The Music of Woodstock

In 1969, Woodstock wasn’t just a concert—it was a sacred rebellion, a cry from the soul of a generation aching for peace, justice, and radical love. The songs we lift up in our 2025 “Summer of Peace and Love” mass—by prophets of their time like Janis Joplin, Tim Hardin, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Joan Baez—still burn with holy fire. These are not nostalgic tunes. They are living scripture for an age of upheaval.

They name what we still long for: “We, the people here, don’t want a war” (Tim Hardin). They expose our deepest wounds: “I feel so useless down here / With no one to love” (Janis Joplin). They declare that salvation comes not in isolation, but in communion: “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends” (Joe Cocker). They speak truth to a fractured world: “Don’t you want somebody to love?” (Jefferson Airplane). And they echo resurrection faith in the face of fear: “We shall overcome someday” (Joan Baez).

The Grateful Dead’s St. Stephen pierces the mystery of martyrdom and grace: “Stephen would answer if he only knew how.” In a world still haunted by injustice, we ask the same question.

~ J.R. Ankney,  Summer 2025

Join us for this soul-stirring, inspirational Mass, available in person and via livestream, by clicking here.