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Woodstock May Turn 40 in Brooklyn
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 6, 2009
Modified Apr 6, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 6, 2009
Modified Apr 6, 2009
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This should be interesting. As previously mentioned, the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock is upon us, and there's been talk of bringing the concert to New York City. It seems one of the original organizers (and Bensonhurst native), Michael Lang, wants Prospect Park's Long Meadow to be the Brooklyn substitute for Max Yasgur's 600-acre farm when the anniversary concert takes place later this year. The Daily News reports that he's currently looking for enough sponsor support, and he told the paper, "It's big, it's convenient. There's public transportation - and Brooklyn's cool. I'd love to do it. But it's been a very tough year." The show would be free, and he would need around $10 million to make it happen.
If Lang gets miracle'd with his sponsor money, he's expecting up to 150,000 people to fill up the nearly 90-acres of Long Meadow. Some of the acts he's interested in booking include Crosby, Stills and Nash, along with Neil Young, as well as what the Daily News calls "newer bands" like Phish (who have only been around a paltry 26 years). Lang noted that the infamous 1999 riot-laden Woodstock was "more of an MTV event. The music was much too angry for me."
There is one other little glitch if this does happen, the real anniversary date of August 15th has already been booked! But Lang & Co. have pulled off bigger things before—later this year the movie Taking Woodstock will hit the big screen, get a little glimpse of how the show came to be in the trailer after the jump (where Lang will be played by Spring Awakening's Jonathan Groff). In the meantime, we propose that the organizers take inspiration from Civil War reenactors and stage a Woodstock reenactment instead. Cover bands like Dark Star Orchestra (The Dead) could help keep the event under budget, without compromising any of that authentic hippie crowd smell.
Tagged
concert
anniversary
prospect park
michael lang
woodstock
brooklyn
Long Meadow
40
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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