The Birmingham, England-based Moody Blues was just starting to make it big in the late 1960s. As such, they were invited to play Woodstock, as singer-guitarist Justin Hayward told On Milwaukee in 2016. "I'm pretty sure we're listed on some of the posters and advertising," he joked.
However, Woodstock wasn't the only big music festival that summer. Indeed, as is the case now (putting aside COVID-19 related cancellations), European cities large and small hosted music festivals of their own, and the guys in the Moody Blues decided that it made more sense to keep touring to European music festivals that summer rather than do a one-off in the U.S.
"Ultimately, we decided against playing Woodstock because we'd built a solid fan base in Europe playing the big festivals. We played in Paris the weekend of Woodstock and then returned to the Isle of Wight festival," Hayward said.
Another performer who famously skipped out on Woodstock made the same decision, and it paid off for him, too. Hayward said that at the Isle of Wight festival, the band ran into Bob Dylan, who had also been invited to Woodstock but declined.
