Woodstock History

Bethel, NY. Bethel is a small town in the Catskill Mountains north of New York City. The festival was supposed to be in the town of Woodstock, NY originally, and the name stuck.

August 15th-18th 1969. The festival was meant to only last three days, but bad weather and traffic jams caused many delays and performances were pushed late into the night each night and early into the morning, finishing up on Monday, August 18th.

Richie Havens. Havens was not scheduled to be the first performer, but traffic jams prevented the original opener, Sweetwater, and all of their instruments from getting to the site in time. Richie and his two acoustic backup musicians were easier to put on stage. Now we can’t imagine it any other way! Scroll down to read more about Richie Havens and his Woodstock set.

Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was brought on to headline and close out the festival on Sunday night. With many delays, Hendrix had two options: play the prime spot on Sunday night but give up being the finale, or wait to close out the show and play to a smaller crowd. Hendrix chose to play last, giving other artists the spotlight while many attendees waited to see him. Scroll down to read more about Hendrix and his Woodstock set.

A total of 32 musical acts graced the Woodstock stage. 13 were lead artists with backing bands and 19 were group acts. Altogether, 163 musicians performed on the festival’s main stage!

Although there is no official count for the number of people who attended the historic music event, it is estimated that nearly 500,000 people were present at Woodstock '69 over the course of the 4-day festival.

Though the festival eventually became a free concert due to the unexpected crowds, three-day tickets were sold ahead of time for $18 ($120 today). They would have been $24 at the gate ($160 today).

Nope! There are no confirmed births on the festival site. However, one baby was born on Route 17 on the way to Woodstock, and another was born at a nearby hospital after the mother was airlifted from the site. Fun Fact! Joan Baez was pregnant with her son Gabe, during Woodstock.

The original Woodstock stage is located on West Shore Road. In 1984, a monument was installed to commemorate the location. You can see the original location of the stage and more on our Woodstock Site Map.

You can visit the Woodstock festival historic site and experience the grounds and the Museum at Bethel Woods, which interprets the festival and the bombastic decade of the 1960s which led up to it! Visit the Museum and Programs pages to learn more about Bethel Woods and the Woodstock historic site. Navigate to the Visit page to plan your trip.

Yes!  In 2017 the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival was officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places, a formal acknowledgment of the significance of the site’s heritage. Members of the National Register benefit from protections and grant opportunities for preservation as well as historic recognition, joining the ranks of national treasures such as the Empire State Building, the Grand Canyon, and the Statue of Liberty. Historic sites like this one bring people together and give meaning to our shared experiences.

Yes! Visit the Bethel Woods Photo Archive to browse photographs and home movies from Woodstock today!