In the summer of 1999, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Woodstock, a new festival was held in Rome, NY at Griffiss Air Force Base. Instead of mirroring the peace and love of the 1969 festival, Woodstock ’99’s legacy was of fiery violence and greed. I learned this firsthand while working there as a member of a sponsor team for the company FortuneCity.
I grew up in the Hudson Valley during this time. I was too young to attend but I remember cousins and friends dying to go! I remember watching it on MTV and just the excitement locally although we were no where near the actual festival site. Truly awful how it ended up!
That local excitement is a big part of how I remember it too. Even from NYC, it felt close because MTV made the whole thing feel like it was happening right in front of you. I can imagine that was even stronger with cousins and friends trying to go. It is sad how quickly it turned from a huge, exciting event into such an ugly ending.
I know! I even attended a day camp with international staff from England and other parts of Europe. They all wanted to go on their day off. That energy was unbelievable. It just makes me so angry what a shit show it turned into but glad you guys left when you did. That documentary that came out about Woodstock '99 was truly eye opening!
I remember that energy too. It really did feel like everyone wanted to be there. And yes, we were very lucky to leave when we did. What happened after that still makes me upset.
The “Trainwreck” series episodes on this event were astonishing to me. I had no idea of the scope of the disaster. The final interviews with the organizers were truly repugnant. Glad you escaped unharmed.
Yeah, that’s really what it comes down to. Any new Woodstock would probably try to lean into the peace and love image, but 99 is part of the legacy now too. Honestly, I kinda hope they just let it stay in the past and don’t try to do another one.
Plenty of Coachellas have gone off without the violence of Woodstock 99. Of course the highly corporatized nature of Coachella doesn’t exactly espouse Woodstock’s core values but any type of festival existing now would be more influencer driven than peace, love and harmony.
That is true. Coachella may not have much to do with the old Woodstock idea, but it has shown that a huge festival can be run without turning into Woodstock 99. I think that is part of what makes 99 look worse in hindsight. The problem was not just the size of the crowd or the heat. It was how little care seemed to be built into the whole thing.
It was also the last gasp of festival culture before cellphones became ubiquitous. No one was filming or posting in real time. Attendees can get any complaints or worries out to the world now in a few seconds.
I had not really thought about the camera part that way, but you are right. There were cameras around, just not in the constant way there would be now. I remember a coworker who had a video camera there and was threatened by people he was filming, which says something about the mood by that point. Being recorded was very noticeable, and in that atmosphere it could set people off. I wonder if he still has the tapes.
Just one more reason I'm glad I was talked out of going, and after I'd watched some of the MTV coverage, then final hours of destruction, I'd never felt more ashamed of music promotion in my life, just a few years from my entering the business as a journalist. Just a despicable taint.
I was there, and I get what you mean. What has stayed with me is how much of it felt preventable. By the end, it did not feel like a festival that got out of hand so much as one where the people running it had stopped seeing the crowd as people. Watching it fall apart in real time was ugly, but the conditions that led up to it were the part that really bothered me.
I've seen some ugly things unfold at live events in my time (Lollapalooza and Courtney Love comes roaring to mind), but yeah, the prevailing sentiment over the course of, which includes that documentary on WS99, is that it was a cash cow that blew up in everyone's faces. I remember driving by the site in Rome on my way to Herkimer five years ago, and even then, fenced and gated, I could see why it was a disaster.
The fans' interests were hardly considered, much less serviced. Eventually, people who get hosed FEEL hosed, and with such prolonged exploitation. automatically rebel. It's the rapes and excessive fighting and violence that triggers me and I wasn't even there. I'm glad you made it through okay and better, got out of there before it turned into Dante's Inferno.
Thanks, I appreciate that. It was a strange event to look back on because the memory of being there is mixed with everything that came out afterward. I am glad the article helped answer some of that “what did I miss” feeling.
I grew up in the Hudson Valley during this time. I was too young to attend but I remember cousins and friends dying to go! I remember watching it on MTV and just the excitement locally although we were no where near the actual festival site. Truly awful how it ended up!
