Woodstock: The Mystery of Destiny

Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist David Young has created and written a rock opera, Woodstock: The Mystery of Destiny, which he will perform at the Bloomington Civic Theatre this month. The story takes place in Woodstock, New York, thirty years after the famous hippie festival, among the forest of trees planted by locals after the original festival ended.

Who is David Young?
A musical entrepreneur of sorts, Young got his start playing the role of Angus in an AC/DC tribute band in the early 1980s. Since then, he has built a cottage industry creating “relaxation” CDs with ethereal-sounding titles like Bliss, Celestial Winds, and Creation. Woodstock is one of his pet projects, landing somewhere between these two musical extremes.

What is Young known for?
Young has carved out a rather bizarre niche for himself playing Renaissance music with two flutes at the same time, in harmony. He likens this trick to “playing the piano upside down and backwards,” but says it’s easy—all you have to do is “practice five or six hours a day for twenty years.”

In what category did he receive a Grammy nomination?
Best instrumental album of 1999.

Why go?
If you are one of the 20 million or so people who claim to have been at the real Woodstock, there could be some nostalgic value. Young, though no relation to Neil, does a spirited version of the original song “Woodstock,” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and brings a gift for mellow but infectious acoustic rock to his other tunes as well. A collection of posters and press materials from the original Woodstock will also be on display in the lobby.