On Wednesday at 10 a.m., Eastman School of Music’s Campus Activities Board (CAB) officially announced their plans to host a Woodstock revival-style music festival this year. The event, dubbed “Woodstock ‘23,” is set for June 23 through June 25, and will feature an array of artists whom the organizers claim students will definitely love. Please.
As of now, the lineup features alternative pop group Japanese Breakfast, who will finally be returning to the Rochester area after their canceled concert at the Main Street Armory this past summer. The band is set to open the festival on its opening day, and will feature members of Eastman’s Japanese Breakfast Fan Club (alternatively known as WRUR) joining the band onstage to perform “The Genesee.”
The entire event will be sponsored by Renée Fleming (MM ‘83 HNR ‘11), who will also be headlining the first day of the festival. Fleming will share the main stage in Kodak Hall with Eastman’s own clarinet quartet of current undergraduate students. The members of the group have yet to be announced, but every clarinetist is already claiming their involvement on their resumes.
Woodstock ‘23 event organizers also stated that to honor the philanthropic values of the original Woodstock festivals, all proceeds from the festival will go towards construction projects on campus, such as installing turf on Eastman Quad and in the Dining Center on Eastman Campus.
“We really would like to bring some form of grass for the undergraduates to touch every once in a while,” said CAB members, in an official statement about the event. “Music majors especially experience a detachment from the outside world, and we want to bring the outside world to them!”
Food and beverages will be available all three days, courtesy of Harvest Table Culinary and The Pit. Students attending will be able to use meal swipes for a filling single 8 ounce bottle of water at the festival, with one swipe allowed on Friday, and a generous three on Saturday and Sunday.
Not all of the slots on the festival have been announced, according to Eastman CAB, but the ones that have can be found on the CAB’s instagram page, @eastmanosa.
“We really would like to hear from students! Please DM us your favorite musical artists of any genre, except male country artists, and we will try to reach out to them!” said the CAB members involved with planning the event.
