Photos – How Woodstock ’99 Progressed Into Absolute Chaos

Here are photos from three days of the infamous Woodstock '99 festival, from the beginning to it's disastrous end.

Woodstock '99 Had Good Intentions

The original Woodstock, which took place in August of 1969, was an important weekend for the counterculture movement, and featured performances from some of the biggest musical acts at the time.

Organized by Michael Lang, it was meant to be three days of "peace and music," and while its initial run was chaotic (to say the least), nothing prepared the world for what the 30th anniversary installment of the event would bring.

Sure, Woodstock '94 was also quite disastrous in its own way, especially due to the amount of rain and mud that flooded the grounds. But when Lang and company revamped the festival yet again five years later, a different time of rock music had taken over pop culture — nu-metal.

Big Rock + Metal Bands That Played Woodstock '99

The Offspring, Insane Clown Posse, Korn, Bush, Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Creed, Godsmack, Megadeth and Red Hot Chili Peppers were among the many rock and metal artists who performed over the three-day event.

The lineup was a far-cry from the original Woodstock, which featured sets from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joan Baez, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who and several others. The music in 1999 was more aggressive, therefore didn't really represent the "peace and love" vibe the festival had been founded on.

READ MORE: Do You Remember These Bands Who Played Woodstock '99?

The Chaos of Woodstock '99

The disastrous event was chronicled in the 2021 documentary Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 and includes exclusive interviews from Lang, other personnel who worked the festival, attendees and musicians, such as Korn's Jonathan Davis and Bush's Gavin Rossdale.

Featuring footage from the weekend, viewers learn that the conditions were incredibly unsanitary, vendors price-gouged food, water and supplies, and the fans ultimately tore the place apart after days of mounting frustration.

By the end of the weekend, the venue in Rome, N.Y. was up in flames and Lang had yet another unmitigated mess on his hands, seemingly a magnet for chaos.

In the photos below, you can sense a changing atmosphere throughout the Woodstock '99 weekend.

Scroll below to relive this infamous festival.