Woodstock was a landmark cultural event which defined an era. It was a festival that was supposed to represent hippiedom and bring together thousands of like-minded individuals, but instead, it was an unmitigated disaster which descended into utter chaos.
In 1969, festivals were far from the slick, corporate operations they exist as in 2023. Only a month before the event, the Woodstock organisers were forced to find a new venue and managed to secure a dairy farm in Bethel, which was only supposed to cater for 50,000 fans. However, the actual attendance was almost ten times higher.
Even artists struggled to make it into Bethel due to the massive queues to get into the dairy farm, and with each passing hour, the festival got even more out of hand. The Grateful Dead’s set was marred with technical difficulties, causing Bob Weir to be electrocuted, and by the time Jimi Hendrix closed Woodstock, the majority of the crowd had dissipated.
Most harrowingly, two festival-goers tragically lost their lives during Woodstock, including one person who was horrifically killed by a tractor during their sleep. While the event is often glamorised, the bleak reality was far different from the hippie dream.
Although it’s a historic event, mainly for the wrong reasons, artists wear their appearance as a badge of honour. At this stage, Led Zeppelin were one of the biggest touring bands on the planet, and unsurprisingly, they were invited to play at Woodstock.
Furthermore, they were in America at the time of Woodstock, but their manager, Peter Grant, rejected the offer before it could even reach the band. During an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2010, Robert Plant revealed: “We didn’t do Woodstock because our manager thought we would be typecast.”
He continued: “So we did every other festival instead. And we played with some amazing American bands back then. A complete trip compared to the UK – The Doors, Jefferson Airplance. It was very unusual for us. We learned a lot and it was a fantastic time.”
Instead of performing at Woodstock, Led Zeppelin were positioned down the road to play a huge headline show in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In an Instagram post, guitarist Jimmy Page recalled the weekend: “On this day in 1969, I played at Asbury Park, NJ with Led Zeppelin. This was the second day of Woodstock, and we played Asbury Park. By that time, the city was awash with tales, stories and rumours of what was happening at the festival.”
Although Led Zeppelin missed out on being part of history at Woodstock, they were out in the States writing a story of their own, and Grant didn’t want them to become a footnote of somebody else’s tale. While this likely was the most sensible decision considering events in Bethel, he also did potentially rob the band of the most infamous concert of their career.
