Two traffic jams. One dairy farm. Half a million people. What was supposed to be a paid music festival turned into one of the largest free concerts in history.
Trailer for “Woodstock”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- “Woodstock” was supposed to be a ticketed festival. But after an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 people overwhelmed the entrances and knocked down the fences, organizers gave up trying to collect admission. It instantly became a free concert.
- Richie Havens was not supposed to play for so long. Massive traffic jams trapped other performers on the roads, so organizers kept asking Havens to play “just one more song.” He improvised “Freedom,” creating one of the festival’s most legendary performances.
- Food ran out, roads became impossible, and the National Guard had to helicopter in food, doctors, nurses, and medical supplies for the massive crowd.
Watch “Woodstock”
You can watch “Woodstock” on Apple TV and Prime Video.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 95/100
- IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 92/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Release Date: March 26, 1970
Director’s Note: Michael Wadleigh directed this 184-minute documentary. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. A young Martin Scorsese worked as one of the editors, along with Thelma Schoonmaker.
Other Unique Stuff
- Jimi Hendrix did not perform until Monday morning, after most of the crowd had already left. Fewer than 80,000 people saw what became the festival’s most famous moment: his version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
- Santana was still not a huge name before Woodstock. His wild performance of “Soul Sacrifice” helped make him a star almost overnight.
- Max Yasgur becomes one of the quiet heroes of the story. He let the festival use his 600-acre dairy farm after earlier locations fell through.
Wrap Up:
“Woodstock” is not just one of the best concert docs ever made. It is one of the best time capsules of the 1960s.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc