Which Indian sitar virtuoso performed on Woodstock's first night during rain?

Ravi Shankar performed on Woodstock’s first night during rain.

The Indian sitar virtuoso took the stage around midnight between August 15 and 16, 1969, after folk singer Tim Hardin. His performance lasted roughly 40 minutes and continued during a downpour, making it one of the festival’s most distinctive early sets.

Shankar was accompanied by tabla player Alla Rakha and tambura player Maya Kulkarni. His appearance reflected Woodstock’s broad musical range: alongside rock, folk, blues and jazz acts, the festival presented Indian classical music to a huge mainstream audience.

Shankar had already helped popularize the sitar in the West, including through his friendship and musical association with George Harrison. However, he disliked the festival’s drug culture and party atmosphere, later comparing the rain-soaked crowd to water buffalo submerged in mud. A common mix-up is Ali Akbar Khan, another major Indian classical musician who collaborated with Shankar elsewhere, but Shankar was the sitarist who played at Woodstock.