LONDON.- Reel Art Press presents the official book commemorating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. Written by the festival’s co-creator and co-founder Michael Lang, this large coffee table edition provides exclusive insight into the magic that made up “three days of peace and music.”

What started as a gathering for the counter-culture would become the most important and influential music festival in history, attended by over half a million people who gathered at a dairy farm in the Catskills for the three-day festival from 15-18 August 1969. United in a message of peace, love, openness and cultural expression, Woodstock was a defining moment for the wider counter-culture generation.

Featuring artists who defined the sixties including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Santana, Janis Joplin and Joan Baez, Woodstock also features Lang’s unique recollections and insights into what would become the world’s most iconic music festival.

“At Woodstock, we would focus our energy on peace, setting aside the onstage discussion of political issues to just groove on what might be possible. It was a chance to see if we could create the kind of world for which we’d been striving throughout the sixties: That would be our political statement – proving that peace and understanding were possible and creating a testament to the value of the counterculture. It would be three days of peace and music.” Michael Lang

This 288-page illustrated edition features hundreds of photographs by famous and unknown photographers including Ralph Ackerman, John Dominis, Bill Eppridge, Dan Garson, Barry Z. Levine, Elliott Landy, Lee Marshall, Ken Regan, Rolling Stone’s first photographer Baron Wolman, and notably the archive of Henry Diltz. It also contains highly collectible items such as the original designs and plans for the event, correspondence, set-lists and information on artists’ fees.

The archive of Henry Diltz, the official photographer at Woodstock, takes centre stage. Present for two weeks, he shot everything he saw: from empty fields of cows to the construction of the first stages, crowds arriving and the aftermath. He captured countless performances and many behind-the-scenes moments as musicians hung out backstage.

This exuberant volume captures the zeitgeist, the music, the drugs, the people, the sheer hedonism; the enduring legacy of the most famous festival in history.

“It was the first time many of the bands had met and saw each other perform, so we were all really marveling at each other. It was just one good group of people after another. And different kinds of music.” Grace Slick

“One of the miracles of Woodstock was the bridging of a generation gap. People were generally afraid of our generation – there was little communication with our parents; people were put off by our lifestyle, sexuality, music, our position against the Vietnam War, and our penchant for marijuana and psychedelics. Consequently there was a lot of fear among the general population about us ... once the kids started to arrive and mingled with the townsfolk, and interacted with the businesses and the residents of the surrounding towns, suddenly they were just kids. And barriers fell: the local women were making sandwiches; farmers were pulling cars out of ditches. It turned into a big lovefest ... it shows what can happen when communication is improved, when stereotypes are squashed, and people become just people.” Michael Lang

Michael Lang (b. 1944, Brooklyn, New York) is a music producer and artistic manager. One of his first events, Miami Pop Festival in 1968, held approximately 25,000 people on day one. He is best known for co-creating Woodstock Music & Art Festival in 1969. He went on to produce Woodstock ‘94 and ’99. Lang also managed artists such as Rickie Lee Jones, Joe Cocker and Willie DeVille. He owned Just Sunshine Records and released over 40 albums. Since then Lang has worked with artists such as Outkast, Missy Elliott, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and many more. He was also associate producer of Wes Anderson’s 1996 film Bottle Rocket. In 2009 he launched woodstock.com, which celebrates the history of the Woodstock festivals. The celebration is set to play out again in August 2019 in Upstate New York – featuring performers both from the original festival and the best of today’s contemporary music. Woodstock 50TM, much like Woodstock ’69, is about having a great time, sharing an experience with great artists, and encouraging people to get involved in the social issues of the day through the power of making their voices heard.