In August 15-18 of 1969, 32 popular musicians performed for about half a million fans in a field in New York state. The festival was nicknamed the Three Days of Peace and Music.
Woodstock was the brainchild of John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Lang. All of whom were euntrepreneurs familiar with the music industry.
The initial plan was for Woodstock to take place in Wallkill, NY at Howard Mills Industrial Park. The town eventually got spooked by the potential strain on their resources, so they passed a law that eliminated the possibility of a music festival being hosted there. With a month to go before the concert, the creators met Max Yasgur, who offered part of his dairy farm land for them to use in Bethel, NY.
Originally the event cost $18 in advance and $24 at the gate. When people started arriving a few days before the event, the concert soon turned free. This was because the fencing, gates, and booths weren't put up yet.
50,000 people were originally estimated, but the venue pre-sold 100,000 tickets. The day of the event, 1 million people attempted to attend the festival. An estimated half-million people got through the traffic to the venue.
There were a total of 32 musicians who performed at Woodstock. A few include: