History Trivia / Woodstock

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues a total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]It was the band scheduled to be the first band playing on the first day.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues a total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** However, the owner of the farm outside Woodstock that Lang had hoped to site the festival at made it clear he had no intention of renting the land to Woodstock Ventures. The promoters began booking acts anyway, as they needed to do so months in advance. A new site was tentatively secured at a former farm in the town of Wallkill, NY, outside Middletown, but vociferous local opposition, including death threats against the landowners, ended those plans.[[note]]As Abbie Hoffmann said, it's just as well anyway -- the name [[UnfortunateImplications sounds like]] "up against the wall" and "kill!"[[/note]] But by this point they were expecting at least 100,000 attendees over a multi-day event, so canceling wasn't an option.

* UsefulNotes/AcademyAward: The movie won the Best Documentary Feature laurel in 1970.

** Music/{{Love}} turned down the gig, largely because they were in the middle of breaking up

** There were also several holes in the schedule because of issues with some of the performers booked to play: The Moody Blues and The Jeff Beck Group backed out of the festival a few weeks beforehand, and Iron Butterfly couldn't make it because they were stranded at the airport. One of those holes was filled by Havens' long set. Another was filled by moving British folk group The Incredible String Band from Friday to Saturday, because they didn't want to play in the rain (Their spot on Friday was filled by Melanie). John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful was only at the festival as an attendee, but was coaxed to play in order to fill an empty space following Santana's set.

** Raven had played at one of the organizers' Woodstock Sound-Outs warm-up festivals in 1968 and 1969, and had a bad time, so they declined a spot at the actual festival. Other Sound-Outs performers who did not appear at Woodstock include Music/PhilOchs, The Blues Magoos, Artie & Happy Traum, Music/SoftMachine, Cat Mother & The All-Night Newsboys, Music/DonMcLean, Lothar and the Hand People, Fear Itself, Music/VanMorrison, and the aforementioned Procul Harum.

** An artist who didn't know what she was getting into was Music/MelanieSafka. Primarily known in England and Europe, not the U.S., she was invited to the "Woodstock Music and ''Art Fair''" and pictured playing for 500 people in folding lawn chairs at a relaxed arts and crafts show. Terrified by the actual size of the crowd as she was flown in by helicopter, she [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-melanie-singer-songwriter-856281/ wondered how she could captivate so many people]]. But she did, and as the rain fell and she saw the people holding up candles[[note]]this was before the days of audiences holding up lighters to encourage a band, although after Bert Sommers' set, a bit after 8 p.m., production coordinator John Morris exhorted attendees to light matches as it got dark. [[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival John Fogerty]] thinks the lighter tradition did start there with ''one guy'' who lit a cigarette as he yelled to the band not to worry, people were listening, even though it was 1 a.m.[[/note]] she understood what was happening. The memory of that night became "Candles in the Rain", her first U.S. hit. She was the first solo female artist to play at the festival. Her seven-song set started at 11 p.m. on the first night, replacing Incredible String Band who didn't want to play in the rain. They went on the next evening, around 6 p.m., right before Santana.

** Music/ProculHarum said no because they were exhausted after a long tour, and guitarist Robin Trower's wife was about to give birth to their baby back in England.

** Legal wrangling over the film and recording rights, plus the artists' personal decisions, also ensured that those records of the event are incomplete. Creedence Clearwater Revival gave what many people present considered to be one of the best sets of the festival, but since John Fogerty didn't think so, he refused to allow them to be filmed or recorded. [[note]]Specifically, because they were playing so late at night and most people were asleep, he thought that wouldn't look good for the band on film.[[/note]] Music/NeilYoung had just joined forces with Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash, but refused to give permission for filming[[note]]like several others he was angry that the show was being filmed ''at all'' because artists would play to the camera -- as you can see Stephen Stills doing -- instead of focusing on the music[[/note]] and famously threatened to [[WesternAnimation/QuickDrawMcGraw El Kabong]] anyone who got near him with a camera. Neil wasn't alone. Several others felt that the filming was inappropriate and at least one artist, [[http://www.bertsommer.com/woodstock.htm Bert Sommer]], was cut from the film by Warner, as he was a Capitol Records artist [[note]]Sommer's performance of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's "America":([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joH4MI2bh4k hear it here]]) got a standing ovation; fans speculate that if it had made it into the film he would have gained a much greater following instead of fading into obscurity and death[[/note]]. [[Music/GratefulDead The Grateful Dead]] hated their performance and declined its inclusion in either the film or album. Music/PeteTownshend had no issues with the film or the album, but was horribly cynical about the whole "peace, love and music" thing, at one point coldcocking Abbie Hoffman off the stage when he came on to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2eB2xtvBQ berate the crowd about its perceived political detachment]].[[note]]Hoffman was infuriated because jazz-poet and [[https://www.rockhall.com/nominee/mc5 MC5]] manager [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sinclair_(poet) John Sinclair]] had recently been set up by Detroit police and sentenced to ''ten years in prison'' for attempting to sell two marijuana joints to an undercover policewoman. Hoffman felt that the eminent artists present and the massive media coverage should be used to draw attention to this and other injustices. Many people in the hippie/artistic/music/political activist communities were outraged, and Music/JohnLennon wrote and recorded [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Time_in_New_York_City John Sinclair]] to help get more publicity. [[https://reasonabledoubt.org/criminallawblog/entry/december-13-1971-john-sinclair-freed-from-10-year-sentence-for-possessing-two-joints-today-in-crime-history Sinclair was released in December 1971.]] Townshend himself would later state that he agreed with Hoffman, but the reason he forced him off the stage is because he felt it was inappropriate to interrupt the band during their performance regardless of the message.[[/note]]Music/TheBand also did well by the crowd, but didn't let their performance be used in the album or movie because their manager thought they weren't getting paid enough. Ravi Shankar played at the festival but was displeased with his performance and later recreated it in the studio with clips from the concert edited in for a live feel. As a result, the tapes of his performance along with Melanie which were on the same reel are lost. It wasn't until 2019 that a [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-box-set-829716/ largely complete box set]] of the entire festival was released (including the performances of all artists above, but excluding one track by Sha Na Na for which recordings have been lost, and two songs from Jimi Hendrix's set [[StepUpToTheMicrophone sung by rhythm guitarist Larry Lee]] that Hendrix's estate asked not be included).

** That larger-than-expected crowd was the source of many of the festival's problems. Abandoned/parked cars effectively blocked the roads to the site, and the traffic even forced New York State to close a few Thruway exits. Sanitation also became problematic as not only had no one expected so many people and thus not planned for them in that department, no one had had any good idea how many portable toilets to provide, and even if they had it was hard to get a hold of even the ones they did decide to have.

** Legal wrangling over the film and recording rights, plus the artists' personal decisions, also ensured that those records of the event are incomplete. Creedence Clearwater Revival gave what many people present considered to be one of the best sets of the festival, but since John Fogerty didn't think so, he refused to allow them to be filmed or recorded. [[note]]Specifically, because they were playing so late at night and most people were asleep, he thought that wouldn't look good for the band on film.[[/note]] Music/NeilYoung had just joined forces with Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash, but refused to give permission for filming[[note]]like several others he was angry that the show was being filmed ''at all'' because artists would play to the camera -- as you can see Stephen Stills doing -- instead of focusing on the music[[/note]] and famously threatened to [[WesternAnimation/QuickDrawMcGraw El Kabong]] anyone who got near him with a camera. Neil wasn't alone. Several others felt that the filming was inappropriate and at least one artist, [[http://www.bertsommer.com/woodstock.htm Bert Sommer]], was cut from the film by Warner, as he was a Capitol Records artist [[note]]Sommer's performance of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's "America":([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joH4MI2bh4k hear it here]]) got a standing ovation; fans speculate that if it had made it into the film he would have gained a much greater following instead of fading into obscurity and death[[/note]]. [[Music/GratefulDead The Grateful Dead]] hated their performance and declined its inclusion in either the film or album. Music/PeteTownshend had no issues with the film or the album, but was horribly cynical about the whole "peace, love and music" thing, at one point coldcocking Abbie Hoffman off the stage when he came on to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2eB2xtvBQ berate the crowd about its perceived political detachment]].[[note]]Hoffman was infuriated because jazz-poet and [[https://www.rockhall.com/nominee/mc5 MC5]] manager [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sinclair_(poet) John Sinclair]] had recently been set up by Detroit police and sentenced to ''ten years in prison'' for attempting to sell two marijuana joints to an undercover policewoman. Hoffman felt that the eminent artists present and the massive media coverage should be used to draw attention to this and other injustices. Many people in the hippie/artistic/music/political activist communities were outraged, and Music/JohnLennon wrote and recorded [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Time_in_New_York_City John Sinclair]] to help get more publicity. [[https://reasonabledoubt.org/criminallawblog/entry/december-13-1971-john-sinclair-freed-from-10-year-sentence-for-possessing-two-joints-today-in-crime-history Sinclair was released in December 1971.]] He is still alive and an outspoken activist.[[/note]]Music/TheBand also did well by the crowd, but didn't let their performance be used in the album or movie because their manager thought they weren't getting paid enough. Ravi Shankar played at the festival but was displeased with his performance and later recreated it in the studio with clips from the concert edited in for a live feel. As a result, the tapes of his performance along with Melanie which were on the same reel are lost. It wasn't until 2019 that a [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-box-set-829716/ largely complete box set]] of the entire festival was released (including the performances of all artists above, but excluding one track by Sha Na Na for which recordings have been lost, and two songs from Jimi Hendrix's set [[StepUpToTheMicrophone sung by rhythm guitarist Larry Lee]] that Hendrix's estate asked not be included).

** Music/LedZeppelin, whose manager believed they would be just another band on the bill instead of a major headliner, and advised them to stick to their scheduled show in New Jersey.
** Music/TheBeatles, contrary to popular belief, ''were'' asked. But the members were too busy working on ''Music/AbbeyRoad'', couldn't coordinate their schedules, and weren't interested in appearing there as a collective anyhow.[[note]]They'd stopped playing live three years earlier, and even when they did finally perform live a few months later, it was in the least high-pressure environment: the roof of the Apple building. In any case, the Beatles' gear was totally unsuited to the scale of something like Woodstock.[[/note]]
** Music/JohnLennon was in Canada in the spring of 1969, doing his famous Bed-In for Peace, when he was contacted by the promoters in one of many attempts to get the Beatles to perform at the festival. He ''wanted'' to play at Woodstock but could not get back into the U.S. due to immigration problems. Talks also broke down because the festival organizers also only wanted either him alone or the Beatles, and he wanted to perform with the Plastic Ono Band.

** Music/TommyJamesAndTheShondells were told by their secretary that "a pig farmer wants you to come and play in his field" and assumed it was small local event.

** Music/JoniMitchell turned down a spot after her manager and agent David Geffen talked her into keeping scheduled appearance on ''Series/TheDickCavettShow'' instead.[[note]]Geffen was worried Mitchell wouldn't make it back to New York City for the taping in time. Ironically, that episode -- taped the day the festival ended and aired the next night -- turned into something of a Woodstock post-show, considering Cavett's other guests were the Music/JeffersonAirplane, Music/DavidCrosby and Stephen Stills[[/note]] She's spoken ever since about how much she regrets listening to Geffen. She later wrote the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aOGnVKWbwc Woodstock]]" about the festival, based on what her then-boyfriend Graham Nash had told her about it.

** The Music/JeffBeck Group (featuring vocalist Music/RodStewart) were actually signed on to play...but Beck broke up the band right before the festival

