08/13/1989
Absurdly, one of the best-kept secrets of Woodstock is who played there. The movie crew didn't document the entire event, and some bands played in the dead of night, so festival-goers may have missed them entirely.
Reports published elsewhere range from 27 to 33 bands, but don't list them. Woodstock Ventures, the festival's management, didn't keep its 1969 payment records and says it doesn't care to try reconstructing the roster now.
We're sure of the 31 below, but Ellen Moreau of Central Falls recalls John Mayall as a highlight. Two other bands were listed on the poster, but didn't play - Iron Butterfly and Jeff Beck - and the status of Keef Hartley is unclear; he was on the original list, but his performance is not noted in any source we checked.
Richie Havens, Joan Baez, John Sebastian, Bert Sommer, Ravi Shankar, Arlo
Guthrie, Tim Hardin, Melanie, Incredible String Band, Sweetwater, Quill, Santana,
The Band, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly and
the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, 10 Years After, The Who, Jefferson Airplane,
Mountain, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, Moody Blues, Johnny Winter,
Blood Sweat & Tears, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, the Paul Butterfield Blues
Band, Sha Na Na, Jimi Hendrix.
