50 Years to the Day Hippefest Celebrates Anniversary of Woodstock

Published: Aug 7, 2019

FORT LAUDERDALE – Exactly 50 years after Jimi Hendrix closed out the 1969 Woodstock Festival in the early hours of August 18, those that were there and some friends perform an evening of peace and music as Ten Years After, Big Brother & The Holding Company and Vanilla Fudge headline Hippiefest in the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, August 18 at 6:30 p.m. Sha Na Na founding member Henry Gross, the youngest performer at Woodstock 69, hosts and performs.

Formed in 1966, Ten Years After finally got people to take notice after their incendiary performance at the original Woodstock festival. From there, Alvin Lee along with Ric Lee on drums, Leo Lyons on bass and Chick Churchill on organ, pushed the boundaries of the blues-rock format and in the process made classic albums, including the festival staple "I'm Going Home."

Big Brother & the Holding Company, along with bands like The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. is considered one of the original, first wave of great psychedelic bands. Along with Janis Joplin, they embodied the San Francisco counter-culture sound of the 60's.

Vanilla Fudge was one of the first American groups to infuse psychedelia into a heavy rock sound to create “psychedelic symphonic rock" and scored big with “You Keep Me Hangin' On" after appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Rock & Roll revival group, Sha Na Na’s popularity soared after legendary performances in the Fillmore Auditoriums East and West and at the 1969 Woodstock festival. With the groups' appearance in the film Woodstock and the accompanying Cotillion Records 1970 LP of the same name, it became a worldwide phenomenon. In 1976, Gross released the solo single "Shannon," written about the passing of Beach Boy Carl Wilson's Irish Setter of the same name, that became a worldwide hit.

Tickets are $39-$69 with $120 JetBlue Flight Deck at the Club Level tickets. Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of the Broward Center, The Parker and affiliated venues. Buy tickets online at BrowardCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222 or the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. Know who you are buying from when you purchase tickets.

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District at 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

For more information visit BrowardCenter.org, like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BrowardCenter, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BrowardCenter, subscribe to our channel at Youtube.com/user/BrowardCenter and join the conversation with #BrowardCenter.

The Broward Center 2018-2019 season is presented by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. AutoNation, Bank of America, Brightline, Canteen, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, JetBlue, MasterCard and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center are proud sponsors of the Broward Center.

About The Broward Center for the Performing Arts

One of America’s premier performing arts venues, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts presents more than 700 performances each year to more than 700,000 patrons, showcasing a wide range of exciting cultural programming and events. Guest experiences at the Broward Center include the all-inclusive JetBlue Flight Deck on the Club Level, special events in the Huizenga Pavilion, waterfront dining at Marti’s New River Bistro and innovative classes and workshops for all ages at the Rose Miniaci Arts Education Center. With one of the largest arts-in-education programs in the United States, the Broward Center serves more than 130,000 students annually. The Broward Performing Arts Foundation, Inc. receives and maintains funds to sustain, develop and secure the future of the Broward Center. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, visit BrowardCenter.org.

The Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment Consortium is a cultural partnership between the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Florida Grand Opera, Fort Lauderdale History Center and the Historic Stranahan House Museum. It is supported by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Programs are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

Suggested brief: Exactly 50 years after the closing day of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, those that were there and some friends perform an evening of peace and music as Ten Years After, Big Brother & The Holding Company and Vanilla Fudge headline Hippiefest in the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, August 18 at 6:30 p.m. Sha Na Na founding member Henry Gross, the youngest performer at Woodstock, hosts and performs. Tickets are $39-$69 with $120 JetBlue Flight Deck at the Club Level tickets. Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of the Broward Center, The Parker and affiliated venues. Buy tickets online at BrowardCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954-462-0222 or the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District at 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

Suggested tweet: Celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Woodstock with those that were there and some friends as Ten Years After, @bbhc, Vanilla Fudge and @HenryGross of Sha Na Na rock Hippiefest

@BrowardCenter Aug. 18.

Suggested Facebook post: Because of rain delays, the three days of peace and music at Woodstock 1969 lasted four, until Aug. 18. Celebrate 50 years later to the day with bands that were there and some friends as @tenyearsafterband, @BBHband, Vanilla Fudge and Henry Gross of Sha Na Na rock Hippiefest at the Broward Center on Aug. 18.