The adventurous Woodstock 50 music festival, to mark the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock in 1969, mau or may not have been axed depending on various reports.
While Billboard have reported the financial backers have pulled out, in a statement to Nosie11.com Michael Lang said, “We are committed to ensuring that the 50th Anniversary of Woodstock is marked with a festival deserving of its iconic name and place in American history and culture. Although our financial partner is withdrawing, we will of course be continuing with the planning of the festival and intend to bring on new partners. We would like to acknowledge the State of New York and Schuyler County for all of their hard work and support. The bottom line is, there is going to be a Woodstock 50th Anniversary Festival, as there must be, and it’s going to be a blast.”
Lang, the co-founder of the original Woodstock, was behind Woodstock 50. After announcing an incredible line-up featuring artists from now such as The Killers, Imagine Dragon and Jay-Z and original Woodstock performers Canned Heat, David Crosby and John Fogerty, the financial backers for the event Dentsu Aegis Network’s Amplifi Live have pulled out telling Billboard, “we don’t believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name.”
However, co-founder Michael Lang says, “I’ve been here before ….. deja vu moment” … suggesting that its not all over just yet.
While the event was announced the January tickets had still not gone on sale.
When the line-up was announced in March, tickets were expected to go on sale in early April.
Woodstock 50 was expected to draw over 100,000 fans on the weekend of 16-18 August, 2019, exactly 50 years after the original festival.
The new event was to be held in Watkins Glen in upstate New York as the original Bethel, New York location could not accommodate the expected crowd.
Another Woodstock 50th, organised by Live Nation, was also cancelled.
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