Woodstock promoter Michael Lang tells us that Woodstock 50 -- August 16th to the 18th in Watkins Glen, New York -- will feature some of the acts from the first one in 1969. So, speculation has begun as to who that could be.
Here is the list of the 1969 performers, in the order in which they performed, and who might be a good fit 50 years later:
- Richie Havens - deceased
- Sweetwater - reunited for Woodstock '94, but would just be filler this time.
- Bert Sommer - deceased
- Tim Hardin - deceased
- Ravi Shankar - deceased
- Melanie - perhaps she could be paired with a more contemporary artist?
- Arlo Guthrie - perhaps he could be paired with a more contemporary act?
- Joan Baez - the female voice of the '60s is on her farewell tour and what better way to bring it to an end.
- Quill - no offense, but no one cares.
- Country Joe McDonald - maybe team him up with Phish as his band was Country Joe and the Fish?
- Santana - Carlos says he would be interested in participating.
- John B. Sebastian - perhaps he could be paired with a more contemporary act?
- Keef Hartley Band - Keef is deceased.
- The Incredible String Band - does anyone care anymore?
- Canned Heat - the three key members of the original line-up passed
- Mountain - Leslie West and Corky Laing are alive and it would be cool to see them crank out "Mississippi Queen" with a young hard rock act.
- Grateful Dead - Dead and Company would be a good fit
- Creedence Clearwater Revival - it would take a miracle for John Fogerty to reunite with Doug Clifford and Stu Cook, but money talks -- or Fogerty would be a good fit on his own.
- Janis Joplin - deceased
- Sly and the Family Stone - Sly is still alive, but he is a bit of a headcase.
- The Who - Roger Daltrey has already declined, saying there was only one Woodstock.
- Jefferson Airplane - Grace Slick is retired, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady perform as Hot Tuna, and the rest are dead. Hot Tuna combined with someone else might be fun.
- Joe Cocker - deceased
- Ten Years After - leader Alvin Lee is deceased
- The Band - three of the five are deceased, so it's really up to Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson if they want to join forces with another act.
- Johnny Winter - deceased
- Blood, Sweat and Tears - original band has long since disbanded.
- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Michael Lang reached out to each one and says "it's a mess."
- Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Paul is deceased
- Sha Na Na - having a doop-wop act of greasers on the bill could be fun.
- Jimi Hendrix - deceased
The initial lineup and ticket information will be announced next month.