The Woodstock Festivals and Sound-Outs: Then

Then: “The Sound-Outs were a series of impromptu concerts held on a farm between Saugerties and Woodstock. The first one, on Labor Day weekend 1967, included performers Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Junior Wells, Billy Batson, and Major Wiley. ‘I can’t remember who told me about them,’ says [producer and publisher Weston] Blelock, who was a teenager at the time. ‘But when you are at a certain age, you just absorb these things. Then people like [radio personality] Bob Fass started to bring in bigger acts. There were a lot of people who didn’t appear in the paper but would just spontaneously come; it was very casual. A lot of the bands didn’t even get paid; they weren’t concerned about money. But people kept coming — they came under the fence, over the fence, any way they could get in.’”

Now: “If no concert since the iconic fest in ’69 has been able to satisfy your soul, don’t despair. On August 15, in honor of Woodstock’s 40th anniversary, two Hudson Valley venues serve up a healthy dose of epic rock. Join [the Blue Magoos], iconic blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin, and former Fear Itself frontwoman Ellen McIlwaine at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock for the Roots of Woodstock Live Concert. Hosted by Woodstock Arts, the fund-raiser benefits Zero-Carbon Woodstock, a community carbon-neutrality initiative. For up-to-date lineup and ticket information, visit www.rootsofwoodstock.com.”

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