Woodstock (USA) (AFP)

The music resounded from a church in Woodstock, not far from the house of the young Richard Heppner. But it was not the sound of the bells that whistled in the ears of his father, exasperated.

"You can not call the police against Jimi Hendrix," he reminds his father, begging him for satisfaction. The guitarist of genius then repeated in this place of worship abandoned.

The city of Woodstock, 172 kilometers north of New York, has actually not hosted the eponymous festival. But it was not uncommon to meet Jimi Hendrix's celebrities, according to Heppner.

And the sexagenarian, historian of the city, to assert that the artistic soul of his native village does not date from 1969.

"We like to think that the spirit that gave birth to the festival started here," he says.

For the organizers of Woodstock - whose fiftieth anniversary celebration was launched Thursday - aspired to organize these three days of peace, love and music here in this New York City community, a haven of creativity for artists such as Bob Dylan.

They finally chose another place -forced for questions of space and permits- located at a hundred km in the South-West but managed to keep the original name of their festival, Woodstock.

Deceived by this stroke of fate, tourists have flocked for half a century in this city now populated with about 6,000 people. This missed pilgrimage makes Richard Heppner smile.

"The name continues to provide magic," he slips into the premises of the "Woodstock Historical Society."

"Our name is associated with a generation."

- Artistic heritage -

For this resident of 67 years and other residents of Woodstock, this city deserves its reputation as an artistic and anti-authoritarian commune, which does not date from its failed marriage with the festival.

After sharing their dreams in love letters, American artist Jane Byrd McCall Whitehead and her budding husband, Englishman Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, opened the Byrdcliffe Artists' Residence in 1903, in the mountains overlooking Woodstock. . The place still exists.

"It's a city that was created by that kind of artistic spirit," says Derin Tanyol, director of exhibitions and programs at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild.

This place "has actually earned her artist residency," she says, in front of one of Byrdcliffe's main houses, where an off-the-wall psychedelic show called "Psych Out !!!" is organized.

Alan Baer, ​​an architect and exhibition curator, landed in Woodstock about 30 years ago with his artist wife, attracted by the energy of the corner.

"There is so much history here," he says. "We work independently of this story but it is in our genes, we can really feel it".

In Woodstock, tourists can now enjoy chic, eco-friendly restaurants, leave with a washed-out Grateful Dead t-shirt, and wander downtown, attracting hippies by stores that bet on the brand that has become the name Woodstock.

- "Magic place" -

But the city's reputation has mostly attracted more and more wealthy New Yorkers looking for a new breath of fresh air, pushing home prices up and the number of people living their art to the decline.

"It's a city that's really culturally and economically defined by ... two very distinct genres, hungry artists and affluent New Yorkers who have a second home here," Derin Tanyol says.

"Artists need rich people to fund organizations that give artists places to host their exhibitions - and rich people need the art," she calculates.

"Has Woodstock lost its true meaning? Some say yes," says historian Richard Heppner.

But no worries Alan Baer: Woodstock is a place steeped in history, a "magical place" that will not go away.

© 2019 AFP