sit on a tree sculpture as one leaps midair onto a pile of hay during Woodstock on August 15, 1969. #
AP
A naked couple embraces as a river rushes around them while at Woodstock. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
An unidentified shirtless man sleeps stretched across the trunks of two parked cars at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
A man and a child walk past people in sleeping bags in August 1969. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
Ken Babbs, one of the Merry Pranksters, talks with a filmmaker at Woodstock's Free Stage. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
The musician Richie Havens performs onstage at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair on August 15, 1969. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
A long-exposure photo of the huge nighttime crowd #
John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
The stage is lit up during a performance at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. #
John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
The Indian musicians Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha (left) perform onstage on August 15, 1969. #
Ralph Ackerman / Getty
Several young people dish out food to others in a food line, during the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. #
John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Halsey Clifton (right) stands on the sound-mixing table in the rain with a huge crowd around. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
A woman runs through the mud at Woodstock on August 17, 1969. #
Owen Franken / Corbis via Getty
A view from the back of the stage as the rock group Country Joe and the Fish perform in the rain on August 17, 1969. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Attendees mill about the grounds of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. #
John "Jack" Niflot / The Museum at Bethel Woods via Reuters
Max and Miriam Yasgur, photographed in front of the trash remaining on their dairy farm, after the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. #
Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
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