A Look Back at Woodstock In evaluating the generations, the Baby Boomers are often looked upon as the “hippies”, love children, and peaceful protesters (not to mention avid drug users). While these statements are typically true of the Baby Boomers, another thing instantly comes to mind when they are brought up: Woodstock. Woodstock was a 3-day festival that occurred in Bethel, New York in August of 1969 with nearly half a million attendees. Famed for its stellar lineup and notorious amounts of drug use, Woodstock was a pivotal moment in Baby Boomer, and American, history (Tyrangiel). Eventually being held on a dairy farm in upstate Bethel, New York, Woodstock was originally set to occur in the actual town of Woodstock, New York. Residents of Woodstock were not optimistic about such a large group occupying their town for a several day period, so the idea was quickly turned down. After several attempts at finding a new location, it was decided that the festival would take place on a 600-acre farm in Bethel owned by dairy farmer Max Yasgur (Tyrangiel).
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Santana was the first group to perform for the day, and they were not well-known at the time. Woodstock notoriously skyrocketed Santana to fame, as they released an album the following month and it was very well-received. The most infamous Woodstock band also performed on the second day: The Grateful Dead. While only performing a set of five songs, the Grateful Dead performed for a total of almost two hours to cap the day. Known for their niche of improvisation, the Grateful Dead had absolutely no trouble occupying such a large chunk of time. Toward the end of their performance The Grateful Dead became at risk for electrical shocks due to severe rain flooding their wires. As day two came to an end at Woodstock, Yasgur’s farm was extremely flooded and uncomfortably overcrowded, many sleeping in the mud simply on a blanket
Santana was the first group to perform for the day, and they were not well-known at the time. Woodstock notoriously skyrocketed Santana to fame, as they released an album the following month and it was very well-received. The most infamous Woodstock band also performed on the second day: The Grateful Dead. While only performing a set of five songs, the Grateful Dead performed for a total of almost two hours to cap the day. Known for their niche of improvisation, the Grateful Dead had absolutely no trouble occupying such a large chunk of time. Toward the end of their performance The Grateful Dead became at risk for electrical shocks due to severe rain flooding their wires. As day two came to an end at Woodstock, Yasgur’s farm was extremely flooded and uncomfortably overcrowded, many sleeping in the mud simply on a blanket