15th August 1969: Woodstock Music and Art Fair opens on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near Bethel in New York

**Scott Allsop** (0:00)
On the 15th of August 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened on a dairy farm near Bethel and became a defining cultural event of the 1960s. Welcome to HistoryPod.
The rapid growth of popular music festivals during the late 1960s encouraged promoters Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, John P. Roberts and Joel Rosenman to organise an event. They intended to hold it near the town of Woodstock in New York which had become associated with musicians and artists. However, in the face of local opposition, farmer Max Yasgur agreed to host the festival on his land at Bethel, approximately 70 kilometres away.
Officially promoted as an Aquarian Exposition, Three Days of Peace and Music, preparations were complicated by the late change of venue and nearby construction work. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of people turned up to the site, overwhelming security arrangements, access roads and ticket checkpoints. Organisers concluded that it was no longer practical to control entry, and the festival effectively became a free event. Ritchie Havens opened the stage on the afternoon of the 15th of August, while many artists were still stuck in the heavy traffic around the site. Rain began later that evening, turning large areas to mud, while shortages of food, sanitation, and medical facilities placed considerable pressure on organisers. Despite these challenges, Woodstock came to represent the ideals of peace, community, and artistic expression that characterised elements of the late 1960s counterculture. A subsequent documentary film and soundtrack album introduced the event to a global audience, ensuring its place in popular culture. Although many later music festivals exceeded it in size and organisation, Woodstock nevertheless remains one of the defining moments in the history of modern popular music.