Woodstock Revival Set for August
In August, the Woodstock Music Festival will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. A revival of the festival will be hosted by one of the original co-creators, Michael Lang. Woodstock 50, as it is currently named, is not only a way of remembering a part of music history, but it is an attempt at a renewal of the peace and solidarity of the event.
The festival originally took place over August 15-18, 1969 and featured some of the biggest acts of the time: Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix are just a handful of iconic names that stepped on the stage in Bethel, New York.
While there were attempts to get the 50th show back up at the original site, it will be moved to Watkins Glen, New York. Since 1969, Bethel has turned into a concert venue, and Lang was looking for a more open area to bring back the original feeling of the festival.
The revival is scheduled to take place from August 15 -18, and tickets are going on sale in February. For those who can’t get tickets, the event will be livestreamed online. Lang has not yet confirmed the different musical acts that are going to perform at the shows and so many people are speculating about whether he will bring back original performers or current popular artists.
Although it would be remarkable if Lang is able to get back some original acts to perform for Woodstock 50, it is highly unlikely. Many of the groups are either broken up (like Crosby, Stills and Nash) while others are no longer living (Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin).
Roger Daltrey of The Who even told Billboard that’s he’s not interested in performing. He doesn’t see the need for the older acts to be performing at a music festival in 2019, even if it is Woodstock’s 50-year anniversary.
The Woodstock Music Festival was created with the intention of getting people involved in activism. The musical acts were meant to get people interested and excited. Watching The Grateful Dead perform live was something that could bring everyone together. While many would be interested in going back in time to see the original lineup as the next person, it just seems unnecessary and falls short of the festival’s original hopes.
If Michael Lang is truly looking to revive the feeling of the original show with Woodstock 50, modern acts should be brought onto the stage that everyone can party to like it’s 1969 again. These artists should inspire audiences to get involved in what is going on in 2019.
The original Woodstock was inspired by the free loving counterculture who thought money was the root of all evil, and so bringing old acts to perform would be pretty hypocritical. It is not yet determined when any performers will be announced for the festival, but it can only be hoped the Lang keeps his promise of sticking to the original ideals to 1969.
Jade Campos is a freshman majoring in print journalism. To contact her, email jmc7727@psu.edu.
