RIP Michael Lang, Co-Creator of the Original Woodstock Music Festival

Very sad news to pass on this Sunday morning.

Woodstock co-creator Michael Lang died yesterday. He was 77.

Michael Lang is, of course, most famous for his instrumental role in bringing about the Woodstock Art and Music Festival in the summer of 1969, an event that was so monumental and influential, that it has endured an become a symbol of an entire generation and even an entire era and decade. There were a lot of tensions and divisions within the country back in the Sixties, yet this three day festival became almost an immortal symbol of the very best that the counterculture - and the hippies, in particular - had to offer. 

And Michael Lang in particular was key in helping to make that whole thing come about and become a reality.

Lang tried to get a 50th anniversary Woodstock show a couple of years ago, to commemorate the first concert, and to carry that spirit for a new time, and a new generation. Unfortunately, that did not pan out. But I kind of feel like the first one deserves to stand alone anyway. It was special and unique and an incredible success story in ways that Woodstock 50, or the 1994 and 1999 festivals of the same name, simply could not be. And the success of that original Woodstock owes a lot to the efforts of Lang, who really outdid himself for that event. The lingering memories from that immortal weekend now over half a century in the past are a testament to Lang, and ensure that his memory, and an appreciation for what he did, will endure.

RIP, Michael Lang.

Michael Lang, Woodstock Co-Creator, Dies at 77 by Shirley Halperin, Chris Willman, Jan 8, 2022: 

A co-creator of the era-defining 1969 festival, Lang helmed its 1994 and 1999 follow-ups, too.  By Shirley Halperin, Chris Willman

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/michael-lang-woodstock-organizer-founder-dies-dead-1235149696/

Below are some pictures that I took a few months ago, in autumn (I believe it was October, although I cannot say with absolute certainty) while passing through Sullivan County which is, of course, Woodstock country. I saw this poster at Sullivan Community College, and took most of the rest of the pictures in and around the original site of the landmark Woodstock concert. If you look closely, you can see the peace sign on the field, which they did back in 2019 for the 50th anniversary, but which they then seemed to do away with. Well, they brought it back, and I for one was thankful that they did. It really is a nice touch, and a nice tribute to that immortal weekend. I meant to publish them earlier, but this seemed like a good opportunity to publish them now:

Woodstock