Woodstock is legendary. The festival launched in 1969, and has remained an integral part of music history and culture despite its disappearance. In 2019, Woodstock will hit its 50th anniversary. The original festival's co-creator Michael Lang revealed that there will be an anniversary event, and it will take place back at Watkins Glen, New York on August 16-18. According to Rolling Stone, the line up for the festival will not be announced until tickets go on sale in February. Lang did tell the publication that over 40 performers have been booked already across three stages. “It’ll be an eclectic bill,” Lang stated. “It’ll be hip-hop and rock and some pop and some of the legacy bands from the original festival.”
Woodstock ’99 was a disaster when Lang tried to pull off a 30th Anniversary. The event took place on a sweltering hot weekend in Rome, New York. The festival ended in fires, riots, and debauchery. Sexual assault was reported, a drug overdose cast a shadow over the event, and although temperatures were scorching, water was sold for $4 (which was insane for the 90's). Lang has planned around these issues to make sure this year's anniversary goes much smoother.
“I shouldn’t have left the booking to others,” Lang told Rolling Stone. “And the water situation was ridiculous. As soon as I saw that, I tried to get everyone to lower the prices and I couldn’t. I did order tractor trailers of water and put them out for free. I do think a lot of people had a good time, but the fires at the end became the imagery of it. It was just about 200 kids who went on a rampage. They exploded some of the cooling systems in the tractor trailers and just wreaked havoc.”
