56 Years Later, Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Performance Remains Rock’s Most Iconic Moment

On August 18, 1969, Jimi Hendrix's performance at Woodstock brought the iconic music festival to its official close, albeit not going entirely according to plan. Woodstock is remembered as a milestone in counterculture, but the monumental event had an oddly anticlimactic finale. The festival faced delays from rain, the greatest nemesis of any outdoor music event. The hold up of the weather pushed Hendrix’s performance into Monday morning, when a substantial number of the 450,000 crowd was already dwindling to get back to their jobs and colleges while Hendrix was shredding—so much for sticking it to the man. Still, those who stayed got to witness one of the most iconic sets in rock history, including that rendition of the Star-Spangled Banne r. Thankfully for Hendrix, the set that