News comes two weeks before scheduled event
Woodstock 50 has officially been canceled after moving from Upstate New York to Columbia, Maryland and being billed as a free event last week. The three day festival has been called off due to financial constraints and artists pulling out of performing.
“We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on the festival we imagined with the great lineup we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating,” Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang says in a press release.
“We worked hard to find a way to produce a proper tribute — and some great artists came aboard over the last week to support Woodstock 50 — but time simply ran short,” adds Woodstock 50 principal Greg Peck. “Woodstock’s values of peace and tolerance are more important today than ever for all of us to stand for and we look to the future for ways to honor and celebrate these ideals.”
The news comes two weeks before the anniversary event was set to take place August 16-18th at the relocated Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Artists were pulling out of the event left and right following the founder Michael Lang’s letter to artists reps letting them out of their contracts, but still inviting them to perform.
Jay Z, John Fogerty, Miley Cyrus, Dead & Co and others pulled out after the event relocated from its original Watkins Glen venue in Upstate New York to Maryland.
The Woodstock 50th anniversary celebration has been troubled since its announcement in January. Tickets did not go on sale as originally planned in March after organizers failed to obtain the proper permits for three day fest, causing original investor Dentsu Aegis Network to “cancel” the event.
In June, the Woodstock 50 team secured Oppenheimer & Co. as financial investor to complete the financing for the festival following a legal victory, after it was ruled that original investor Dentsu had no right to cancel the three day anniversary festival. However, organizers lost the initial Watkins Glen venue shortly thereafter, causing even more concern.
More than 80 artists were announced in March — later than expected for an event of this magnitude — including The Killers, Miley Cyrus, The Lumineers, The Raconteurs, Sturgill Simpson, Greta Van Fleet, Jay-Z, Imagine Dragons, Halsey were announced to perform. The Black Keys were initially announced as performers, but pulled out before all of the canceled chaos began.
