During the summer of 1969 one of the most important events in the history of rock music took place in a farm field near Woodstock, New York. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children made their way to the Catskills in New York to take part in the festival and hear their favourite music groups live. About 186,000 tickets were sold but so many people turned up for the concert that on the day it started the promoters* let everyone get in for free.

The weather was bad at the weekend. It rained every day except for the last one. When the promoters of the concert heard the weather forecast, they wondered what to do, but finally decided to go ahead with their plans. Some people chose to leave, but most stayed and enjoyed listening to the music even in the rain.

Many of the young people who came to Woodstock believed in a world of music, drugs, and free love. They hoped to set an example for a new world, and they expected to change society. They called themselves the Woodstock Nation.

Many of the local townspeople didn't like having so many hippies in their town. Some people expected to see a lot of trouble with so many people living together in a small area for three days, but the visitors enjoyed sharing everything with each other without arguing or fighting with each other or the residents of Woodstock. There was no violence which was really amazing for a crowd of this size.

In the years after Woodstock many rock promoters tried to copy this rock festival, but they all failed to achieve the same spirit of happiness, peace, and good music that the Woodstock festival symbolized.

*promoter – organizer