A Complete List Of The Legendary Woodstock 1969 Performances

Three Days Of Peace And Music

The 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair is the most famous music festival of all time. It defined a generation and gave us some of the most iconic performances of the last century—as well as some of the most joyous and mud-covered images of fans and festival goers celebrating, dancing and...well, doing some other stuff as well.

But when it comes to all that music. Do you know every artist who performed that weekend? When they played and what songs they performed? You might think you know what song closed the festival—but it's probably not what you think.

Well, allow us to walk you through this amazing weekend of music that will never be forgotten.

Woodstock L

Day One: Friday, August 15, 1969

The first day of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair officially got under way at 5:07 pm on Friday, August 15, 1969 with Richie Havens as the opening act. Day one was dedicated to folk artists.

Woodstock Redmond Havens on stage Derek Redmond, Paul Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Richie Havens: 5:07-5:54 pm

Note: We will include the times that every artist performed—but these are obviously general and we have no doubt that every artist didn't start on time or finish up on schedule either.

1: "From the Prison"

2: "Get Together"

3: "From the Prison (Reprise)"

4: "I'm a Stranger Here"

5: "High Flying Bird"

6: "I Can't Make It Anymore"

7: "With a Little Help from My Friends" (Beatles cover)

8: "Handsome Johnny"

9: "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Hey Jude" (Beatles covers)

10: "Freedom"

Richie Havens 1972 Hamburg Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sweetwater: 6:15-7:20 pm

Note: Between Havens and Sweetwater, Swami Satchidananda gave the invocation for the festival from 5:55-6:10 pm

1: "Motherless Child"

2: "Look Out"

3: "For Pete's Sake"

4: "Day Song"

5: "What's Wrong"

6: "My Crystal Spider"

7: "Two Worlds"

8: "Why Oh Why"

9: "Let The Sunshine In"

10: "Oh Happy Day"

Woodstock Redmond Crowd Derek Redmond, Paul Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Bert Sommer: 7:35-8:15 pm

Note: Sommer got the festival's first standing ovation after his performance of Simon & Garfunkel's "America".

1: "Jennifer"

2: "The Road to Travel"

3: "I Wondered Where You'd Be"

4: "She's Gone"

5: "Things Are Goin' My Way"

6: "And When It's Over"

7: "Jeanette"

8: "America" (Simon & Garfunkel cover)

9: "A Note That Read"

10: "Smile"

Portrait of Bert Sommer Eleuthera Records, Wikimedia Commons

Tim Harden: 8:30-9:35 pm

Note: Harden's start time is disputed, with some reporting it as 9 pm rather than 8:30.

1: "How Can We Hang On to a Dream?"

2: "Once-Touched by Flame"

3: "If I Were a Carpenter"

4: "Reason to Believe"

5: "You Upset the Grace of Living When You Lie"

6: "Speak Like a Child"

7: "Snow White Lady"

8: "Blues on My Ceiling"

9: Simple Song of Freedom

10: Misty Roses

Tim Hardin in 1969 Columbia Records, Wikimedia Commons

Ravi Shankar 12:00-12:45 am

Note: Part of Shankar's more than 40-minute performance was performed during a rainstorm.

1: "Raga Puriya-Dhanashri/Gat In Sawarital"

2: "Tabla Solo In Jhaptal"

3: "Raga Manj Kmahaj (AIap, Jor, Dhun In Kaharwa Tal)"

Ravi Shankar At Woodstock Markgoff2972, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Melanie: 1:00-1:30 am

Note: Singer-songwriter Melanie Safka performed her set solo—just her and her guitar.

1: "Close to It All"

2: "Momma Momma"

3: "Beautiful People"

4: "Animal Crackers"

5: "Mr Tambourine Man"

6: "Tuning My Guitar"

7: "Birthday of the Sun"

Melanie Safka - Cash Box 1970 Buddah, Wikimedia Commons

Arlo Guthrie: 1:45-2:25 am

Note: As you can see, Woody Guthrie's son didn't perform his iconic song—the talking blues style "Alice's Restaurant".

1: "Coming into Los Angeles"

2: "Wheel of Fortune"

3: "Walkin' Down the Line"

4: "The Story of Moses"

5: "Oh Mary Don't You Weep"

6: "Every Hand in the Land"

7: "Amazing Grace"

Arlo Guthrie in 1979 Warner Bros. Wikipedia

Joan Baez: 3:00-4:00 am

Note: Baez was six months pregnant.

