Is A New Woodstock Music Festival Being Planned for Upstate New York?
A new music festival is coming to Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York -- site of the original 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair. It's not currently known if it will carry the Woodstock name, or be called something else entirely.
It was recently reported that Bethel Woods CEO Eric Frances was planning an announcement about an upcoming event at the farm. The original site drew almost half a million people over the course of the 4-day event in August, 1969.
In a few weeks, hopefully we will be announcing a new multi-day festival in August for the main stage will be on the original ‘69 field, which has not been the case for decades, so we’re very excited. -Bethel Woods CEO Eric Frances
No details have been given about the type of performers we might see at the new festival. Woodstocks 1969, 1994 and 1999 featured diverse artists and genres.
A 50th anniversary Woodstock concert was planned for the site in 2019, but plans came unraveled after a series of organizational setbacks. Instead, a 50th anniversary celebration took place at the nearby Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Acts from the original, such as Santana, John Fogerty and Arlo Guthrie performed at the show.
Max Yasgur was born in 1919 and owned the 600-acre diary farm where the original festival took place. He was a firm believer in free speech, which is why he offered up the use of his land. Many of the people in town turned on him for showing favoritism to "anti-war hippies." In 1971 he sold his farm and moved to Florida. He died less than 2 years later.