Live & Touring

The Next Woodstock: Mysteryland USA 2014

Mysteryland-usa-2014The legacy of Woodstock has been capitalized upon with a variety of festivals including one of the most notorious since Altamont, Woodstock '99 aka Rapestock. With the major EDM festival Mysteryland making its first appearance in the States at the original site of Woodstock, the comparisons with the original festival seem easy to make. And given the addition of professional event organizers and what appears to be a gentler generation, it seems likely to be closer to '69 than '99.

Woodstock promised 3 days of peace and music and, by most accounts, they got a lot of both. Woodstock got away with poor organization even supposedly appointing the Hog Farm crew to police duties at the last minute which was the height of absurdity. But the last major festival of 1969, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, brought in the Hells Angels as a security force with murderous outcome.

Woodstock '99 seemed to revive the specter of Altamont more than it did the original Woodstock with rape replacing murder and beatdowns as the most visible offense against attendees. Sadly, though most attendees at Altamont seemed horrified by the attacks, Rapestock was realized, in part, by crowd participation.

Now a new generation is set to descend upon the grounds of the original Woodstock. Mysteryland USA is set to take place Memorial Weekend, May 23 to 26, and it seems plausible to expect a lot more peace and love than was found at Woodstock '99.

Mysteryland USA 2014 Trailer

Mysteryland USA will likely be a well-organized and fun event and I'm sure there will be all sorts of coverage from a wide range of music sites.

But I was inspired to write about it due to a recent post by headliner Kaskade to which I was tipped by Toneden's Ali Shakeri.

Kaskade sounds ready to embrace the legacy of the original Woodstock. Here are some key excerpts:

"Electronic Music is having a moment. And we are living in it."

"During the original Woodstock, Rock was still cutting its teeth on Pop Culture. Like Electronic Music now, it was mired in tales of rampant drug use and accused of having little musical merit. It terrified the Moral Authority, with its sexuality and racial mixing. And music critics went crazy describing the act of plugging in an electric guitar as simple and crude, a violation of the heritage of the past."

"The parallels between where we are now and what was happening back in the late 60’s can’t be ignored. At a time when the fusion of technology and artistry are absorbed into our everyday lives, it’s stupefying that comments still exist from people like The Arcade Fire, who should actually know better (“Shout out to all the bands still playing actual instruments at this festival,”) And an entire article could be written on the irony – or is it just plain stupidity – of the video Rolling Stone embarrassingly made called 'Rocker vs. DJ.'"

"The Arcade Fire and Rolling Stone Magazine have replaced the Moral Authority of the 60’s. Ohhhhhh the irony… these are interesting days."

"The honor is mine. To be involved with pushing music forward, changing the conversations about it and setting fire to arguments that it’s not “real” music, in the shadow of The Who and Sly & the Family Stone is hugely inspiring."

"I look forward to being part of this new history and bringing my sound along for the ride. Our time is now."

Right on!

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Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) posts music crowdfunding news @CrowdfundingM. To suggest topics about music tech, DIY music biz or music marketing for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.

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