Woodstock ’99 Announced...

The 30th Anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair took place in Rome, New York, from July 22nd through July 25th, 1999. The site of the Woodstock ’99 Festival was the former Griffiss Air Force base, a picturesque location at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains.

The show was held at the 3,600 acre Griffiss Park, formerly an Air Force Base in Rome, NY, 50 minutes west of Albany, not far from Syracuse. Promoters for the event were Michael Lang, John Scher and Ossie Killkenny. "Every generation deserves its own Woodstock," said Scher. "It brings together people from all over the country and the world to celebrate the spirit of the original event as well as the spirit and the music of the moment."

In addition to two main stages with simultaneous entertainment, there was an arts village, a film festival, experimental theater, concessions village, beer gardens, ecology displays, craft demos, technology parks, video walls and wee hour raves. The line-up of Woodstock talent was impressive. Click here for bands/artists list.

The roster was a good mixture of the current wave of top artists, as well as fresh spirit and social consciousness - of particular importance to the Woodstock organizers. It was as ambitious as the original. The ambition lie not only in the massive size of the eclectic roster or the size of the crowd, approximately 250,000, but in the message and spirit it strove to impart.

"Woodstock isn't just a concert, it's a rite of passage," says Michael Lang, producer of the original fest as well as the '94 event. "Woodstock has become the Olympics of music festivals -- so that every five years we can step out of ourselves and celebrate diversity, people and great music." "Woodstock isn't a place, it's a state of mind," note organizers.

Rome, a fair-sized city with its own hospital, utilities systems, transportation, fire, communications and of course security, which will have five sub-stations manned by 2,800 security personnel. A 12-foot, mural-covered commemorative "Woodstock Wall" enclosed the entire concert grounds to help keep out the determined fence-shredding gate-crashers of '94.

There were 3.6 million gallons of drinking water, with 800 "Family of Woodstock" staff members roaming the grounds and providing information and quick response services. 2,000 portable toilets to facilitate the masses as well as comics who will need material about the media event of the season.

The 1999 festival was expected to pump some $30 million into the region's economy, which should please the locals like it did most of the townsfolk in Saugerties, NY, where the '94 fest was held. ''We've had a business here for 35 years and we'd been holding on by the skin of our teeth,'' said Saugerties hotel owner Fran Farber at the time. ''The festival saved us from bankruptcy.''

Former NYC police chief of transportation Kenneth Donohue, who will lead the security staff, said "The main differences between '94 and this show are: first, we have much better control of ticketing and admissions; second, the venue's existing structure will add to the show and the fence will prevent gate crashing and third, the organizational structure is much more efficient. The producers wanted me to 'spare no expense' to make sure the event was safe and as well-run as possible."

Tickets and ticket/transportation were available from Ticketmaster outlets in the Northeast U.S.

The 1994 25th Anniversary Woodstock festival took place in Saugerties, New York. And, while organizers had planned to return this year, Rome proved to be a more suitable site. "We were seriously exploring the possibility of returning to Saugerties," explained Woodstock founder and producer Michael Lang. "but because of certain time constraints and logistics we’ve decided that Rome would be the ideal location."

"This year’s festival captured all the spirit and excitement that made the two previous Woodstock festivals the defining events of their generations. Musically it will be nothing short of amazing," added co-producer John Scher of the Metropolitan Entertainment Group.

County Executive Ralph Eannace and Rome Mayor Joseph A. Griffo said that Woodstock ’99 offers the Mohawk Valley an unprecedented opportunity. Griffo said, "We are very excited about hosting the world’s most famous music festival and look forward to the substantial economic and cultural boost it will give our community. We are confident that we can work together with the producers for a successful event."

The Utica Boilermaker - one of the top ten road races in the country - was also held in July '99! Contact us for further information.

Bookmark this page - keep returning for updates!