Brooklyn may host 40th anniversary of Woodstock http://www.examiner.com/x-5049-NY-Hard-Rock-Music-Examiner~y2009m4d7-Brooklyn-may-host-40th-anniversary-of-Woodstock
April 7, 2009 As Richie Havens took the stage in Bethel, NY in the wee morning hours on August 15, 1969, it was the beginning of one of the most historic events in rock n' roll. Now, 40 years later, music producer and one of the original co-creators of the first Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, Michael Lang, is hoping to bring the event to New York City. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock this August, Brooklyn native Lang, now 64, is hoping to hold the event in Prospect Park's Long Meadow in Brooklyn. The three-day music fest would feature new artists, as well as some legends like Crosby, Stills and Nash and Neil Young, who first performed on the upstate fairground 40 years earlier. The Long Meadow encompasses 90 acres within the 585-acre Prospect Park and currently hosts free concerts and other events throughout the year. Space is abundant, but the ease of transportation to and from the park (F train to Prospect Park station or 2 or 3 train to Grand Army Plaza) is another reason why Lang is considering the park. Unfortunately, a lack of sponsors to foot the potentially $10 million or more bill have been unsuccessful so far. A Prospect Park spokesperson said that "everything is still very much up in the air." However, the 1,255-acre Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens has also been suggested by the New York City Parks and Recreation Department as an alternative site. "New York City's parks have a long history of hosting large free concerts and the Parks Department is currently in preliminary discussions with an event planner about hosting a Woodstock concert," said the Parks Department in a recent statement. "The promoter must submit plans to the Parks Department for the event to be considered. Both Prospect Park and Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens have largefields that can accommodate more than 100,000 people and Jumbotron screens to broadcast performances." Originally created by Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman and Artie Kornfeld, the Bethel Woodstock was, at one point, going to act as a recording studio retreat before becoming a music and arts festival. Held on a dairy farm in Sullivan County, owned by local farmer Max Yasgur (the property has passed through different ownerships throughout the years and is currently under Joshpe Real Estate), approximately half a million people were said to have passed through during the fest, which introduced the world to legendary rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Santana and the Grateful Dead. Additional Woodstock festivals have been held throughout the years to commemorate the 10-, 20-, 25- and 30-year anniversaries, including one in 1994, which was held 10 miles from the original site in Saugerties, NY. The August 12-14 event brought in Metallica, Aerosmith, Nine Inch Nails, Violent Femmes, Green Day, Blind Melon, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and some original Woodstockers like Todd Rundgren, Country Joe McDonald and Santana. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
