Woodstock 1999

Woodstock 1999 (also called Woodstock '99) was a music festival held from July 22 to July 25, 1999, in Rome, New York, United States. After Woodstock '94, it was the second large-scale music festival that attempted to emulate the original 1969 Woodstock festival. Like the previous festivals, it was held in upstate New York, this time at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, roughly northwest of the original Woodstock site in Bethel. Approximately 220,000 people attended the festival over the four days. MTV covered the festival extensively, and live coverage was available on pay-per-view. Westwood One held its radio rights. Excerpts were released on CD and DVD. The festival was marred by difficult environmental conditions, overpriced food and water, poor sanitation, sexual harassment and rapes, rioting, looting, vandalism, arson, violence, and several deaths, leading to media attention and controversy that vastly overshadowed coverage of the musical performances. It has been described as "notorious", "a flashpoint in cultural nadir", "like a concentration camp", and like being "in another country during military conflict". Organization Michael Lang, one of the organizers of the original Woodstock festival and Woodstock '94, agreed to partner with New Jersey concert promoter John Scher for a thirtieth anniversary festival. A third Woodstock festival was considered a risky proposition after a rain squall at Woodstock '94 (later sardonically dubbed "Mudstock") led gatecrashers to breach fences and attendees to throw mud at each other and the performers, leading to a large financial loss and negative press coverage. Lang and Scher began organizing plans for the festival in the fall of 1998. Soon, Scher quickly began scouting for multiple high-profile acts of the time to draw media and popular attention for the festival. Rome mayor Joseph Griffo received Lang's proposal for the festival and approved it in an effort to revitalize the area and attract funding, holding a press conference with Hillary Clinton to announce the festival once the venue was secured.