In August 1969, 500,000 people gathered at a farm in upstate New York. What happened there was far more than just a concert. Woodstock tells the story of a legendary event that defined a generation through the voices of those who were there.
This was the most amazing behind-the-scenes experience about the 3 days leading up to the Woodstock Festival in August of 1969. This beautiful documentary accounts the youth’s rebellion of the political and social events that took place during that time and why this music event was so important and profound to so many. The idea began with two friends, Joel Rosenman and John Roberts, who went from starting Media Sound Recording Studios to meeting Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang who would create the biggest concert featuring some of the most legendary musicians of that time including Creedence Clearwater, Jefferson Airplane, Richie Havens, and Jimi Hendrix.
When the event was announced, many were against it, claiming that too many young people in one place would create violence and havoc. It proved to be otherwise. Everyone came together in droves with the intention of peace and love, and with over 400,000 attendees, there was no violent outbreak of any kind, in fact, the locals, who were originally against the concert being held in their area, came to help out when needed. I absolutely loved this story, although I was a bit on edge when they described the complications leading up to the event.
The first location ended up falling through, the stage couldn’t get built in time, the gate wasn’t finished so the concert became free because there was no way to keep people out. The food ran out during the event, there wasn’t enough medical staff, the roads were blocked off so the musicians had to be helicoptered in. The original footage of everything from the building of the stage, to the panoramic view of the huge crowd to the bands playing and the cleanup when it was all over, was such a mind rush. I literally felt like I was there, it was so exciting! Such an incredible story told in a beautiful way, with commentary of so many people who attended the Woodstock event describing what it meant to them.
“Woodstock: Three Days That Defined A Generation” recently premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival
