Introduction
Since the 1960s, and even more in recent years, music festivals have become an essential part of the summer. Between May and September every year, music festivals are organized for every music genre and age category all around the world. If in the 1960s, a music festival was a place where anything could happen, where amateurism and spontaneity reigned, and where festivalgoers usually shared the values and ideals of the organizers (especially during the hippie period),
Today festivals are organized like clockwork, in order to ensure the safety and the well-being of visitors. Of course, this has a cost: festivals are now often organized by large corporations, and ticket prices have rocketed in recent years. Throughout this episode, we will wonder if music festivals have lost their soul or if they continue to be an essential rite of passage and a moment of enlightenment for young people.
Woodstock in pictures
Task n°2: Look at the 3 pictures and describe them using the word bank above the pictures (historical context, what kind of people, of music, atmosphere, etc…..)
Listening / reading comprehension
From Woodstock To Boston Calling: How Music Festivals Evolved Since The Psychedelic '60s
More information about Woodstock:
Correction of the worksheet
Word Recap
Read carefully the correction and the notes you took during the correction to find translations of the following words
un organisateur = an organizer An expression synonymous with « to be worried » = to be upset Cela ne me dérange pas = I don’t mind + berb + ING Je m’en fiche = I couldn’t care less Je m’en fous = I don’t care J’en ai rien à foutre = i don’t give a damn aussi = too / as well frénésie = frenzy subjugué / fasciné = transfixed dégoulinant de sueur = dripping in sweat en mouvement = in motion plaisanter = to joke sympathie / compassion = empathy | reconnaissance / compréhension = understanding pacifique / paisible = peaceful être concentré = to be focused distrait / la tête ailleurs = distracted la bannière étoilée = the star-Spangled Banner un hymne = an anthem être transporté (de joie) = to be carried away un champ de bataille= a battlefield une fusée = a rocket une manifestation = a demonstration un citoyen = a citizen the civil rights movement = le mouvement pour les droits civiques une critique = a criticism |
Summary of the text
Fill in the gaps with the verbs conjugated in the past
Woodstock Festival …………… (to be) a 3-day event which ………………. (to take place) in 1969 in the State of New York.
The final set …………………… (to play) by Jimi Hendrix and Band of Gypsies. It …………….. (to start) on Monday 18 August 1969 at 10 A.M. They ……………….. (to play) songs like ‘Voodoo Chile’ and a cover of ‘the Star Spangled Banner’ among other songs.
At first, the crowd ………….. (to be) not as big as ……………… (to expect): only 40,000 people. Indeed, many ………… (to go) home because they ………… (to have to) work or to join their families. When he ………….. (to arrive) on stage, people ………… (to seem) to …………… (to lose) interest: many …………….; (to wander away).
When he ……….. (to get) onstage, Jimi Hendrix ……………. (not / to try) to make the crowd stay, he ………… (to tell) them that they ……………. (modal + to leave) or listen to them or clap. He ……………. (not / to seem) to care about the small size of the audience.
However, as the concert …………… (to go on), people ………….. (to fascinate) by the musician and his band. As the show ………… (to progress), the crowd …………. (to describe) as ‘enthusiastic’ which …………….. (to warm) Jimi’s heart. He ……………….. (to have) a few words of support for the last spectators.
Finally, for one of the last songs, the crowd ……………..( to transport) to another place thanks to the music.
The Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement
The Vietnam War: Search the following website and pick up the most relevant information.
The civil rights movement: Search the following website and pick up the most relevant information.
If you want to know more about the impact of Woodstock, click on the link below
Final Task: Protest Songs
List of protest songs : https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/x-lists/best-protest-songs/
WEBSEARCH
Work in pairs and prepare a slideshow to make a presentation of one of the 50 protest songs presented on the website : radiox.co.uk
Your slideshow should include the following elements:
a.Introduce the singer / band and the song from the musical point of view (Style / rythm / instruments / tone / what you feel when you listen to it)
b.Context of the song : Which events or social issues have inspired that music?
c. Message of the song : explain the theme(s) evoked and the massage the artist(s) want to convey in the song by analysing the lyrics
d.Include the track and a few pictures (maximum 3) to illustrate your work. These pictures should help give your opinion about the song you studied (if you liked it and if it is a good protest song).
Grammar practice
Below, you will find the word bank to do exercises 4, 5 and 6
Key to the exercises
