The Woodstock music festival, the multi-act concert that took place in Bethel, N.Y., in 1969 is celebrating its 45th anniversary today.

Woodstock Turns 45

Throughout the weekend of Aug. 15 – 19 in 1969, Woodstock played host to a number of acts that hold significant stature in the history of music. When co-creators Joel Rosenman and John Roberts came up with the plan for the festival, they had no idea of the cultural impact it would go on to have. Woodstock was certainly the first of its kind, and now decades later copycats like Bonaroo, Coachella, Governor’s Ball and Firefly are summer fixtures.

“There has to be a granddaddy—and this was certainly it for the festival business,” said Rosenman. “There’s something about festivals that is timeless and indestructible.”

After the 1969 enterprise, Woodstock was held twice more in 1994 and 1999. A fourth Woodstock could potentially be in the cards, according to co-creator Michael Lang, who said, “We are looking at possibilities for the 50th [anniversary, in 2019].”

When Rosenman and Roberts teamed up with music men Lang and Artie Kornfeld, they’d envisioned it as a getaway from the harsh realities of the Vietnam War and the deeply affecting assassinations of beloved leaders. They hoped to sell tickets by putting Bob Dylan on the lineup and wound up getting a number of popular folk and rock artists.

“We put together an event that was a magnet for a generation,” said Rosenman, who described Woodstock as “a cute idea that got way out of hand.”

Though in the end the idea proved to be more costly than fruitful, it has a legacy that’s lasted longer than any payout they could have hoped for. As Rosenman put it, “Because [Woodstock] was such a phenomenon and became so iconic … it has maintained its appeal throughout its life, which now seems indefinite.”

Among the acts that played at Woodstock 1969 were Jimi Hendrix, Arlo Thurie, Joan Baez, Santana, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Sly & the Family Stone and Janis Joplin.