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25 years ago this week, Woodstock '99 descended into chaos in Rome, N.Y.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RICHIE HAVENS: (Singing) Freedom. Freedom.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In 1969, the Woodstock festival promised three days of peace and music. Decades later, the tone changed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KORN: (Singing) Are you ready?

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Woodstock '99 brought different music and a very different vibe to central New York. Twenty-five years ago this week, it descended into chaos.

INSKEEP: That festival turned toxic, with extreme heat and vendors gouging concertgoers - anarchy. And when Limp Bizkit took the stage to perform their song "Break Stuff," people broke stuff.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LIMP BIZKIT: Time to reach deep down inside and take all that negative energy. (Singing) Give me something to break.

MARTIN: By the end of the festival, scaffolding and security barriers were destroyed, arsonists torched vendors' tents and the campgrounds looked like a war zone. New York state police trooper Jim Simpson was one of some 500 officers called onto the festival site. Here's what he said in a story on NPR.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JIM SIMPSON: It was a pretty ugly scene for most of the night. When you have a crowd, you know, of a - in excess of 100,000, 150,000 people, and a certain bunch of them start something like this, it gets a little contagious, and it's scary at times.

INSKEEP: Thousands of people suffered injuries or heatstroke. Women reported being sexually assaulted or raped, and three people died. There was one more Woodstock festival planned after that one, years later, for the 50th anniversary of the original, but those plans fell apart, which maybe was a good thing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE: Come with it now. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Hosts
[Copyright 2024 NPR]

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.