In August 1969, half a million people converged on a farm near Bethel, NY for what would become the most legendary concert in rock n’ roll history. Its sheer scale was unplanned, its legacy even more so. And when the hippies began descending on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm that summer weekend, no one could have predicted that we’d still be talking about them 45 years later.
It’s easy to romanticize the ethos behind the original festival and the revolutionary politics of both performers and audience. But there was actually something to it: an emancipatory and alternative politics at play often lacking in contemporary pop music…
