Woodstock's Fiftieth Anniversary Cancelled

Both are huge; neither are entirely surprising additions to the lineup.

March 20, 2019

The Lumineers are one of the Colorado bands playing Woodstock. Brandon Marshall

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Fifty years ago, 400,000 hippies stormed a small community in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York to attend Woodstock, planning to share what had been billed as three days of music, peace and love. While they got what they came from, the grounds were so overwhelmed, the planners so underprepared, that chaos marred the festival.

Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Santana, the Grateful Dead, The Who, Janis Joplin and many more were on the bill. Babies were born. Relationships formed. People tripped. And in the aftermath, there were lawsuits.

Half a century later, Woodstock is returning to New York on August 16 to 18, and this time around at least two well-known Colorado Americana bands are on the bill: the Lumineers and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.

The Lumineers won over the country with "Ho Hey," and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats are the foot-stomping soul-inspired group that are as comfortable playing the Apollo Theater as the Grand Ole Opry. Headliners include Jay-Z, Dead & Company, Miley Cyrus, The Killers, Santana, Chance the Rapper and the Black Keys.

Woodstock will take place in Watkins Glen, New York; find more info at the Woodstock website.

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