It’s the 55th Anniversary of The Woodstock Music and Art Fair this weekend.
To see the epic performances at Woodstock, attendees endured crowds, rain, minimal food and water—and lots of mud.
Jason Dole took a deep dive into the mud of Woodstock in this report from the historic grounds of the three-day cultural happening in Bethel, NY.
Image: Titled “Squishy Feet,” this photo shows what Max Yasgur’s alfalfa field looked like after the Friday night rain at the Woodstock festival. The mud became one of the festival’s most defining elements. (Credit: Richard Gordon. Bethel Woods Collection, 2010.79.1, gift of Richard Gordon)
I really dug Tim Bruno’s Woodstock: Three Days of Peace, Love, Music and Mud. Dust off the name Woodstock and we have a word synonymous with music, as well as peace, love, and art. I was born in 1967, but I missed the show. My friend Christian Hayden was only one and he attended along with vagabond parents Larry and Monica. I made it to Yasgur’s Farm in 2000 with my wife in Hayden’s old Jeep Cherokee, the vehicle that still surpasses 300,000 miles with ease, fueled by 1970s rock and roll. Studying the Vietnam Era in America puts you right in the thick of things. Thanks again to WJFF and Tim Bruno for shaking up the squares so successfully. Far too many who were there in 1969 are no longer here. But they left some fascinating music behind for My G-G-Generation. Talking ’bout their 1969.