With the help of exclusive photographs from the Woodstock Museum in Bethel, Peter Bitzer shows us how a perfectly normal commercial festival turned into a myth, mystified to this day, of a peace-loving, artistic and ‘other’ America. The festival took place from 15 to 18 August 1969 on the farm of cattle rancher Max Yasgur in White Lake, near the small town of Bethel, around 70 kilometres south-west of Woodstock, the place that lent the festival its name. 32 bands and solo artists performed in front of an estimated 400 000 visitors. The event was plagued by bad weather, which created catastrophic conditions in some places. Despite these drawbacks, Woodstock has become a singular icon of rock music.

Arnulf Rainer Museum. Talk. German. Free entry.

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