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More than 50 Years of Peace & Music

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A blog series about the musicians of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair

For 32 months prior to the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, we posted the story of the 32 musical acts that performed at the most famous rock festival in history. Woodstock brought together some of the best musical acts of the era—Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, and many more.

The media attention before and during the three-day festival made Woodstock famous around the world, and the three-hour documentary released in 1970 made international stars of all the groups featured in the movie. Not all the performances were featured in the film. Whether because of time limitations, technical problems with sound, filming, or lighting, or because of misunderstandings among performers, managers, and film production people, a number of exceptional performances went virtually unnoticed by the public.

In an effort to set the record straight and give all the performers their due for their contribution to the Woodstock festival, this blog series shines a spotlight on ALL of the musical performers from those three days of peace and music.

A special "thank you" goes out to the musicians who have graciously shared their stories for this blog series. We are also grateful to the photographers who have allowed us to use their photographs here. Volunteer docents at The Museum at Bethel Woods have contributed greatly through their research and dedication to the true meaning of Woodstock.

Finally, a shout-out to Scott Parker, an independent historian of the Woodstock festival and one of the driving forces behind the grassroots Woodstock Complete project (Google it. It's amazing) for setting the record straight on performance times and setlists. Thank you all.

Day 1: Friday, August 15, 1969 (ending Saturday morning, August 16)

  1. Richie Havens 
  2. Sweetwater 
  3. Bert Sommer 
  4. Tim Hardin 
  5. Ravi Shankar 
  6. Melanie 
  7. Arlo Guthrie 
  8. Joan Baez 

Day 2: Saturday, August 16, 1969 (ending Sunday morning, August 17)

  1. Quill 
  2. Country Joe McDonald (solo)
  3. Santana 
  4. John Sebastian 
  5. Keef Hartley Band 
  6. Incredible String Band
  7. Canned Heat 
  8. Mountain 
  9. Grateful Dead 
  10. Creedence Clearwater Revival
  11. Janis Joplin 
  12. Sly & The Family Stone 
  13. The Who
  14. Jefferson Airplane 

Day 3: Sunday, August 17, 1969 (ending Monday morning, August 18)

  1. Joe Cocker 
  2. Country Joe & The Fish 
  3. Ten Years After 
  4. The Band 
  5. Johnny Winter 
  6. Blood, Sweat & Tears
  7. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 
  8. the Paul Butterfield Blues Band
  9. Sha Na Na 
  10. Jimi Hendrix 

 

 

 

Help keep the spirit of the greatest festival of all time alive.  If you or someone you know attended Woodstock, join our Woodstock Alumni Registry!