BETHEL, N.Y. (WDNews) Hundreds of thousands of music lovers flocked to a peaceful area of farmland in Sullivan County, N.Y., on this day in 1969 for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, which would go on to become the most well-known music festival in history.
An estimated 450,000 people gathered for Three Days of Peace and Music on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm over the course of the following three days. Santana, Janis Joplin, and The Who were among the artists on the lineup, which read like a who’s who of the time.
Jimi Hendrix gave one of the most unforgettable performances; their fiery version of the Star-Spangled Banner became a festival highlight.
Woodstock was more than simply a concert; it encapsulated the counterculture of the 1960s, a generation influenced by the civil rights movement, post-war wealth, resistance to the Vietnam War, and a belief in social change. Woodstock continues to be a significant cultural event in 1969, along with other historic occasions like the Stonewall Riots and the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The location is now recognized as a testament to the unifying power of music and is included on the National Register of Historic Places.
