According to Deadline, the docuseries is said to have started production, with production company Raw (Don’t Fuck With Cats, Fear City: New York vs. The Mafia) and BBH Entertainment (the team behind last year’s Depeche Mode doco Spirits In The Forest) working together on the joint venture.
Utilising unseen archival footage and testimonies from festival workers, performers and attendees, the series is set to scrutisinse the cultural mindset adopted by the punters who attended Woodstock ’99 in an attempt to understand how the festival’s intentions for ‘three days of peace, love and music’ turned out to be anything but that.
In contrast to the positive cultural impacts of the two preceding events, Woodstock ’99 was notorious for being comandeered by corporate sponsorships and was plagued by poor planning. The festival recorded numerous instances of sexual assault, violence and anti-social behaviour, with over 400,000 punters attending the event to see the likes of Rage Against The Machine, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Metallica, Megadeth and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
One of the most notorious incidents of the festival occured on the fourth day of the event during the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s closing performance, when the crowd used candles – originally handed out to light for a vigil while the band played ‘Under The Bridge’ – to torch the festival site, sparking a massive brawl that saw punters loot ATMs and destroy vendor tents.
Watch footage of the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Woodstock ’99 below.
Revisit the story of Woodstock ’94; a far better festival fondly remembered for its mud, sweat and beers.