1: "Oh Happy Day"

2: "The Last Thing on My Mind"

3: "I Shall Be Released"

4: (She told the crowd the story about how federal marshals took husband David Harris into custody)

5: "Joe Hill"

6: "Sweet Sir Galahad"

7: "Hickory Wind"

8: "Drug Store Truck Driving Man" (duet with Jeffrey Shurtleff)

9: "One Day at a Time"

10: "Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South"

11: "Warm and Tender Love"

12: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

13: "We Shall Overcome"

Joan Baez in 1963 Scherman, Rowland, Wikimedia Commons

Day Two: Saturday, August 16, 1969

Day Two officially got underway at 12:15 pm and focused on psychedelic and guitar rock artists. And yes, we know that technically Saturday the 16th began at midnight.

Swami Opening at Woodstock Mark Goff, Wikimedia Commons

Quill: 12:15-1:00 pm

Note: Quill spent the week leading up to Woodstock living at a nearby motel with the set-up crew, providing entertainment for the festival workers and hog farmers.

1: "They Live the Life"

2: "That's How I Eat"

3: "Driftin'"

4: "Waiting for You"

Woodstock festival 1969 James M Shelley, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Country Joe McDonald: 1:00-1:30 pm

Note: Country Joe McDonald, the lead singer of Country Joe & The Fish, wasn't supposed to play a solo set at Woodstock. However, as they were setting up the stage for Santana, McDonald was asked to get out there and keep the crowd entertained. So, he did—for about 30 minutes.

1: "Janis"

2: "Donovan's Reef"

3: "Heartaches by the Number"

4: "Ring of Fire"

5: "Tennessee Stud"

6: "Rockin' Round the World"

7: "Flyin' High"

8: "I Seen a Rocket"

9: "The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag"

10: "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag (Reprise)"

Country Joe McDonald on stage Fotoburo De Boer, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Santana: 2:00-2:45 pm

Note: The band has gone through many different lineups throughout its history—with Carlos Santana being the only consistent member. The lineup for their Woodstock gig was as follows: Carlos Santana (guitar), Gregg Rolie (vocals, keyboards), David Brown (bass), Michael Shrieve (drums), Michael Carabello (timbales, congas, percussion), and José Areas (trumpet, timbales, congas, percussion).

1: "Waiting"

2: "Evil Ways"

3: "You Just Don't Care"

4: "Savor"

5: "Jingo"

6: "Persuasion"

7: "Soul Sacrifice"

8: "Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries"

Santana 1969 Press Photo Columbia Records, Wikimedia Commons

John Sebastian: 3:30-4:00 pm

Note: Sebastian had gone to Woodstock as a spectator but was asked to play an acoustic set after a rain delay made setting up amps for the next act not possible until the water was swept off the stage. Now, when did he go on exactly is much debated–with some saying it was after Santana and others saying it was before. There are even those who recall him going on on the Friday. What we know for sure is that he did play.

1: "How Have You Been"

2: "Rainbows All Over Your Blues"

3: "I Had a Dream"

4: "Darling Be Home Soon"

5: "Younger Generation"

John Sebastian 1979 on stage Bob Sanderson, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Keef Hartley Band: 4:45-5:30 pm

Note: The Keef Hartley Band was the first British band to perform at Woodstock—and it was their first time playing in the United States.

1: "Spanish Fly"

2: "She's Gone"

3: "Too Much Thinking"

4: "Believe in You"

5: "Halfbreed Medley: Sinnin' for You / Leaving Trunk / Just to Cry / Sinnin' for You"

Keef Hartley Band on stage Monster4711, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Incredible String Band: 6:00-6:30 pm

Note: The Incredible String Band were supposed to play on day one—but had refused to go on because of the rain. Thus they did their set at 6 pm on day two.

1: "Invocation"

2: "The Letter"

3: "Gather 'Round"

4: "This Moment"

5: "Come with Me"

6: "When You Find Out Who You Are"

English pop group Incredible Stringband in Amsterdam Bert Verhoeff, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Canned Heat: 7:30-8:45 pm

Note: Called Woodstock Boogie here, this song is called Fried Hockey Boogie on their 1968 album, Boogie With Canned Heat. It's an 11-minute track on the album, but the Woodstock Boogie version is a 30-minute jam that also includes a coo drum solo.

1: "I'm Her Man"

2: "Going Up the Country"

3: "A Change Is Gonna Come / Leaving This Town"

4: "Rollin' Blues"

5: "Woodstock Boogie"

6: "On the Road Again"

Canned Heat 1970 Skip Taylor Productions, Wikimedia Commons

Mountain: 9:00-10:00 pm

Note: Their performance at Woodstock was only the band's third gig together. Talk about jumping into the deep end.

1: "Blood of the Sun"

2: "Stormy Monday"

3: "Theme for an Imaginary Western"

4: "Long Red"

5: "For Yasgur's Farm"

6: "Beside the Sea"

7: "Waiting to Take You Away"

8: "Dreams of Milk and Honey / Guitar Solo"

9: "Southbound Train"

Ad for Mountain in Billboard 1970 Unknown Artist, Wikimedia Commons

Grateful Dead: 10:30 pm-12:00 am

Note: The Grateful Dead ended their set with a 36-minute long version of "Turn On Your Love Light". Does that surprise anyone? We didn't think so.

1: "St Stephen"

2: "Mama Tried"

3: "Dark Star"

4: "High Time"

5: "Turn On Your Love Light"

Grateful Dead (1970) band photo Herb Greene, Wikimedia Commons

Creedence Clearwater Revival: 12:30-1:20 am

Note: CCR put on an awesome show, but it was late. John Fogerty complained that The Grateful Dead's long set delayed CCR starting so most of the audience went to bed when they performed.

1: "Born on the Bayou"

2: "Green River"

3: "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)"

4: "Bootleg"

5: "Commotion"

6: "Bad Moon Rising"

7: "Proud Mary"

8: "I Put a Spell on You"

9: "Night Time Is the Right Time"

10: "Keep on Chooglin"

11: "Susie Q"

Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968 Fantasy Records, Wikimedia Commons

Janis Joplin And The Kozmic Blues Band: 2:00-3:00 am

Note: Joplin ended up having a 10-hour wait backstage before she performed because of delays due to other bands being contractually obliged to perform ahead of her. When she finally got out there she was "three sheets to the wind", according to biographer Alice Echols.

1: "Raise Your Hand"

2: "As Good as You've Been to This World"

3: "To Love Somebody"

4: "Summertime"

5: "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)"

6: "Kozmic Blues"

7: "I Can't Turn You Loose"

8: "Work Me, Lord"

9: "Piece of My Heart"

10: "Ball and Chain"

Publicity photo from photo session of Janis Joplin. 1970 Albert B. Grossman, Wikimedia Commons

Sly & The Family Stone: 3:30-4:20 am

Note: It seems almost unbelievable, but "Everyday People" was the only number one hit played at the Woodstock festival.

1: "M'Lady"

2: "Sing a Simple Song"

3: "You Can Make It If You Try"

4: "Everyday People"

5: "Dance to the Music"

6: "Music Lover"

7: "I Want to Take You Higher"

8: "Love City"

9: "Stand!"

Sly And The Family Stone (1968 Publicity Photo) Epic Records, William Morris Agency, Inc. Wikimedia Commons

The Who: 5:00-6:05 am

Note: The Who performed almost the entire Tommy album. Also, their performance was briefly interrupted at one point by activist Abbie Hoffman.

1: "Heaven and Hell"

2: "I Can't Explain"

3: "It's a Boy"

4: "1921"

5: "Amazing Journey"

6: "Sparks"

7: "Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)"

8: "Christmas"

9: "The Acid Queen"

10: "Pinball Wizard" (followed by Abbie Hoffman incident)

11: "Do You Think It's Alright?"

12: "Fiddle About"

13: "There's a Doctor"

14: "Go to the Mirror!"

15: "Smash the Mirror"

16: "I'm Free"

17: "Tommy's Holiday Camp"

18: "We're Not Gonna Take It"

19: "See Me, Feel Me"

20: "Summertime Blues"

21: "Shakin' All Over"

22: "My Generation" (shortened version)

23: "Naked Eye" (instrumental finale only)

The Who In 1965 KRLA Beat, Wikimedia Commons

Jefferson Airplane: 8:00-9:40 am

Note: Jefferson Airplane had been scheduled as the headliner for Saturday, but by the time they went on it was around 8 am Sunday Morning.

