AFTER WOODSTOCK: Hartley made sev-
eral albums with his band and a couple
of solo efforts, then drifted out of the
music business in the 1990s. He died in
2011, at 67.Incredible String Band
6–6:40 PM
An innovative psychedelic folk group
from Scotland, the Incredible String
Band had a large following in the
U.K. but was essentially unknown to
U.S. audiences. The quartet—Mike
Heron, Robin Williamson, Christina
“Licorice” McKechnie, and Rose
Simpson—who lived communally
in Wales, often harmonized with
exotic instruments from around the
world. At Woodstock, their 40-min-
ute set passed with little notice from
the crowd—and was not included
in the documentary. It didn’t help
that the soft ensemble had been ini-
tially scheduled to appear Friday
night with other acoustic-oriented
acts but got rained out; instead they
wound up sandwiched in between
the louder and more raucous Keef
Hartley Band and the bluesy CannedHeat. “As a group, we just wanted to
get it over with,” Simpson told writer
Peter Kurtz earlier this year. “We knew
that it wouldn’t work with all the audi-
ence hyped up on volume and power
and superb musicianship... We had
another gig in New York that night
and had to get out and away. We did
sort of recognize that this was special,
and that the New World was dawning
in some ways, but [we’d] had an awful,
sleepless, cold, and miserable night.”AFTER WOODSTOCK: The Incredible
String Band hung on for several more
years, then split up in 1974. Founders
Heron and Williamson reunited from
around 1999 to 2003. Simpson, mean-
while, went on to earn a doctorate in
German literature and become Lady
Mayoress (an honorary title) of the sea-
side university town of Aberystwyth,
Wales, where she had worked. Licorice
McKechnie is one of rock’s enduring
mysteries. An enigmatic character,
the singer-percussionist literally dis-
appeared three decades ago—some say
she was last seen in 1987, hitchhiking
in Arizona.Keef Hartley Band
4:45–5:30 PM
After Sebastian took his bows,
Woodstock experienced its first bit of
British invasion with the Keef Hartley
Band. It would also turn out to be one
of the festival’s lost performances.
Hartley was a respected drummer from
Lancashire who had made his name
with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
After forming his own group, Hartley
released several albums; his music was
jazz-inflected and he was popular in
small clubs, often appearing dressed
as a Native American, complete with
headdress and war paint. The specif-
ics of his festival set are a bit murky
because Hartley doesn’t appear on
any Woodstock soundtracks; nor is
he featured in the Woodstock doc-
umentary, reportedly over a con-
tract dispute. Thus his performance
exists only on videos taken by audi-
ence members. According to the most
reliable accounts, the set included
“Spanish Fly,” “She’s Gone,” “Too
Much Thinking,” “Believe in You,” and
a medley: “Sinnin’ for You,” “Leaving
Trunk,” and “Just to Cry.”
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