Aerosmith, Nine Inch Nails to Play Woodstock Anniversary Concert
Concert promoters appear to have gotten the green light for a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair this summer in Saugerties, N.Y., some 100 miles from New York City.
A key permit from the town, one of two permits needed in order to mount the two-day festival slated for Aug. 13-14, was approved March 31. A spokesperson for the Woodstock ’94 promoters, who include the 1969 festival’s trio of Michael Lang, Joel Rosenman and John Roberts, as well as Metropolitan Entertainment, declined to elaborate on plans until all the permits are in place but confirmed that the town’s approval had been the biggest hurdle to be cleared.
Tickets for the two-day event will cost about $125, including parking and camping fees, and will be sold by lottery in late May or early June. To ensure that not all of them are bought by New Yorkers, tickets will be offered in regional blocks, with some of the tickets set aside for sale to European buyers.
The unofficial artist lineup is said to include Aerosmith, Alice in Chains, Peter Gabriel, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Henry Rollins, Soundgarden, the Spin Doctors, Stone Temple Pilots and Neil Young, as well as Crosby, Stills and Nash and other artists who appeared at the original festival. In all, approximately two dozen bands are expected to perform.
“The show won’t be weighted toward the original Woodstock artists,” says a Festival spokesperson. “There will be a lot of current performers.” In keeping with the original event’s billing as an arts fair, however, nonmusic events are also planned. They will include pieces by performance artists and such topical installations as virtual-reality exhibits.
No word yet on whether it will rain.
This story is from the June 2nd, 1994 issue of Rolling Stone.