On this day in 1969, hundreds of thousands of beautiful people descended upon Max Yasgur’s 600-acre farm in the town of Bethel, NY for the now-legendary Woodstock Music & Arts Fair. Originally slated from August 15th—August 17th for an estimated 200,000 concertgoers, the now-historic music and cultural event stretched to roughly noon on August 18th and, at its peak, swelled to an astonishing 400,000 attendees.
Woodstock Music & Arts Fair was a once-in-a-lifetime snapshot of American history in the 20th century and the peaceful culmination of a tumultuous decade that saw a drastic shift in youth culture that changed the country forever. Commonly renowned as the most iconic music festival of all time, Woodstock was the counterculture’s response to the world in which they had grown and was a pivotal moment for a nation engulfed in Vietnam War protests and social unrest following the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a year prior. Even in the craziest of circumstances, the frantically unorganized Woodstock somehow became a utopian city where music was played, freedom thrived, and people lived together in communal peace and harmony… and mud.
Spread throughout these four days which altered the history of rock n’ roll and live music forever was a hit parade of legendary performances that would go down in the history books as some of the most celebrated concerts of all time. All-in-all, 32 artists performed at the festival ranging from Joe Cocker to The Who to the Grateful Dead.
To celebrate, we narrowed down the list of the top 15 most impressive performances—the ones that outshined, blew acid-soaked minds, and have since stood the test of time.
These are our picks for the top 15 acts of Woodstock:
Arlo Guthrie
“The New York State Thruway is closed, man!” said the high-spirited son of American music icon Woody Guthrie to an endless sea of cheering people late Friday night. His statement was slightly misstated, being that the thruway had never actually shut down completely. However traffic had stretched over ten miles from the concert-grounds and some areas of the highway had become nearly impassable due to abandoned cars along the roadway. Guthrie played a fantastic setlist that included his well-known “Comin’ into Los Angeles” along with a handful of folk classics.
SETLIST:
Comin’ into Los Angeles
Wheel of Fortune
Walkin’ Down the Line
Story about Moses and the Brownies
Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep
Every Hand in the Land
Amazing Grace
JIMI HENDRIX
Without question, the greatest performance of the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair was the final performance of them all—Jimi Hendrix. For those still lingering on Yasgur’s Farm at 9:00am on Monday morning, August 18th, 1969, guitar legend Jimi Hendrix was there to put the cap on these four days of peace and music. For over two hours, Hendrix played for an awestruck audience of under 30,000 people. Those lucky individuals were privileged to witness perhaps the most famous guitar solo of all time: Hendrix’s psychedelic rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, an interpretation that musically reflected the distorted turmoil of the decade. Just over a year later, Jimi Hendrix would be dead, and the spirit of the late 1960’s would die with him. The Woodstock performance still stands as his most iconic moment.
SETLIST
Message to Love
Hear My Train a-Comin’
Spanish Castle Magic
Red House
Mastermind
Lover Man
Foxy Lady
Jam Back at the House
Izabella
Gypsy Woman Aware of Love
Fire
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Stepping Stone
The Star Spangled Banner
Purple Haze
Hey Joe
The BAND
Although Bob Dylan had turned down an invitation to play the festival, Levon Helm, Robbie Roberston and the boys of The Band surely picked up some of the slack. Performing many of the songs that would wind up on the collaborative 1975 release from Bob Dylan and The Band, The Basement Tapes, these Canadian-American music legends put on one of the most memorable shows of the weekend, featuring classics such as “Tears of Rage,” “This Wheel’s on Fire,” “I Shall Be Released” and their eventual world-renowned smash-hit “The Weight”. Despite the phenomenal performance, The Band was not featured in the award-winning 1970 documentary film.
SETLIST:
Chest Fever
Don’t Do It
Tears of Rage
We Can Talk
Long Black Veil
Don’t You Tell Henry
Ain’t No More Cane
This Wheel’s on Fire
I Shall Be Released
The Weight
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