1: "The Other Side of This Life"

2: "Somebody to Love"

3: "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds"

4: "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon"

5: "Eskimo Blue Day"

6: "Plastic Fantastic Lover"

7: "Wooden Ships"

8: "Uncle Sam Blues"

9: "Volunteers"

10: "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil"

11: "Come Back Baby"

12: "White Rabbit"

13: "The House at Pooneil Corners"

Photo of the band Jefferson Airplane. 1967 RCA Victor, Wikipedia

Day Three: Sunday, August 17, 1969

Day three officially got underway around 2:00 in the afternoon. Day three was all about blues rock and roots rock.

Two hippies at the Woodstock Festival Derek Redmond, Paul Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Joe Cocker And The Grease Band: 2:00-3:25 pm

Note: Cocker wasn't very well known prior to his Woodstock performance. But after, he became a very well-known entity. Particularly after closing his set with his classic cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends". In case you missed it—this was the second time that song was covered that weekend. Richie Havens also did a version of it in his set that opened the festival.

1: "Rockhouse" (without Joe Cocker)

2: "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" (instrumental)

3: "Dear Landlord"

4: "Something's Coming On"

5: "Do I Still Figure in Your Life?"

6: "Feelin' Alright"

7: "Just Like a Woman"

8: "Let's Go Get Stoned"

9: "I Don't Need No Doctor"

10: "I Shall Be Released"

11: "Hitchcock Railway"

12: "Something to Say"

13: "With a Little Help from My Friends"

Joe Cocker And The Grease Band Through Binoculars James M Shelley, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Country Joe And The Fish: 6:30-8:00 pm

Note: You might've noticed the large gap of time between the end of Joe Cocker's set and the start of Country Joe's second festival set (this time with "the Fish"). The reason for the delay was a huge thunderstorm that shut everything down for a few hours.

1: "Rock & Soul Music"

2: "Love"

3: "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine"

4: "Sing, Sing, Sing"

5: "Summer Dresses"

6: "Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife"

7: "Silver and Gold"

8: "Maria"

9: "The Love Machine"

10: "Ever Since You Told Me That You Love Me (I'm a Nut)"

11: "Crystal Blues"

12: "Rock & Soul Music (Reprise)"

13: "The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag"

Country Joe and the Fish music band Vanguard Records, Wikipedia

Ten Years After: 8:15-9:15 pm

Note: Even with technical issues due to the high humidity affecting their instruments, their performance of "I'm Going Home" is one of the hard blues rockin' highlights of the festival weekend.

1: "Spoonful"

2: "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl"

3: "Hobbit"

4: "I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes"

5: "Help Me"

6: "I'm Going Home"

Ten Years After (1970) Deram / London Records, Wikimedia Commons

The Band: 10:00-10:50 pm

Note: The Band only had one album out at this time, Music From Big Pink—but they played seven songs from it as well as a few others (including a beautiful cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released"). The crowd loved them so much they got called back for an encore.

1: "Chest Fever"

2: "Don't Do It"

3: "Tears of Rage"

4: "We Can Talk"

5: "Long Black Veil"

6: "Don't Ya Tell Henry"

7: "Ain't No More Cane"

8: "This Wheel's on Fire"

9: "I Shall Be Released"

10: "The Weight"

11: "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever"

The Band In Hamburg, 1971 Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Johnny Winter: 12:00-1:05 am

Note: Winter rocked his electric blues stylings for a hot 65 minutes—joined on stage by his brother Edgar for three songs as well. He was called back for an encore.

1: "Mama, Talk to Your Daughter"

2: "Leland Mississippi Blues"

3: "Mean Town Blues"

4: "You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now" / "Mean Mistreater"

5: "I Can't Stand It (with his brother Edgar Winter)"

6: "Tobacco Road" (with Edgar Winter)

7: "Tell the Truth" (with Edgar Winter)

8: "Johnny B Goode"

Johnny Winter in 1969 JohnKadvany, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Blood, Sweat & Tears: 1:30-2:30 am

Note: If you've always wondered why Blood, Sweat & Tears aren't in the Woodstock documentary movie or on the soundtrack album—that's because they weren't happy with the sound quality of their performance and thus declined to be part of the film or album.

