Remembering Woodstock As 50th Anniversary Approaches
Until this January, it was only rumored that Carlos Santana would take to the Woodstock stage once again. He, like other artists from the era, had a tough decision to make when two music festivals popped up wanting to celebrate the anniversary of the most talked about festival of the century.
Between August 15th-18th in 1969 400,000 people gathered on a dairy farm just North of New York City. 32 acts, including Carlos Santana, performed in what was initially called “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music”. It later became known as Woodstock because of the nearest well-known town.
Bigger Than First Envisioned
To say it was something else would be an understatement. The event organizers promised the city of Bethel, New York they would have no more than 50,000 attendees. 186,000 advanced tickets were sold, and only 200,00 expected to show up. Again, 400,000 people showed for the 3-day event. The owner of the farm, Max Yasgur, was relieved his farm was not pillaged. He said the 400,000 had nothing but peace and love on their minds all 3 days. The festival brought harmony to many during a time of political unrest in America during the Vietnam War. It also transformed Rock 'N Roll and Santana's career.
Commemorating The Unforgettable Festival
Two events have been created in honor of Woodstock, and Carlos Santana was the only original Woodstock artist to enthusiastically agree to partake in either. The official commemorative event, 'Woodstock 50', will be held in Watkins Glen State Park in Watkins Glen, New York, but Carlos Santana has committed to the other. Live Nation's Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival will be held at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts closer to the original Woodstock site.
Carlos said he'll play music to connect to ages 7 to 33 and doesn't “want to be just like a jukebox in the twilight zone, stuck in the sixties”. It's this attitude that has kept him relevant all these years and why we love him.
Meaningful Canvas Art
You can own a piece of your favorite time and sound of history with a canvas from the Carlos Santana Canvas Wall Art Collection. The most popular of the collection is “Lion”, the album art from Santana's debut album from 1969 released within weeks of the Woodstock appearance.
You might also like a canvas rendition of the album art from “Supernatural” because it also celebrates an anniversary this year. Santana cut this album 20 years ago on June 15th, 1999. Supernatural won 8 Grammy awards, and 3 Latin Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year.