Santana, Dead & Company, David Crosby and Country Joe McDonald are among the acts bringing back the original festival vibe to Woodstock 50.
Other announced acts who performed at the original 1969 rock festival are John Sebastian, John Fogerty, Melanie, Canned Heat, and Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady of Hot Tuna (then in Jefferson Airplane).
The three-day lineup for Woodstock 50 announced March 19 is a multigenerational affair, with acts stretching across the decades — from the 1960s stars the Zombies and Robert Plant, to current alt rockers Courtney Barnett and Soccer Mommy.
Headliners for the super-busy three days — August 16, 17 and 18 — appear to be the Killers, Dead & Company and Jay Z.
Woodstock 50 will be in Watkins Glen, upstate New York. That’s just over 100 miles from the original festival site. Acts will perform on three stages. Tickets go on sale April 22.
Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang told reporters in New York City: “It’s kind of spooky how similar things are. How some of the things that we thought we’d gone past in the last 50 years — the racial divides, care for the environment and women’s rights — now we have Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement and climate deniers and another asshole in the White House. So, it’s very similar.”
Carlos Santana saw his band go from obscurity to fame after the release of the original Woodstock movie and soundtrack. The guitarist has long held dear his connection with Woodstock and shows video of the festival during his concerts. Santana was one of the first acts nailed down by the new Woodstock’s organizers. He’s also expected to perform at the smaller Bethel Woods memorial concert on the original festival site.
Many of the original performers have since passed. The sobering memorial list of Woodstock veterans includes Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin, Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, Joe Cocker, half of the Who, the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Ravi Shankar, Tim Hardin, Richie Havens and key members of Canned Heat.
Other acts of note certain to draw new generations “to the garden” include Gary Clark Jr., Amy Helm (Levon Helm’s daughter), Brandi Carlile, Cage the Elephant, the Lumineers, Chance the Rapper, Pussy Riot and the Black Keys.
View the announced list of Woodstock 50 performers.