Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Friday 15 August 1969
A little more time would have been nice
Whether Woodstock Ventures was ready or not, the first day arrived. As I’ve indicated, there were thousands of people already on the field by Wednesday and the organizers realized that without booths that selling or collecting tickets was unlikely.
They would dance with who brung them.
Rolling Stone magazine had this to say afterwards: “Chicago was only the labor pains. With a joyous three-day shriek, the inheritors of the earth came to life in an alfalfa field outside the village of Bethel, New York. Slapping the spark of life into the newborn was American rock and roll music provided by the Woodstock Music and Art Fair.”
Day 1
The following is a listing of who played that first day, what they played, and how long they played. Keep in mind that while the organizers were well-organized (despite the myths), keeping track of times and players was not high on anyone’s list (insert joke here). The following seems to be accurate, but not definitive.
Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Richie Havens
Richie Havens started at 5:07 pm; played for 45 minutes
- Richie Havens: guitar, vocals
- Paul “Deano” Williams: guitar, vocals
- Danielle Ben Zebulon: percussion, conga drum, vocals
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Sri Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda addressed the audience and spoke about peace (6 PM).
Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Sweetwater
Sweetwater started at 6.30 pm; they were on stage about an hour.
| Nanci Nevins: guitar, vocals Albert Moore: flute, vocals August Burns: cello Alex Del Zoppo: keyboards |
Fred Herrera: bass Elpidio Cobain: conga drums Alan Malarowitz: drums |
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Bert Sommer
Bert Sommer started at 7:30 pm; played for approx 40 minutes.
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Tim Hardin
Tim Hardin started at 9 pm; played for a bit over an hour.
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar started at 10 pm; played for 40 minutes.
| Ravi Shankar: sitar | Maya Kulkarni: tamboura Ustad Alla Rakha: tabla |
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Melanie
Melanie played instead of Incredible String Band. She started at 11 pm; played for approx 20 minutes.
Melanie Safka: vocals, guitar
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie started at 12 midnight; played for approx 40 minutes.
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
Joan Baez
Joan Baez started at 1 am; played for approx 60 minutes.
| Joan Baez: vocals, guitar | Richard Festinger: guitar Jeffrey Shurtleff: vocals, guitar |
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Day 1 Woodstock Music Art Fair
I was tripping my brains out all day . It was Owsly Purple Double Dome. I had a bad reaction to it. I was in and out all day. Some performers I remember quite well others not at all . Needless to say it was the last time I did acid for at least a week.
Restraint is always a good choice. Thanks for sharing your story.
Loved Melanie. Too bad she ruined herself by giving her heart to Scientology.
Woodstock happened in my “back yard”. It was the week before my 8th birthday and I remember it well. I lived 1/4 mile from the site. In fact, we used to get milk delivered by Max Yasgur. We had cars parked in our fields(5800 of them)and people camping out on our property with my Grandmother feeding peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the hungry people.