The Backstory to "Woodstock"

On August 9, 2008, a panel symposium and contemporary Sound-Out took place in Woodstock, New York. The wide-ranging discussion chronicled the events leading up to the world-famous Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969. The panel audience heard Michael Lang describe how he and his partners developed the concept of the Woodstock mega-concert and how their thinking was shaped by Woodstock?s legacy of art and music festivals (including the Sound-Outs) from the early 1900s through the 1960s.

This book explains definitively and for the first time why the festival was named Woodstock and why it continues to be so closely associated with the town, even though the concert actually occurred in Bethel, New York.

It includes:

? a foreword by Bob Fass, Woodstock Sound-Out emcee and host of WBAI?s Radio Unnameable for close to fifty years
? a richly illustrated transcript of the panel discussion
? a ?roots of Woodstock? photo essay featuring Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Paul Butterfield and many other stars and personalities
? a compendium of important Woodstock players in the events leading up to the ?69 festival
? 115 images, including a map of historic 1960s locations


"A festival of books as Woodstock turns 40. Transcript of a 2008 panel discussion with Michael Lang and locals who were there." -Publishers Weekly

"A thoughtful, profusely illustrated preserve of American history, highly recommended for lay readers and serious students of the Woodstock events alike." -Midwest Book Review; five-star Amazon.com rating

"Transcript of 2008 discussion about how musical "Sound-Outs" in town of Woodstock inspired the '69 event in Bethel." -Newsday

"Primarily a transcript of a 2008 panel discussion on the events leading up to Woodstock; a 50-page black-and-white photo essay at the end of the book refreshingly cuts back to the folk roots and the Arts and Crafts heritage of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair." -Library Journal