http://woodstock.com/lineup/
Over the course of the festival 32 artists preformed. These performers represented the finest music of the 1960’s and the different variations of music, but mainly rock and roll. Many others were given the opportunity to work the festival, but foolishly turned down the offer, later regretting their decision. They believed that they had more important shows to attend to or they thought that Woodstock wasn’t worth all the hype. Some of these bands that turned down the terrific opportunity were Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan. The musicians that did attend received great benefits, including good publicity. Day one, August 15th, had 12 performances. Day 2 had 10. 5 of the 17th and 6 on the 18th. Most of the music played reflected the events that were going on at this time. Songs were written about the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and other issues in the world. Jimi Hendrix version of the “Star Spangled Banner” was one of the most memorable performances from the festival.
On August 15th the first performer to go was Richie Havens. Originally, he was only supposed to play for around 20 minutes, but because of the crowd’s high demands he played for over 2 hours. He was stalling so that other artists had time to get to the venue. It was a great opening act. Many other acts went on that night. One of musicians, Arlo Guthrie, had no clue that he was on schedule for that day. He still managed to go out and woo the crowd. Joan Baez was the last to go on that day ending the show at about 2:00 AM. The following day, a little bit after noon, Quill was the first band to go. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who, Santana and many more played on this Saturday. The crowd grew much larger on Saturday compared to Sunday. The music played nonstop until dawn. On the 3rd day many other musicians preformed. The lineup included Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe & The Fish, Ten Years After, The Band and a few others. After midnight 6 other groups played. Jimi Hendrix closed up the show with his song “Hey Joe”.
On August 15th the first performer to go was Richie Havens. Originally, he was only supposed to play for around 20 minutes, but because of the crowd’s high demands he played for over 2 hours. He was stalling so that other artists had time to get to the venue. It was a great opening act. Many other acts went on that night. One of musicians, Arlo Guthrie, had no clue that he was on schedule for that day. He still managed to go out and woo the crowd. Joan Baez was the last to go on that day ending the show at about 2:00 AM. The following day, a little bit after noon, Quill was the first band to go. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who, Santana and many more played on this Saturday. The crowd grew much larger on Saturday compared to Sunday. The music played nonstop until dawn. On the 3rd day many other musicians preformed. The lineup included Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe & The Fish, Ten Years After, The Band and a few others. After midnight 6 other groups played. Jimi Hendrix closed up the show with his song “Hey Joe”.
Cancelled Acts
Jeff Beck Group (The band broke up in July, forcing cancellation)
Iron Butterfly (Stuck at the airport, their manager demanded helicopters and special arrangements just for them. Were wired back and told, as impolitely as Western Union would allow, "to get lost", but in other 'words'.)
Joni Mitchell (Joni's agent put her on "The Dick Cavett Show" instead)
Lighthouse (Feared that it would be a "bad scene".)
Ethan Brown (Arrested for LSD three days before the event.)
Declined Invitations
The Beatles (John Lennon said he couldn't get them together)
Led Zeppelin (Got a higher paying gig at the Asbury Park Convention Hall in New Jersey that weekend)
Bob Dylan (Turned it down because of his disgust of the hippies hanging around his house)
The Byrds
Tommy James & the Shondells (Turned it down because of being misinformed about the size and scope of the event)
Jethro Tull (Turned it down because they thought it wouldn't be a big deal.)
The Moody Blues were included in the original posters as performers, but backed out after taking a gig in Paris on the same weekend.
Spirit (they had other shows planned and did not want to back out of their commitments; not knowing how big that Woodstock would ultimately become)
Mind Garage (Declined because they thought it wouldn't be a big deal and had a higher paying gig elsewhere)
Jeff Beck Group (The band broke up in July, forcing cancellation)
Iron Butterfly (Stuck at the airport, their manager demanded helicopters and special arrangements just for them. Were wired back and told, as impolitely as Western Union would allow, "to get lost", but in other 'words'.)
Joni Mitchell (Joni's agent put her on "The Dick Cavett Show" instead)
Lighthouse (Feared that it would be a "bad scene".)
Ethan Brown (Arrested for LSD three days before the event.)
Declined Invitations
The Beatles (John Lennon said he couldn't get them together)
Led Zeppelin (Got a higher paying gig at the Asbury Park Convention Hall in New Jersey that weekend)
Bob Dylan (Turned it down because of his disgust of the hippies hanging around his house)
The Byrds
Tommy James & the Shondells (Turned it down because of being misinformed about the size and scope of the event)
Jethro Tull (Turned it down because they thought it wouldn't be a big deal.)
The Moody Blues were included in the original posters as performers, but backed out after taking a gig in Paris on the same weekend.
Spirit (they had other shows planned and did not want to back out of their commitments; not knowing how big that Woodstock would ultimately become)
Mind Garage (Declined because they thought it wouldn't be a big deal and had a higher paying gig elsewhere)