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Woodstock logo from the “Official” Woodstock promoters

READ BOTH ARTICLES! – By John W. Barry | USA Today | On the original Woodstock site and the original Woodstock weekend, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts will mark the 50th anniversary of the famous festival with an original counterculture catalyst — live music.

That gathering was held August 15-18, 1969; revolved around live music from Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and dozens of other acts; and drew hundreds of thousands of people for what many consider to be the crowning achievement of the 1960s counterculture.

On Aug. 16-18, 2019, Bethel Woods will mark the milestone with the “Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival: Celebrating the golden anniversary at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival.”

Information regarding musical acts, tickets and non-musical events will be released soon. Bethel Woods said for more than a year it has been planning events to mark the anniversary, including the festival.

“As the stewards of this historic site, we remain committed to preserving this rich history and spirit and to educating and inspiring new generations to contribute positively to the world through music, culture and community,” said Bethel Woods CEO Darlene Fedun.

The announcement from Bethel Woods comes as Ulster County resident Michael Lang, who with partners staged the original Woodstock festival, is gearing up to hold his own celebration. Lang has yet to release details about a date, location or performers for his event, which is not affiliated with Bethel Woods.

Bethel Woods described its festival as a “pan-generational music, culture and community event” featuring live music performances and TED-style talks “from leading futurists and retro-tech experts.”

The gathering will be presented by Bethel Woods, Live Nation and INVNT, a branding and live storytelling agency. Bethel Woods works often with Live Nation, one of the nation’s largest concert promoters, as it stages concerts at its performing arts center.

In addition to the existing venues at Bethel Woods, entertainment villages and a number of custom-built performance areas will be created for the festival.

Lang, who staged Woodstock anniversary concerts in 1994 and 1999, told the Journal that he has “definite plans” to hold a 50th anniversary concert in 2019.

The public face of the Woodstock festival for five decades, Lang told the Journal that his anniversary festival will be built around sustainability, activism and social justice, themes that “hopefully encourage people to get involved with our lives on the planet.” Lang said his goal is to harness the “history and essence of what Woodstock was.”

The events give fans two ways to remember the famous festival in its milestone year. It also may create a division among fans who wish to celebrate at the site versus celebrating with an original promoter.

Doug Sawicki of LaGrange said, “Can you have it with one and not the other? I don’t know. They kind of go hand-in-hand.”

But, Sawicki said, “There is something to be said for having the anniversary on the original site. That’s where the event took place. That’s where all the history was made.”

In addition to the anniversary weekend festival, Bethel Woods in 2019 will celebrate the Woodstock milestone with:

“We Are Golden,” an exhibit at the Museum at Bethel Woods that will examine Woodstock and the global aspirations of youth living in 1969. “This exhibition uses the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair as a metaphor for the tumult and human response of the entire decade of the sixties in the hope that young people today may draw inspiration to articulate what it is that they want from their own world in their own time,” reads an announcement from Bethel Woods. This exhibit is scheduled to run March 30-Dec. 31, 2019.

● Conversations, workshops and round tables driven by Woodstock, music and history.

● Performances in the Event Gallery featuring veterans of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, including Ulster County resident John Sebastian on Oct. 19.

● A screening on the festival field of the director’s cut of “Woodstock,” the Academy-Award winning documentary about the concert.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/woodstock-50th-anniversary-festival-to-be-held-at-original-site/

[Thank you to Alex Teitz, http://www.femmusic.com, for contributing this article.]

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Woodstock Creator Reveals Why 2019 Announcement Isn’t ‘Real’ Festival

By Brett Buchanan

A concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock at the original location it was held was recently announced for August 16-18, 2019. The announcement said, “Together with Live Nation Concerts and INVNT we are joining forces to produce Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival: Celebrating the golden anniversary at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival! This pan-generational cultural event will feature live music, TED-style talks and special exhibits.”

Alternative Nation has been sent a statement by Michael Lang, the co-creator of Woodstock, who says the ‘real’ Woodstock 50th anniversary show will soon be announced, and that the Bethwel Woods Music and Culture Festival is not actually the real 2019 Woodstock festival, and has nothing to do with Woodstock Ventures, LLC.

Michael Lang, Producer and co-creator of the original Woodstock Festival in 1969, is producing the official anniversary, but not at Bethel Woods.

“While the original site in Bethel remains close to our hearts, it no longer has the capacity to hold a real Woodstock Festival. I’m delighted that Bethel Woods is doing events in the coming year to celebrate what we brought to life in 1969 and I encourage people to visit the Museum and concert venue.”

In the next few weeks Lang will shortly be announcing his plans for the real Woodstock 50th Festival to bring back the much needed spirit and energy of the 1969 original.

Festive Owl reported earlier this year a rumor that in the spring of this year, a pitch was being made for a 2019 Woodstock festival with Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Logic, Chance The Rapper, Pink, Lorde, The Weeknd, Coldplay, Kesha, Mumford and Sons, Lumineers, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Eminem, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Santana, The Who, Phish, Joan Baez, Bon Jovi, Elton John, The Doobie Brothers, Zac Brown Band, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Daft Punk, Swedish House Mafia, Deadmau5, Skrillex, Steve Aoki, and Chainsmokers proposed as artists to attempt to book. Artists being part of a pitch to be booked obviously is vastly different than any of these artists being on the verge of being booked, so the rumor should be taken with a grain of salt at this time. It also appears that this rumor may be tied to the Bethwel Woods concert, and not Michael Lang’s official Woodstock festival that is in the works.

http://www.alternativenation.net/woodstock-creator-why-2019-announcement-isnt-real-festival/

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