as the hartford courant reports, governor Ned Lamont has announced that he will be throwing his own woodstock festival right here in Connecticut. cool, right? taking place in — you guessed it — Woodstock, CT, the CT woodstock festival will be held on labor day weekend (8/30). the event is meant to “celebrate Connecticut’s arts and culture… people will get to relive some of their Woodstock-era memories…. while appreciating some of Connecticut’s great music,” says Rob Blanchard, an aide to governor Lamont. and hey dudes, appreciating Connecticut’s great music is pretty much my astrological sign.
so if you’re waiting for “the catch”, here it is: Lamont is aiming for a “Battle of the Bands”-type competition between five bands. you know, like the original Woodstock’s battle of the bands? who doesn’t remember when judges — in an upset — gave Crosby, Stills, & Nash a higher score than Jimi Hendrix? oh what’s that? the original Woodstock didn’t have some lame competition because it was against the entire spirit of the festival? according to the hartford courant, the current plans are to feature five CT-based bands who will perform for the opportunity to win a potential $17,000 (straight out of Lamont’s own wallet). each band will play about a half-hour of music, and one of the songs in the set must be a song that was also performed at the original Woodstock. if you and your band are interested in participating, you can:
submit a video entry with no more than three songs — one song originally played at the 1969 festival and up to two other songs of their choice — no later than July 31. Bands should also submit a short bio of their members, photos and genre (entertainment@woodstockfair.com). At least one band member must be a Connecticut resident. Selected bands will be notified by Aug. 7.
and while i don’t think that this concept is perfect (see more below), i would love for bands reading this to consider submitting their work. let’s say that you put your hat in the ring, and if the event is still held as a “Battle of Bands”, and they’re not willing to pay all performers, then simply don’t do it if you are chosen. i also think that leading up to the July 31 deadline, we can make our voices heard, like local legends Dr. Martino, who took to twitter to call for a slight change of plans. they write:
“Hi Gov. Lamont! We are a CT band and LOVE your Woodstock recreation idea! A suggestion: no bands actually enjoy “Battle of the Bands.” Split the prize money to pay us all a little more, maybe! We are here to support not compete. Art is about celebrating the human spirit and what we can all uniquely do! No reason to put us in competition! We don’t have “Battle of the Painters”.
ideally, we’d have five awesome, diverse bands playing, getting paid a fair wage, and reaching listeners that they would normally not be able to. but i’m curious to hear your thoughts! throw me a message on social media. you can find more information about the annual woodstock fair at their homepage.
