Few decades had a sendoff quite like Woodstock ’99, the upstate New York music festival that descended into absolute chaos, closing a chapter on one era and foreshadowing a lot of the bullshit that was to come after it. Now, a new documentary from Bill Simmons’ Music Box HBO series, Woodstock ‘99: Peace, Love, and Rage, explores how a gathering known for peace and love turned into such a debacle — from overpriced water to overflowing porta-potties to overheated dudes breaking stuff and committing arson — and how a lot of the attitudes on display by the overly white male crowd helped shape the past 20 years of toxic masculinity.
Directed by Garret Price and premiering July 23 on HBO Max, Woodstock ‘99: Peace, Love, and Rage features interviews with those who attended the shit-covered three-day festival in Rome, N.Y., as well as original Woodstock promoter Michael Lang, and performers like Korn’s Jonathan Davis, The Offspring, Jewel, Scott Stapp of Creed, Black Thought, and Moby (who just knew it was a bad scene the moment he arrived; thanks, Moby).
There’s a lot to unpack here, and we’re sure Fred Durst will be putting out a statement pretty soon. In the meantime, revisit this sweltering cesspool of humanity via the trailer below.