** Legal wrangling over the film and recording rights, plus the artists' personal decisions, also ensured that those records of the event are incomplete. Creedence Clearwater Revival gave what many people present considered to be one of the best sets of the festival, but since John Fogerty didn't think so, he refused to allow them to be filmed or recorded. [[note]]Specifically, because they were playing so late at night and most people were asleep, he thought that wouldn't look good for the band on film.[[/note]] Music/NeilYoung had just joined forces with Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash, but refused to give permission for filming[[note]]like several others he was angry that the show was being filmed ''at all'' because artists would play to the camera -- as you can see Stephen Stills doing -- instead of focusing on the music[[/note]] and famously threatened to [[WesternAnimation/QuickDrawMcGraw El Kabong]] anyone who got near him with a camera. Neil wasn't alone. Several others felt that the filming was inappropriate and at least one artist, [[http://www.bertsommer.com/woodstock.htm Bert Sommer]], was cut from the film by Warner, as he was a Capitol Records artist [[note]]Sommer's performance of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's "America":([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joH4MI2bh4k hear it here]]) got a standing ovation; fans speculate that if it had made it into the film he would have gained a much greater following instead of fading into obscurity and death.[[/note]] [[Music/GratefulDead The Grateful Dead]] hated their performance and declined its inclusion in either the film or album. Music/PeteTownshend had no issues with the film or the album, but was horribly cynical about the whole "peace, love and music" thing, at one point coldcocking Abbie Hoffman off the stage when he came on to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2eB2xtvBQ berate the crowd about its perceived political detachment]].[[note]]Hoffman was infuriated because jazz-poet and [[https://www.rockhall.com/nominee/mc5 MC5]] manager [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sinclair_(poet) John Sinclair]] had recently been set up by Detroit police and sentenced to ''ten years in prison'' for attempting to sell two marijuana joints to an undercover policewoman. Hoffman felt that the eminent artists present and the massive media coverage should be used to draw attention to this and other injustices. Many people in the hippie/artistic/music/political activist communities were outraged, and Music/JohnLennon wrote and recorded [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Time_in_New_York_City John Sinclair]] to help get more publicity. [[https://reasonabledoubt.org/criminallawblog/entry/december-13-1971-john-sinclair-freed-from-10-year-sentence-for-possessing-two-joints-today-in-crime-history Sinclair was released in December 1971.]] He is still alive and an outspoken activist.[[/note]]Music/TheBand also did well by the crowd, but didn't let their performance be used in the album or movie because their manager thought they weren't getting paid enough. Ravi Shankar played at the festival but was displeased with his performance and later recreated it in the studio with clips from the concert edited in for a live feel. As a result, the tapes of his performance along with Melanie which were on the same reel are lost. It wasn't until 2019 that a [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-box-set-829716/ largely complete box set]] of the entire festival was released (including the performances of all artists above, but excluding one track by Sha Na Na for which recordings have been lost, and two songs from Jimi Hendrix's set [[StepUpToTheMicrophone sung by rhythm guitarist Larry Lee]] that Hendrix's estate asked not be included).

** Legal wrangling over the film and recording rights, plus the artists' personal decisions, also ensured that those records of the event are incomplete. Creedence Clearwater Revival gave what many people present considered to be one of the best sets of the festival, but since John Fogerty didn't think so, he refused to allow them to be filmed or recorded. [[note]]Specifically, because they were playing so late at night and most people were asleep, he thought that wouldn't look good for the band on film.[[/note]] Music/NeilYoung had just joined forces with Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash, but refused to give permission for filming[[note]]like several others he was angry that the show was being filmed ''at all'' because artists would play to the camera -- as you can see Stephen Stills doing -- instead of focusing on the music[[/note]] and famously threatened to [[WesternAnimation/QuickDrawMcGraw El Kabong]] anyone who got near him with a camera. Neil wasn't alone. Several others felt that the filming was inappropriate and at least one artist, [[http://www.bertsommer.com/woodstock.htm Bert Sommer]], was cut from the film by Warner, as he was a Capitol Records artist [[note]]Sommer's performance of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's "America"([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joH4MI2bh4k hear it here]]) got a standing ovation; fans speculate that if it had made it into the film he would have gained a much greater following instead of fading into obscurity and death.[[/note]] [[Music/GratefulDead The Grateful Dead]] hated their performance and declined its inclusion in either the film or album. Music/PeteTownshend had no issues with the film or the album, but was horribly cynical about the whole "peace, love and music" thing, at one point coldcocking Abbie Hoffman off the stage when he came on to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2eB2xtvBQ berate the crowd about its perceived political detachment]].[[note]]Hoffman was infuriated because jazz-poet and [[https://www.rockhall.com/nominee/mc5 MC5]] manager [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sinclair_(poet) John Sinclair]] had recently been set up by Detroit police and sentenced to ''ten years in prison'' for attempting to sell two marijuana joints to an undercover policewoman. Hoffman felt that the eminent artists present and the massive media coverage should be used to draw attention to this and other injustices. Many people in the hippie/artistic/music/political activist communities were outraged, and Music/JohnLennon wrote and recorded [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Time_in_New_York_City John Sinclair]] to help get more publicity. [[https://reasonabledoubt.org/criminallawblog/entry/december-13-1971-john-sinclair-freed-from-10-year-sentence-for-possessing-two-joints-today-in-crime-history Sinclair was released in December 1971.]] He is still alive and an outspoken activist.[[/note]]Music/TheBand also did well by the crowd, but didn't let their performance be used in the album or movie because their manager thought they weren't getting paid enough. Ravi Shankar played at the festival but was displeased with his performance and later recreated it in the studio with clips from the concert edited in for a live feel. As a result, the tapes of his performance along with Melanie which were on the same reel are lost. It wasn't until 2019 that a [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-box-set-829716/ largely complete box set]] of the entire festival was released (including the performances of all artists above, but excluding one track by Sha Na Na for which recordings have been lost, and two songs from Jimi Hendrix's set [[StepUpToTheMicrophone sung by rhythm guitarist Larry Lee]] that Hendrix's estate asked not be included).

