Step aside Coachella.
The event was billed as "3 Days of Peace & Music" and featured 32 acts of some of the most iconic artists in American music history. More than just a festival, Woodstock captured perfectly the free spirit of the 1960s and became a cultural landmark that represents an entire generation of American youth.
Getting there wasn't easy though...
With thousands flocking to the small New York town, the roads became jam packed and many abandoned their vehicles to set out on foot.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
A young man with head injuries was thrown from the trunk of a car on the road leading to Woodstock. Ambulances were unable to reach the scene because of the traffic.
AP
Organizers of Woodstock told authorities that they were expecting only 50,000 people to show up–they were hugely mistaken.
The huge crowds began to overwhelm the small rural community. New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller considered sending the National Guard, while Sullivan County actually declared a state of emergency.
AP
