Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival

First there was the Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival event on August 9, 2008--now there is the book. Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to "Woodstock" is coming in June. Weston Blelock and Julia Blelock are the book's editors and Bob Fass wrote the foreword. More soon.

Roots of '69 Magic

August 9th soundout alums Joey Eppard, Frankie (without his Fingers) and Paul McMahon will be at the Woodstock Mothership (6 Hillcrest Ave.) in a song circle with Spider Barbour. Spider is an amazing guitarist who had a brush with fame back in 1968 with Chrysalis. This band also headlined at the original soundouts at Pan Copeland’s farm.

The event happens Friday, August 22 @ 8 p.m. Admission is by donation.

Roots of '69 Woodstock Festival Panel & Soundout

The feedback for the event has been very positive. One person told me that she was happy to finally see the old 1968 pro and anti-festival factions finally speaking to one another in a collegial fashion i.e Michael Lang and Bill West. In this and other ways the discussion was very therapeutic. Another person related to me that the event helped him re-connect to an idyllic moment in this youth. Still others reported being fascinated with the 1960s Woodstock music story….

Thanks to Paul McMahon the music kept coming and all 18 acts performed. These included Hair of the Dog, Norman Wennet, Joey Eppard, Frankie (without his Fingers), Spiv, Paul McMahon, Peter Walker, Jeremy Bernstein, Mighty Cee, Tim Moore, Naked, Dharma Bums, Justin Love, Marian Tortorella, Lynn Miller, Nathaniel, Shredni Vollmer and Steve Knight. For me, it was a dazzling experience. The vibration built and built and was capped by a great performance by Naked.

Daily Freeman Roots Article

Bonnie Langston filed a great story in the entertainment section about Saturday's event. Follow the below link and look for article in search box under Roots of '69:



http://www.dailyfreeman.com/

Soundouts

In 1967, John “Jocko” Moffitt began producing a series of outdoor concerts called Soundouts. These took place just outside Woodstock on Pan Copeland’s farm. I remember attending one that year. Parking was in a field and tickets were a couple of bucks. Opposite to the stage—back about fifty feet was a light show group.

People were camped out around fires with tents and teepees. There was an audience in the hundreds. I have heard that at some of the events there were upwards of two thousand people. As I recall, that night there were quite a few acts including Bunky & Jake, Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry and of course Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys.

Roots of 69 Woodstock Festival set for August 9, 2008

Click here to view PDF poster

Roots of 69
Backstory Panel Discussion and Soundout
August 9, 2008
Colony Café
22 Rock City Road, Woodstock, NY (MAP IT)
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
The subject of the discussion will be the events leading up to the Woodstock Festival of 1969, including the Soundout festivals that took place in and around Woodstock for several years in the late 1960s. Moderator:
Geddy Sveikauskas Publisher, Woodstock Times and other newspapers

Panel:
Michael Lang
Woodstock resident and legendary ’69 Festival promoter
Jean Young
co-author with Lang of Woodstock Festival Remembered
Bill West
who was in local government in the 1960s
Jeremy Wilber
former Town Supervisor, who was tending bar during the late sixties at the Sled Hill Café
Paul McMahon
iconic local musician and Mothership impresario

Soundout
FREE EVENT
The following musical acts are scheduled to appear:
Hair of the Dog
Becki Brindle
Joey Eppard
Frankie (without his Fingers)
Spiv
Paul McMahon
Peter Walker
Jeremy Bernstein of Stoney Clove Lane
Ben Vita
Naked

Contemporary Soundout
2:45 to 5:00 p.m.
Produced by Paul McMahon
and more

Sponsored by:
Historical Society of Woodstock and the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts
woodstockhistory.org
woodstockchamber.com

For more information call: 845.679.8111