Amazing Woodstock Pics You’ve Never Seen

Published

8 years ago

March 8, 2017

Money + Investing Staff

The Woodstock Music & Art Fair was held over three days in New York state on a dairy farm during August 15th-17th, 1969. Over 400,000 fans attended and 32 acts performed during the sometimes rainy weekend outside.

Jimi Hendrix was the last act to perform at the festival and due to the rain delays he did not take to the stage until 8:30am Monday morning. Click Start Slideshow to enjoy the journey through this collection of Woodstock photos.

Slim Predictions

The organizers estimated that turn-out would be around 50,000. This ended up being a monumental underestimate, as the final number rounded out to about 400,000!

Shenanigans

No doubt all of the substances going around caused the concertgoers to feel a bit too groovy! Here one of them jumps off a wooden structure into a pile of hay.

Slim Pickings

The high volume of people didn’t allow sufficient amenities to be available, and many had to make do with what little they had. Some even resorted to bathing in the closest river.

Stocking Up

Medical supplies ended up being choppered in by helicopters. The event workers had to then transport the supplies.

Preparation

The sound crew had to be lifted up by crane to their workstations in jerry-rigged barrels before the festival started.

Crosby

On day #3, as more and more people flooded the fairgrounds, David Crosby took to the stage.

Medical Care

Woodstock even had its own built-in hospital! Many of the women set up tents to take care of any injuries.

Human Jam

There was quite a bit of difficulty with that massive volume of people descending on one place. As such, getting into town proved quite hectic.

Miss Woodstock

Despite having no knowledge of Woodstock until a few days prior, Janis Joplin was announced as one of the top headliners. During her ten-hour wait to perform on stage, she got a bit inebriated and had a hard time performing. Those in attendance didn’t care, as they screamed for an encore after her performance.

Birds of a Feather

In order to take care of the flocks of people in attendance, many of the concertgoers came together and cooked food.

Safety Protocol

Even when people had issues during the event, ambulances were unable to reach them due to the high volume of traffic. Good thing those medical supplies came in by helicopter!

Come One Come All

When people began pouring in by the thousands, event organizers eventually decided to just offer free admission.

Legalize It

The plea for marijuana legalization hasn’t died off since the 60s!

Most Popular Performers of the Day

On top of the high-desired singers of that time such as Hendrix being present, Carlos Santana and David Brown were also some of the big performers there.

The Who

Following Janis Joplin’s shaky-but-riveting performance, The Who was up next to stir up the crowd.

Traffic Jam

Traffic heading into the fairgrounds was so thick that many were forced to abandon their cars. Some just put it into park and sat on their hoods jamming out to music.

Miles of Denim

The current style was so particular at that time that there was a combined 10 million yards of striped shirts and jeans at the event.

Sleeping Arrangements

Hotels were all booked up and many people didn’t bring tents, so those less-fortunate were compelled to find shut eye by other means.

No Hotels? That’s What Cars Are For

In light of the lack of sleeping accommodations, many people returned to their abandoned vehicles to find shelter to rest.

Bike Luck

Though parking ended up being quite an issue for those with cars, those who brought their motorcycles found it far easier to maneuver around the grounds.

Kiddos

A common misconception about Woodstock is that there were no children present, when in fact there were a good number of kids there.

Little Rest For the Weary

I can only imagine the difficulty in falling asleep at a rambunctious event such as Woodstock – though I imagine that the booze helped out with that!

Peace

Peace was more than just a slogan at Woodstock – it was a way of life! No accounts of violence were reported during the entire event. Which is very shocking considering the sheer volume of alcohol and people that were in effect.

No Cause For Alarm

Nelson Rockefeller, the governor of New York, was apparently so nervous about the massive crowds that he considered sending in the National Guard.

400,000

Though original predictions estimated around 50,000, the final amount of unwashed hippies that piled into the fairgrounds ended up being around 400,000!

A Time of Connecting

You would assume that an event such as this would have had its fair share of complications and clashing of temperaments, but Woodstock actually produced positive vibes and personal connection between those in attendance.

When Out of Luck. . .

Since room accommodations were a bit on the scarce side, people resorted to creative ingenuity – true “stick-built” homes!

Sly

Sly Stone of Sly & the Family Stone was among the many featured artists who performed.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Woodstock was a time when people joined together harmoniously, and that included many young and eager couples who shared in the joy together.

Last-Minute Merch

There was no official Woodstock merchandise available, but some people capitalized on the juggernaut success of the event and set up their own stands.

Santana

Santana was a completely unknown band before they took the stage at Woodstock. A month following their performance, their debut album peaked at #4 on the US Billboard 200 chart.