Nine Inch Nails played Woodstock ’94, the 1994 festival that reunited the Woodstock brand 25 years after the original 1969 event. The festival took place from August 12 to 14 at Winston Farm in Saugerties, New York.
The lineup mixed major rock acts, alternative bands, pop performers, and veterans of the original Woodstock era. Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, Metallica, The Cranberries, Cypress Hill, Joe Cocker, Blind Melon, and many others also performed. Nine Inch Nails appeared on August 13 during the band’s Self-Destruct Tour.
Trent Reznor and the band delivered one of the festival’s most memorable performances, playing in heavy mud after the site became rain-soaked. Their set helped cement Nine Inch Nails’ reputation as a powerful live act during the period when the band was moving into mainstream prominence.
The concert was documented in the Woodstock ’94 film and a four-disc live album. Nine Inch Nails’ performance of “Happiness in Slavery” later won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1996.