History of WoodstockWhat is Woodstock? It is one of the most famous festivals in history thanks to the four young men John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artic Kohn and Mike Lang. It was three days of peace and music. It took a lot of planning, most things didn't even work out right, for example the location. They had planned to hold the event in Wallkill, New York, but the town didn't want to hold the festival there because of all the violence due to Vietnam weeks before. They all panicked trying to hurry up and find a new location. Fortunately, a man named Max Yasgur told the men they could use his six-hundred-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York. (McLeese)Friday August 15, 1969. The first day of the festival, it was a little crazy the roads were congested. People were leaving their cars to go to the festival, which was a huge problem. Only a few musicians arrived before the traffic jams, others had to be brought in by helicopter. Who were some of these people, you may ask. Well, we have Richie Haven, Ravi Shankar, Tim Hardin, Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Melanie Safka, Arlo Guthrie and Joan Baez. ("Woodstock") The first person to play was supposed to be Sweetwater but they were stuck in traffic so Richie Havens had to open the festival. Richie didn't want to open the show and kept making excuses, but Michael Lang wouldn't give up, he knew he could do it. At 5:07 p.m., he let loose and went out there and sang his comforting spiritual music. He was only supposed to do forty-five minutes of songs, but the audience wanted more, so he got back on stage and sang every song he knew. His last song was called “Freedom.” Everyone loved it so much that other bands must have done a fantastic job comparing. (Hilstrom) First day was tough but good... middle of paper... we're with you. After John it was Janis Joplin's turn, everyone had woken up and most people were disappointed with her performance because she was too drunk to perform. A year later, she died from drug and alcohol abuse. The mood completely changed when Sly and the Family Stone took the stage and most said his music inspired people to start partying again. Then, The Who made a big impact on the festival when the guitarist smashed his guitar into the back of Hoftman's head. Works Cited Gerdes, Louise. Woodstock. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2003 Hilstrom, Kevin. Defining moments from Woodstock. Detroit: Omigraphic, 2013 Kallen, Stuart. The History of Rock and Roll. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2012McLeese, Don. “Woodstock Festival.” Advanced World Book. World Book, 2013 “Woodstock”. Woodstock. 2012, November 7, 2013