Knocking On Wood

by Josh Wolk
Entertainment Weekly Online
June 25, 1998

Pete Townshend, Joni Mitchell, and Lou Reed headline another Woodstock

Sixties survivors Pete Townshend, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed, and Richie Havens are playing in a rock festival on the site of the original Woodstock this summer, but concert organizers say that the "Day in the Garden" concerts aren't technically related to the 1969 fest or its 1994 anniversary show. "The comparisons are natural and understandable," says Danny Socolof, executive producer of the two-day concert, which takes place in Bethel, New York, on August 14-16. "We're using the most famous music site in the world. But our show is not a Woodstock."

The family-friendly "Garden" festival will sell only 30,000 tickets (at $69.98 per day). Kids under 12 will get in free, the concerts will stop at 7 p.m. each day, and there will be no camping allowed. "We've targeted an adult audience, people who like VH1," says Socolof, who has also booked Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, and Ten Years After for the shows. "The idea is to bring out a group of people who will be thrilled to come back to this site, and will also be thrilled to go home and sleep in their beds that night."

No matter how mellow the show, some think even the most nostalgic of grown-up hippies may have trouble attending the event. "Adults aren't going to go through all that effort to see Don Henley and Stevie Nicks," says Entertainment Weekly general editor David Hajdu. "They want to order it on their cell phone for pay-per-view."


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