Woodstock photographer looks back 55 years later

In August 1969, American photographer Henry Diltz was on the phone with a friend who was organizing an outdoor concert.

“He said, ‘You should be out here at this music festival,’” Diltz recalls.

The invitation was accepted, and within hours, Diltz was on his way to cover a massive counter-culture event set to take place on a dairy farm 60 kilometres from Woodstock, N.Y.

“It was a huge concert and it was mainly about the music,” Diltz said.

From August 15 to 18, 32 acts performed, including Joan Baez, Santana, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix – some of the biggest musicians from that era.

Jimi Hendrix was among the Woodstock performers. (Henry Diltz)

Music historian Alan Cross said that without the tumultuous decade of 1960s, Woodstock would never have happened.

“Woodstock came along at a very interesting time in American society,” said Cross. “We had the Vietnam War which was terribly unpopular and Richard Nixon was also terribly unpopular.”

55 years later, issues like the Ukraine War and the upcoming U.S. election have Diltz convinced that 2024 is in some ways, just as divisive as 1969.

“It’s much better to unite and inspire than it is to divide and incite,” said Diltz. “That sounds like today.”

According to Cross, beyond the music, the people who showed up also defined Woodstock.

From August 15 to 18, some of the biggest musicians from that era. (Henry Diltz)

“We had these idealistic hippies that were looking to extend the summer of love that started in 1967 through to at least the end of the decade,” said Cross, who added event organizers expected a crowd of roughly 50,000 people to attend Woodstock. “But 450,000 people showed up and this was a cultural moment.”

Those who attended endured harsh conditions.

“It was rainy, it was muddy, there were no facilities and food was hard to come by,” said Cross. “It was not a comfortable experience.”

Diltz said he is proud of the pictures he took and even prouder to have participated in what he called a moving cultural experience.

“It was a form of uniting everybody,” Diltz said. “We are all one.”

Almost half a million individuals came together for the Woodstock Music Festival to create a moment etched in human history. It was a symbol for peace and social change, captured through the photographic lens of Diltz.