The Artists Who Performed at the First Woodstock Music Festival

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On August 15, 1969, thousands of people gathered at a 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York, for what would become one of the biggest events in music history. The idea behind the first Woodstock musical festival—which was conceived by John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield, and Michael Lang—was simply to raise enough money to build a recording studio in Woodstock, New York.

But the three days of “peace and music” that unfolded from August 15-18 far exceeded anyone’s expectations. Ahead of Woodstock, 186,000 tickets were sold—but the actual turnout was so high that the festival was opened up to the public for free. The festival, which featured 32 acts total, was chaotic, rainy, and forever changed the history of music.

Here’s a look back at some of the concert’s top