Here’s hoping we’ll have some Performers from the original festival.
Well let's take a look at all the performers, and see who's still around and performing
1. Richie Havens (died April 22, 2013)
2. Sweetwater (last album was basically 1971; 3 of the 7 reunited for Woodstock '94 -- highly unlikely)
3. Sri Swami Satchidananda (died in August, 2002)
4. Bert Sommer (died July 23, 1990)
5. Ravi Shankar (died Dec. 11, 2012)
6. Tim Hardin (died Dec. 29, 1980)
7. Melanie Safka -- she's still around, and does perform
8. Arlo Guthrie -- he's still around, still performs
9. Joan Baez -- she's still around, and she's scheduled to perform this year on her Fare Thee Well tour
10. Quill -- they disbanded in 1970, so very, very unlikely
11. Country Joe McDonald -- he's still around, and released an album in 2017. He's appeared in every Woodstock festival since Woodstock
12. Santana - Carlos is still around, and he got most/all of the Woodstock era band together in 2016
13. John B. Sebastian -- he's still around, and still performs
14. Keef Hartley Band -- Keith "Keef" Hartley died in Nov. 2011, so they won't be performing
15. The Incredible String Band -- they've had so many different members of the group that I guess it's possible. Their last reunion was in 2006.
16. Canned Heat -- the group is still together. None of the original members are in it, but 3 guys that appeared in the Woodstock version of the band still appear with the band
17. Mountain -- perhaps, though that's a stretch. They disbanded in 1972, but have been been having periodic reunions since 1973. By Woodstock, they were comprised of founder Leslie West, Felix Pappalardi, Norman Landsberg, and N.D. Smart. N.D. Smart was replaced by Corky Laing shortly after Woodstock. The band hasn't performed live since 2010, and West had his lower right leg amputated due to diabetes complications. Corky Laing has been touring in recent years as Corky Laing Plays Mountain, where he's the only 69-70 member in the group.
18. The Grateful Dead -- since Jerry Garcia died in 1995, and he was the biggest force in the band, I don't see this happening. In 2015 the four surviving core members of the band performed in a series of concerts to mark the band's 50th anniversary, which they billed as their last performances together
19. Creedence Clearwater Revival -- no way. Tom Fogerty died in 1990. Stu Cook and Doug Clifford basically said that they'd never play again with John Fogerty. There's so much bad blood between the members since they broke up in 1972 that I don't see any way that they'd agree to perform together. They didn't even do so when they joined the Rock & Roll HOF in 1993. I believe the last time the 3 remaining members played together was at a high school reunion in 1983.
20. The Who -- the band still tours, with two original members. I believe they also had the longest set at Woodstock.
21. Jefferson Airplane -- I highly doubt it. Paul Kantner died in 2016. Spencer Dryden died in 2005. Mary Balin still performs. Grace Slick pretty much retired from music in the 1990s, though she's done occasional surprise appearances since then. Jorma Kaukonen still is involved in music, as is Jack Casady. I guess it's possible, but I'm going to put them in the no performing category
22. Joe Cocker (died Dec 22, 2014)
23. Country Joe and the Fish -- Country Joe performed as a solo act (see #11), and as part of Country Joe and the Fish. They have done a number of reunions, so it's likely that they'd do so for this
24. Janis Joplin (died Oct 4, 1970)
25. Ten Years After -- that's tough to tell. The band broke up in 1974, and didn't reunite until 1983 for a short time. They then disbanded until 1988. They've been around since then, though Ric Lee (drums) and Chick Churchill (keyboards) are the only Woodstock-era members still with the band. Alvin Lee was their lead singer, and he died in 2013. Leo Lyons was their bassist, and he left the group in 2014. I'll put them in the will perform category, but that may be pushing it
26. The Band -- they broke up in 1978. They got back together, minus Robby Robertson, in 1983. The reconfigured group split up in 1999. Levon Helm died on April 19, 2012, Rick Danko died on Dec 10, 1999, Richard Manuel died on Mar 4, 1986, so it's kind of hard for them to get back together. They did perform at Woodstock '94, but I don't see them getting together in 2019.
27. Johnny Winter (died July 16, 2014)
28. Sly & The Family Stone -- no chance. They basically fell apart because their drug use would cause them to miss concerts, or to leave concerts in the middle of sets. They barely got together for a Grammy Award tribute in 2006.
29. Blood, Sweat & Tears -- geez, this is a tough one. There is still a group that goes by that name, but it does not include any of the members from the Woodstock era. FWIW, the band has had something like 75 or more different people appear as part of the band over the years. Since it's at best a glorified cover band at this point, I'm giving this a no
30. Crosby, Still & Nash and Young -- who knows. Graham Nash and Neil Young were not speaking to David Crosby the last few years. I believe they last performed together in 2013. I'm not sure when CSN last performed together. These guys have had never ending drug issues, and fights over the years. At the same time, they have often reunited for big events. I'm going to put them in the yes column
31. Paul Butterfield Blues Band -- well, Paul Buttefield died on May 4, 1987, and the band had broken up by 1971, so there's no chance of them performing.
32. Sha Na Na -- another tough one, as they've had so many different band members over the years. Two members of the current act were with the band in 1969. I'll be kind, and give them a yes
33. Jimi Hendrix (died Sep 18, 1970)
So of the 33 acts that appears at Woodstock, at best you would have the potential for 14 of them to appear at the 50th anniversary festival, and that's with me being somewhat kind with what I counted as the same act.
