Woodstock founder inspires Dal students

Quiet, unassuming, and sporting the same mop of long, unruly curls that got him into trouble in the ‘60s, Michael Lang—the founder and producer of the famous Woodstock Music & Art Festival of 1969—was given an enthusiastic welcome by a packed room of over 500 first year students Monday night at this year’s orientation week keynote address.

Mr. Lang took questions from moderator and DSU Vice-President Student Life Jamie Arron as well as numerous students in the audience about his experience with the festival and his life since.

The legend of Woodstock

Most people in the room were born more than 20 years after Woodstock occurred, but the standing ovation that Mr. Lang received upon taking the McInnes Room stage indicates that its legend lives on.

He related to the audience his panic when he learned a month prior to the festival that the town of Wallkill, New York had revoked the license to hold the festival there. Fortunately, they soon found another location – a farmer’s field just outside of Bethel, Pennsylvania. “I’m an optimist,” he said. “I just kept thinking, ‘we’re gonna survive.’”

America was in a time of political and social upheaval, he explained, which created a generation of young people who were both disenfranchised with their country’s leaders and determined to do something about it. In this way, Woodstock was less a music festival than a social movement. But the Wallkill town council had grown concerned about what this so-called “jazz and folk” festival was becoming, and pulled the plug.

Perhaps they had cause for concern. By the time the festival began on August 15, the audience numbered over 500,000, with hundreds of thousands more blocking the highway trying to get in.

Performances featured future musical legends like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Carlos Santana, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

And Michael Lang, who was only 25 at the time and with only one prior experience planning festivals, was the initiator of it all. But hear him explain it, he was just a guy with a big idea and the drive to bring it to fruition.

“I was creating a space for something special to happen,” he said, “but that’s hard to communicate to people.” The real challenge, he said, was getting people to go along for the ride with him.

But convince them he did, and the rest is history. As attested to by the subsequent documentaries, movies and books on the festival, many people felt they had been changed by the experience, and Woodstock became at once a catalyst for other social movements that were to come as well as an expression of frustration with the state of the world. 

The power of music

Mr. Lang remarked at one point that that the medium of music is especially effective in reaching people. O-week organizers played several scenes from the 1970 documentary Woodstock before Mr. Lang took the stage, and in it there is a moment where a journalist asks Mr. Lang what it is about musicians that allows them to communicate so well with the public. He simply replies, “Music.”

“The arts give you a different perspective on things,” he explained, elaborating on the film’s clip. “They show you a picture of something that you are familiar with, but in a different light. It’s something that changes the way you look at the world.”

In the spirit of orientation week, Mr. Lang had some words of advice for the assembled students. Part of his success, he said, was that he believed so much in what he was doing that he was able to convince others to join him, even though the entire endeavour stood the risk of failing.

“Part of being a leader is about being willing to take risks,” he added. “Risk brings new experiences.”

Admitting, to thunderous applause, that he’s never held a ‘real job’ (although he has gone on to be a successful music, film, and festival producer since Woodstock), he reminded students that university is an excellent opportunity to explore and learn about the world. But he also suggested that they follow their instincts and their dreams.

“It’s ok to have a real job and career,” he said, “but if you find something that inspires you and speaks to you, you should follow it.”

“I thought he was really interesting,” said first-year student Jeremy Lohnes afterwards. “He seemed really honest, genuine, and didn’t restrict anything in his answers.”

With this year’s orientation week being about engaging students and making connections, Mr. Lang seemed a fitting person to share his thoughts.

“The whole [Woodstock] experience taught me that it is possible to do something like this with a diverse group of people,” he said – advice Dalhousie students would be wise to take to heart.