That local excitement is a big part of how I remember it too. Even from NYC, it felt close because MTV made the whole thing feel like it was happening right in front of you. I can imagine that was even stronger with cousins and friends trying to go. It is sad how quickly it turned from a huge, exciting event into such an ugly ending.
I know! I even attended a day camp with international staff from England and other parts of Europe. They all wanted to go on their day off. That energy was unbelievable. It just makes me so angry what a shit show it turned into but glad you guys left when you did. That documentary that came out about Woodstock '99 was truly eye opening!
I remember that energy too. It really did feel like everyone wanted to be there. And yes, we were very lucky to leave when we did. What happened after that still makes me upset.
The “Trainwreck” series episodes on this event were astonishing to me. I had no idea of the scope of the disaster. The final interviews with the organizers were truly repugnant. Glad you escaped unharmed.
These things reflect the current times and culture.
Will 2029 be the 60th anniversary of peace and love
or will it be the 30th anniversary of greed and violence?
Or?
They have 3 more years to plan....
Yeah, that’s really what it comes down to. Any new Woodstock would probably try to lean into the peace and love image, but 99 is part of the legacy now too. Honestly, I kinda hope they just let it stay in the past and don’t try to do another one.
Plenty of Coachellas have gone off without the violence of Woodstock 99. Of course the highly corporatized nature of Coachella doesn’t exactly espouse Woodstock’s core values but any type of festival existing now would be more influencer driven than peace, love and harmony.
That is true. Coachella may not have much to do with the old Woodstock idea, but it has shown that a huge festival can be run without turning into Woodstock 99. I think that is part of what makes 99 look worse in hindsight. The problem was not just the size of the crowd or the heat. It was how little care seemed to be built into the whole thing.
It was also the last gasp of festival culture before cellphones became ubiquitous. No one was filming or posting in real time. Attendees can get any complaints or worries out to the world now in a few seconds.
I had not really thought about the camera part that way, but you are right. There were cameras around, just not in the constant way there would be now. I remember a coworker who had a video camera there and was threatened by people he was filming, which says something about the mood by that point. Being recorded was very noticeable, and in that atmosphere it could set people off. I wonder if he still has the tapes.
Just one more reason I'm glad I was talked out of going, and after I'd watched some of the MTV coverage, then final hours of destruction, I'd never felt more ashamed of music promotion in my life, just a few years from my entering the business as a journalist. Just a despicable taint.
I was there, and I get what you mean. What has stayed with me is how much of it felt preventable. By the end, it did not feel like a festival that got out of hand so much as one where the people running it had stopped seeing the crowd as people. Watching it fall apart in real time was ugly, but the conditions that led up to it were the part that really bothered me.
I've seen some ugly things unfold at live events in my time (Lollapalooza and Courtney Love comes roaring to mind), but yeah, the prevailing sentiment over the course of, which includes that documentary on WS99, is that it was a cash cow that blew up in everyone's faces. I remember driving by the site in Rome on my way to Herkimer five years ago, and even then, fenced and gated, I could see why it was a disaster.
The fans' interests were hardly considered, much less serviced. Eventually, people who get hosed FEEL hosed, and with such prolonged exploitation. automatically rebel. It's the rapes and excessive fighting and violence that triggers me and I wasn't even there. I'm glad you made it through okay and better, got out of there before it turned into Dante's Inferno.
Thanks for sharing these memories!
I turned 27 in the summer of 1999, and wasn't able to go to this, and always wondered what I missed. Your article was very illuminating!
Thanks, I appreciate that. It was a strange event to look back on because the memory of being there is mixed with everything that came out afterward. I am glad the article helped answer some of that “what did I miss” feeling.
What a traumatic experience. Your firsthand account captures the frightening feel. Glad you got out okay. It turned into Lord of the Flies quickly.
Thanks. I was very lucky that my experience was relatively safe compared to other people. Still, made it very memorable.