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** One artist who ''wasn't'' supposed to play, but did, was John Sebastian of Music/TheLovinSpoonful. He was sitting backstage taking LSD with friends and was asked to perform to fill in a gap between scheduled performers who hadn't arrived yet. His voice is the first one you hear on the original ''Woodstock'' record album, with his gentle ballad "I Had a Dream".

** One artist who wasn't supposed to play was John Sebastian of Music/TheLovinSpoonful. He was sitting backstage taking LSD with friends and was asked to perform to fill in a gap between scheduled performers who hadn't arrived yet. His voice is the first one you hear on the original ''Woodstock'' record album, with his gentle ballad "I Had A Dream".

** Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} turned down a spot because Music/MickJagger was busy working on the film ''Film/{{Ned Kelly|1970}}''. The band's disastrous free concert at California's Altamont Speedway that December (later documented in the film ''Film/GimmeShelter'') was, in many ways, an attempt to mount a West Coast answer to Woodstock.

** Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} turned down a spot because Music/MickJagger was busy working on the film ''Film/{{Ned Kelly|1970}}''.

** Music/TheBeatles, who, contrary to popular belief, ''were'' asked. But the members were too busy working on ''Music/AbbeyRoad'', couldn't coordinate their schedules and weren't interested anyway, not as a collective.[[note]]They had stopped playing live three years earlier, and even when they did finally perform live a few months later, it was in the least high-pressure environment: the roof of the Apple building. In any case, the Beatles' gear was totally unsuited to the scale of something like Woodstock.[[/note]]

** Many people came because they heard rumors the Beatles would reunite and/or that Bob Dylan would play (the name Woodstock came from Woodstock Ventures, the company that financed the festival, but since Dylan's home -- near the originally planned site -- was in the ''town'' of Woodstock, everybody naturally thought...). During Music/TheBand's set, someone in the audience shouts "Where's Dylan?" A few months later, Dylan left his Woodstock home for good, saying it was constantly surrounded by "druggies".

** Music/LauraNyro was asked and declined, citing severe, crippling stage fright.
** Music/{{Donovan}} was asked and declined -- no one seems to know why, perhaps for personal reasons.

** The Guess Who also turned an invitation down

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so.[[note]]Dentsu, a massive advertising agency that practically ''[[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-14-mn-216-story.html owns Japan]]'', were also responsible for firing Mikiko, the original designer of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies.[[/note]] On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so.[[note]]Dentsu, a massive advertising agency that practically ''[[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-14-mn-216-story.html owns Japan]]'', were also responsible for firing Mikiko, the [[https://aramajapan.com/news/tokyo-2020-opening-ceremony-original-plan-leaks-in-full/114631/ original designer of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies]] [[/note]] On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so.[[note]]Dentsu, a massive advertising agency that practically ''[[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-14-mn-216-story.html owns Japan]]'', were also responsible for firing Mikiko, the [[https://aramajapan.com/news/tokyo-2020-opening-ceremony-original-plan-leaks-in-full/114631/ original designer of the Tokyo 2020 Opening and Closing Ceremonies]] for the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames.[[/note]] On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so.[[note]]Dentsu, a massive advertising agency that practically ''[[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-14-mn-216-story.html owns Japan]]'', has a track record for investing in things and then ruining them; they were also responsible for firing [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Mikiko, the original designer]] of the [[https://aramajapan.com/news/tokyo-2020-opening-ceremony-original-plan-leaks-in-full/114631/ Tokyo 2020 Opening and Closing Ceremonies]] for the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames[[/note]] On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter1970 Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** Music/IronButterfly were booked to play and were on the original poster, but they got stranded at [=LaGuardia=] airport. Their manager rudely demanded impossible amenities and he was literally told "fuck you" by the organizers. Had they played, they would have made more money off their performance than the Grateful Dead, Santana and Joe Cocker did combined.

** Music/TheRollingStones turned down a spot because Music/MickJagger was busy working on the film ''[[Film/NedKelly1970 Ned Kelly]]''.