Michael Lang celebrates Woodstock 50th anniversary with gallery

Photos from the famed event will be on display at Morrison Hotel Gallery

Woodstock 50 may not be happening, but it’s not stopping founder Michael Lang from celebrating the famed music festival’s gold anniversary. Lang, the creator of the original Woodstock Music & Arts Festival in 1969, festival performer John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful and Henry Diltz, the official photographer of Woodstock, walk through a specially curated collection of music photography from that iconic event. There will be two events. The first one will be held Wednesday, August 7th at the Morrison Hotel Gallery at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles with the second one held Friday, August 9th at the gallery’s New York City location.

Guests will have the opportunity to meet with the trio, as well as other special guests, as they recall Woodstock and discuss the performances, and the photography from the summer of 1969.

Ticketed attendees will enjoy a complimentary open bar and hors d’oeuvres prepared by the Sunset Marquis’ James Beard Award winning chef, Michael Schlow.

Tickets are available at morrisonhotelgallery.com.

Billed as “Three Days of Peace and Music,” the Woodstock music festival defined an entire generation. No other festival has had the same success or magic that the original Woodstock did, 50 years ago. A legendary snapshot of unity and protest, the 1969 festival saw a series of historic performances from artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, and many others. During the month of August, Morrison Hotel Gallery will revisit some of the most iconic moments with images from the festival in the photography exhibition, Woodstock: 3 Days That Lasted 50 Years. The exhibit will open in all three gallery locations – NYC, LA and Maui and run through the month of August.

Over those three days in August, a number of gifted photographers were busy capturing every aspect of the most famous music festival in history. As the official photographer for Woodstock, Henry Diltz was witness to it all. Given this, it’s no surprise that his images of Woodstock are among some of the most timeless shots of the historic event.

Woodstock: 3 Days That Lasted 50 Years explores Ditz’s images of Woodstock as well as those captured by Elliott Landy, Ken Regan, Amalie R. Rothschild, Lisa Law, Jim Marshall, Rowland Scherman and Baron Wolman. These talented artists offered the rest of the world an intimate glimpse into what it was like to be there in person, witnessing crowds of long-haired hippies sneaking over fences to get in, sitting on vehicles and strumming guitars, holding babies, bathing in a swimming hole, and playing in the mud. These photographers also created images of countless stirring performances: A fringe-clad Hendrix’s landmark performance of “Star Spangled Banner”, Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick wowing the crowd with “Somebody to Love”, and The Grateful Dead bringing their psychedelic jams to the stage in a nighttime performance.

For those who wish to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the most iconic music festival in history, Woodstock: 3 Days That Lasted 50 Years is an exhibition not to be missed or easily forgotten. All images in the exhibit are available for purchase at each gallery and on the website.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com