Back to the Garden   

The 30-year anniversary of a certain legendary, generation-defining concert is still a year away, but apparently it's none too early to celebrate the spirit of Woodstock.

Having recruited punk-rock godfather Lou Reed, California-rock veteran Don Henley, reggae torchbearers Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers and original Woodstock veterans Pete Townshend, Richie Havens and Ten Years After, the Bethel Development Corporation and GF Entertainment have announced a concert event entitled "A Day in the Garden," to be held Aug. 14-15 on the site of the original 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, Sullivan County, N.Y.

"We are rededicating the most famous music site in the world," said Danny Socolof, the concert's executive producer. "The challenge was to compose a lineup that would speak to the impeccable pedigree of the site. I think the stars on the lineup announced [Tuesday] exceed all of our expectations."

Reed, Henley, Marley and the others have been added to the bill alongside previously announced performers including Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks and folk-rock legend Joni Mitchell (who wrote the original concert's anthem "Woodstock" in 1969 without ever having performed at the show).

Billed as the first large-scale organized concert with headline talent to be held at the site in 29 years, "A Day in the Garden" will span two days and feature displays of '60s memorabilia along with seminars and workshops on the era. There also will be a crafts fair and specialty food kiosks.

A smaller concert on the original site -- featuring such performers as Victoria Williams, Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks and original Woodstock act Melanie -- took place in summer 1994, while the more large-scale Woodstock '94 concert - - featuring more contemporary acts such as Green Day -- was held in neighboring Saugerties, N.Y.

The money raised from "A Day in the Garden" will go to the Gerry Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the economy in Sullivan County. In addition, the organizers have a long-range plan to hold other concerts at the site. "We are contemplating a bright and long future for this site, but we are squarely focused on the success of this event," Socolof said.

Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert-industry trade magazine Pollstar, said he thinks that the organizers of any future concerts on the site shouldn't strictly rely on Woodstock nostalgia to bring in concert-goers. "I don't know the condition of the site now and I'm unfamiliar with the geography of the area," Bongiovanni said. "But if it is really far away and traffic conditions are terrible, they might have trouble drawing people to the site on a regular basis."

Socolof, though, was more concerned with this summer's event, preferring to put off speculation about future shows until a later date. "We want to produce a gracious few days for our guests and superstar talent," he said. "We also want to honor what happened in Bethel 29 years ago."

While the original Woodstock came about as more of a spontaneous gathering of massive proportions -- drawing from 300,000 to 400,000 people -- the Woodstock tribute is expected to be thoroughly planned and considerably smaller in scale. Initial plans call for a limited attendance of 30,000 people a day.

"The scope and scale of the two events are entirely different," Socolof said. "We're not putting on a huge show. We're managing things to a scale that can be done professionally. It's an entirely different animal."

The idea was to book acts that were important in rock n' roll and would also complement the legacy of the site, Socolof added. "[T]his is not Woodstock redux," he said. "We respect what happened 29 years ago and extended invitations to many artists who had performed there. Our goal was to create a great, compelling live concert for 1998."

According to Socolof, there is a theme that unites the performers each day. Friday's lineup -- Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers and Ten Years After -- consists of artists who "have made [or] are still making vital contributions to rock 'n' roll." Saturday's lineup -- Pete Townshend, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed and Richie Havens -- is made up of what Socolof called "poet laureates of rock 'n' roll."

When asked how the decidedly urban rock of Lou Reed fit into the overall natural theme of the concert, Socolof said that the legendary Velvet Underground frontman was important to have at the concert because of his stature in rock 'n' roll.

"Lou brings a cool edge to the group," Socolof explained. "He pushes himself and he pushes his audience. We think he perfectly complements the lineup.

"'A Day in the Garden' is inspired by the organic nature of the surrounding area," Socolof continued, "which is some of the most beautiful farm country in the world, and by the song 'Woodstock,' which Joni wrote."

Tickets for "A Day In The Garden" go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. EDT through Ticketmaster at a cost of $69.98 per person per day. Those who can't score tickets need not worry about tying up the freeways of Upstate New York, as they will be able to access the proceedings live on the Web through infoseek.com.