Story by Abigail Safago, Reporter
Photos courtesy of Wikimedia

This year, one of the biggest music events in history is returning: Woodstock 50, also known as the “Golden Anniversary” of its original festival in 1969.

Woodstock 50 is a festival coming up towards the end of this summer, in mid-August in New York. This festival is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a major piece of music history by celebrating the past, with some of today’s top artists.

Pictured: Janelle Monáe, Ariana Grande, Chance the Rapper

On this list are many artists we all love, from different styles of music. Ariana Grande, Greta Van Fleet, Chance the Rapper, Janelle Monáe and more of today’s new and thriving artists are among those performing. With today’s artists, the event also brings in some of the original artists to perform.

Some of these artists from the original Woodstock in 1969 are Santana, Country Joe McDonald, Melanie and John Fogerty, from the band Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Pictured: Santana, Melanie, Country Joe McDonald

This mix of artists is more than just the history of music colliding, but also a way that people young and old can celebrate their different tastes.

Tickets will be hitting the online world soon. Not as soon as many of us might like, but nonetheless you still have a chance to order them. You can sign up for notifications through the Woodstock official website when the sale of tickets is coming up. They will be on sale starting April 22, 2019. You can sign up to be notified and ready here.

This time, the Woodstock organizers are more prepared than the original. During the Woodstock of 1969, organizers had not yet had the fences, ticket booths, and entrance gates prepared in time. People arriving before the initial start date that still had to have needs met such as shelter, food, and restrooms were put first, resulting in prioritizing feeding them and taking care of them, rather than charging them.

Today, the organizers are much more prepared by being able to sell their tickets further in advance, and have enough people to set up ticket and food booths, restrooms, fencing, and proper security to those attending this years festival.  In the original Woodstock, people arrived before the festival was ready, resulting in tickets being sold for less or for free. Now, on the plus side for the organizers, they are prepared, while our wallets may not be yet.

For more information on Woodstock’s history, follow this link. For the official website including information about this year’s lineup and tickets, click here.