Joel Rosenman - Woodstock

Woodstock

Known for their involvement with Media Sound, Rosenman and Roberts were approached by Michael Lang and Arthur Kornfeld, who initially approached Media Sound for partnership in building a recording studio in upstate New York. Intrigued by a section in their proposal which called for an opening day cocktail party that would invite local artists "like Bob Dylan," Rosenman recast the proposal as a concert instead of a studio. He and Roberts encouraged Lang and Kornfeld to consider the idea, and the four later agreed upon the new direction, forming Woodstock Ventures, Inc. to develop the concert over the ensuing six months. Zoning Board permits issued to Woodstock Ventures authorized a maximum attendance of "50,000," but in August 1969, several million would-be concert-goers clogged the highways and country roads of New York State, trying to get to the concert. Half a million succeeded in reaching the performance area and spent the weekend helping to create the "Woodstock" phenomenon.

Though the 1969 Woodstock Festival earned acclaim and cultural prominence, the overwhelming turnout resulted in unforeseen expenses which left Woodstock Ventures in substantial debt. For more than a decade following the Festival, Rosenman and Roberts worked to repay the losses from the event, eventually tying up those loose ends in the early 1980s.