1: "More and More"

2: "Just One Smile"

3: "Somethin' Comin' On"

4: "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"

5: "Spinning Wheel"

6: "Sometimes in Winter"

7: "Smiling Phases"

8: "God Bless the Child"

9: "And When I Die"

10: "You've Made Me So Very Happy"

Trade ad for Blood, Sweat & Tears' album New Blood. Columbia Records, Wikimedia Commons

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: 3:00-4:00 am

Note: This was only their second show ever in front of a live audience! CSN&Y split their performance up into an acoustic set and an electric set. Neil Young skipped most of the acoustic set. Young also refused to be filmed—feeling that it was distracting the musicians and the audience from the performances (which is why his name isn't in the concert film nor on its soundtrack)

Acoustic:

1: "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"

2: "Blackbird" (The Beatles cover)

3: "Helplessly Hoping"

4: "Guinnevere"

5: "Marrakesh Express"

6: "4 + 20"

7: "Mr Soul"

8: "Wonderin’"

9: "You Don't Have to Cry"

Electric:

10: "Pre-Road Downs"

11: "Long Time Gone"

12: "Bluebird Revisited"

13: "Sea of Madness"

14: "Wooden Ships"

15: "Find the Cost of Freedom" (acoustic encore)

16: "49 Bye-Byes" (electric encore)

Photo of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1970. CMA, Atlantic Records, Wikimedia Commons

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: 6:00-700 am

Note: The album Paul Butterfield Live In White Lake, N.Y. 8/18/69 is this Woodstock set.

1: "Born Under a Bad Sign"

2: "No Amount of Loving"

3: "Driftin' and Driftin'"

4: "Morning Sunrise"

5: "All in a Day"

6: "Love March"

7: "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band photo Seattle Public Library, Wikimedia Commons

Sha Na Na: 7:30-8:00 am

Note: Sha Na Na guitarist Henry Gross was the youngest musician performing at the festival. He was 18 years old at the time.

1: "Get a Job"

2: "Come Go with Me"

3: "Silhouettes"

4: "Teen Angel"

5: "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame"

6: "Wipe Out"

7: "Book of Love"

8: "Teenager in Love"

9: "Little Darlin'"

10: "At the Hop"

11: "Duke of Earl"

12: "Get a Job (Reprise)"

Photo of the musical group Sha Na Na. 1972 William Morris, Wikimedia Commons

Jimi Hendrix: 9:00-11:00 am

Note: Although always scheduled to close the festival, Hendrix was originally supposed to go on Sunday night. However, with all the many delays, he didn't hit the stage until Monday morning. As many people were leaving—or had already left at that time—Hendrix's audience is estimated to have been only about 40,000.

1: "Message to Love"

2: "Hear My Train A Comin'"

3: "Spanish Castle Magic"

4: "Red House"

5: "Mastermind" (written and sung by Larry Lee)

6: "Lover Man"

7: "Foxy Lady"

8: "Jam Back at the House"

9: "Izabella"

10: "Gypsy Woman"/"Aware of Love" (Both songs were written by Curtis Mayfield and sung by Larry Lee as a medley)

11: "Fire"

12: "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"/"Stepping Stone"

13: "The Star-Spangled Banner"

14: "Purple Haze"

15: "Woodstock Improvisation" (title is posthumous)

16: "Villanova Junction" (title is posthumous)

17: "Hey Joe" (encore)

THE END

But before we go, we wanted to mention just a few of the bands that turned down invitations to play at Woodstock?

Jimi Hendrix in 1967 Unknown Artist, Wikimedia Commons

The Beatles

The Beatles were recording Abbey Road at the time and on the verge of breaking up.

So, they were not an option.

English band The Beatles wave to fans after arriving at Kennedy Airport United Press International, Wikimedia Commons

The Doors

The Doors almost went but canceled at the last moment. According to guitarist Robby Krieger, the band didn't go because they thought that it would be a "second class repeat of Monterey Pop Festival". They were very wrong. And it's a decision they later regretted.

The Doors in 1968 Joel Brodsky, Wikimedia Commons