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Woodstock: Three Days That Defined A Generation | American Experience

Courtesy
/
PBS
Crowd listening to John Sebastian perform at the Woodstock Festival, 1969.

Tue. Aug. 6, 9pm on WKAR HD-23.1 |  Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the concert that became a touchstone for a generation. 

In August, 1969, half a million people from all walks of life and every corner of the country converged on a small dairy farm in upstate New York. They came to hear the concert of their lives, but most experienced something far more profound.

With never-before-seen footage, WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION tells the story of the political and social upheaval leading up to those three historic days, as well as the extraordinary events of the concert itself, when near disaster put the ideals of the counterculture to the test.  What took place in that teeming mass of humanity — the rain-soaked, starving, tripping, half a-million strong throng of young people — was nothing less than a miracle of unity, a manifestation of the “peace and love” the festival had touted, and a validation of the counterculture’s promise to the world.

Who were these kids? What experiences and stories did they carry with them to Bethel, New York that weekend, and how were they changed by their time in the muck and mire of Max Yasgur’s farm? Directed by award-winning filmmaker Barak Goodman and written by Goodman and Don Kleszy, WOODSTOCK takes us back to the three days that defined a generation.

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