Junior to craft photo book to honor Woodstock’s 50th Anniversary
Prince Dudley | Staff Photographer
During the school year Liz Stantley goes to places like Funk n’ Waffles, the F-Shed and Westcott Theatre to listen to jam bands.
A lifelong devotion to music was inevitable for Liz Stantley, who was raised listening to rock. The Southern California native is taking her love for music festivals to the next level by creating a photo book honoring the 50th anniversary of Woodstock.
Stantley said her first festival experience at Coachella was like crossing the threshold into a worry-free world of complete freedom. Since then, the junior art photography major has attended countless concerts and worked numerous festivals. She said she thinks attending live concerts allows people to become free spirits and witness the band come to life.
There’s this aura of wonder that comes with going to a live show. Be adventurous. So many people have wonderful accidents, stumbling upon no-name acts that soon develop into their next favorite band.Liz Stantley
Picking up her friends from class and driving five hours to see a live performance is well worth the journey, she said. But during a typical week, Stantley satiates her music cravings by frequenting local jam band spots like Funk ‘N Waffles, the F-Shed and the Westcott Theatre. Stantley said that thanks to Syracuse’s large jam band following, a lot of dynamic performers come through those venues.
Jam bands originated in the 1960s with The Grateful Dead and carried on through the Allman Brothers Band, according to Stantley. She characterized a jam band as a group of extremely talented musicians exploring the combination of instruments and thriving off of each other’s improvisations. This makes each version of a song unique.
“Most fans know the date and place where their favorite rendition of a song was played,” Stantley said.
Stantley credits festivals as honing some of the most sublime experiences she has had on this Earth. The idea that among a sea of strangers, all of you are linked by one factor — the music — is incredible, Stantley said.
There is still one experience Stantley wishes to have more than anything: Woodstock. After extensive research, visiting the grounds and seeing the museum, Stantley has decided to craft an archive-style photo book as her senior thesis to be released in 2019.
By conducting interviews and researching materials at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Stantley is discovering a whole new culture within Woodstock.
Published on April 4, 2016 at 12:01 am
Contact: ghhughes@syr.edu
