After the success of '' Music from Big Pink '' , the Band went on tour . Their first live appearance was at Stony Brook University in spring 1969 . That summer they performed at the Woodstock Festival ( their performance was not included in the famed '' Woodstock '' film because of legal complications ) , and later that year they performed with Dylan at the UK Isle of Wight Festival ( several songs from which were subsequently included on Dylan 's '' Self Portrait '' album ) . That same year , they left for Los Angeles to record their follow-up , '' The Band '' ( 1969 ) . From their rustic appearance on the cover to the songs and arrangements within , the album stood in contrast to other popular music of the day . ( Several other artists made similar stylistic moves about the same time , notably Dylan , on '' John Wesley Harding '' , which was written during the '' Basement Tapes '' sessions , and the Byrds , on '' Sweetheart of the Rodeo '' , which featured two '' Basement Tapes '' covers . ) '' The Band '' featured songs that evoked old-time rural America , from the Civil War in " The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down " to the unionization of farm workers in " King Harvest ( Has Surely Come ) "
Isle of Wight Festival
Isle of Wight Festival 1969
The Band