Billed as "Three more days of Peace and Music", Woodstock 1994 was derided by cynical Baby Boomers as a 25th anniversary commercialized rip-off of the original event, which it was, but they also missed the point of the event in the minds of Generation X. Like the original, it was also an opportunity to celebrate the bands of a generation, and the culture of a generation, and the youth of a generation. It did feature a dizzying array of talent, and helped put a lot of significant alternative rock bands on the map. In retrospect, it also shares with Woodstock 69 a certain wistfulness; an end of an era although nobody knew it at the time. And it rained like a mother, just like for the original, earning Woodstock '94 the nickname, "Mudstock". No, it wasn't a culturally important moment in history; but a lot of attendees seemed to enjoy it anyway.
The concert was held at Winston Farm, at the intersection of Route 212 and Route 32 in Saugerties, NY. Estimates put attendance at between 235,000 and 350,000 for the Friday, August 12, 1994 to Sunday, August 14, 1994 event. Three of the original Woddstock 1969 promoters were involved: Michael Lang, Joel Rosenman and John Roberts, co-owners of Woodstock Ventures, plus John Scher, president of PolyGram Diversified Ventures.Not repeating mistakes of the past, Woodstock '94 set a record for the largest collection of portable toilets with over 3000 port-a-potties. The price for tickets in 1969 was $18 for all three days, in 1994, the price for tickets was $135. However one mistake was repeated: an estimated 150,000 people attended without buying tickets.RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS HIGHER GROUND
NINE INCH NAILS WISH
1994 Woodstock performers:
Aerosmith/ Allman Brothers Band/ Arrested Development/ The Band/ Blind Melon/ Blues Traveler/ Candlebox/ Johnny Cash/ Jimmy Cliff's All Star Reggae Jam (with Rita Marley & Shabba Ranks)/ Joe Cocker/ Collective Soul/ Counting Crows/ The Cranberries/ Crosby, Stills & Nash/ Sheryl Crow/ Country Joe McDonald (with the Fugs)/ Cypress Hill/ Del Amitri/ Bob Dylan/ Melissa Etheridge/ Peter Gabriel/ Green Day/ Jackyl/ King's X/ Live/ Metallica/ Neville Brothers/ Nine Inch Nails/ Orleans/ Paul Rodgers Band (with Neal Schon and Andy Fraser)/ Porno for Pyros/ Primus/ Red Hot Chili Peppers/ Rollins Band/ Todd Rundgren/ Salt-N-Pepa/ Santana/ Sisters of Glory: Thelma Houston, CeCe Peniston, Phoebe Snow, Mavis Staples, Lois Walden/ Spin Doctors/ Sweetwater/ Traffic/ Violent Femmes/ Youssou N'Dour/ Zucchero/