Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty; Samir Hussein/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty
Woodstock 50is officially canceled.
“We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on the Festival we imagined with the great line-up we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating,” Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang said in a statement.
According toVariety, the organizers had originally signed a contract with Amplifi to host the 50th anniversary of Woodstock in Watkins Glen, New York, from Aug. 16-18, but Amplifi’s parent company and concert financier, Dentsu Aegis Network,attempted to cancelWoodstock 50 in April after logistical issues began to arise. Ina statement toBillboard, Dentsu shared fears that the site at Watkins Glen would not be ready to safely accommodate the 100,000 people expected to attend.
Judge Barry Ostrager found in May that Dentsu, an advertising and marketing agency based in Japan, and its subsidiary Amplifi, did have a “control option” to assume control over the music festival should the concert organizers fail to show an ability to actually put on the show. However, that control stopped short of “unilateral cancellation power,” meaning they could not cancel the festival entirely.
Though the concert was set to go on as planned in its new location at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, Judge Ostrager declined to order Dentsu to pay back the $17.8 million that Lang alleged had been “siphoned” from the festival’s bank accounts. With Dentsu/Amplifi not forced to return the $17.8 million to Woodstock concert organizers, cash flow issues seemed to pose a major issue for the festival.
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Merriweather Post Pavilion — which is just outside of Washington, D.C. — had agreed to host the festival if the bands came to play. Woodstock 50 was planning to create a free benefit concert to raise awareness and funding for get-out-the-vote non-profit HeadCount and select organizations that combat global warming.
“When we lost the Glen and then Vernon Downs [a venue in Vernon, New York] we looked for a way to do some good rather than just cancel,” Lang said in his statement. “We formed a collaboration with HeadCount to do a smaller event at the Merriweather Pavilion to raise funds for them to get out the vote and for certain NGOs involved in fighting climate change. We released all the talent so any involvement on their part would be voluntary. Due to conflicting radius issues in the D.C .area many acts were unable to participate and others passed for their own reasons.”
Michael Lang; Woodstock 50 poster.Evan Agostini/REX
Artists originally slated to headline Woodstock 50 includedMiley Cyrus,JAY-Z, the Killers,the Black KeysandChance the Rapper, as well as Woodstock ’69 veterans Santana and Grateful Dead offshoot Dead & Company featuringJohn Mayer.
Greg Peck, principal of Woodstock 50, added in a statement: “The unfortunate dispute with our financial partner and the resulting legal proceedings set us off course at a critical juncture, throwing a wrench in our plans and forcing us to find an alternate venue to Watkins Glen. The timing meant we had few choices where our artists would be able to perform. 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. We are greatly disappointed and thank all of our supporters, including the team at Merriweather Post Pavilion and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. 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.”
Though they were able to eliminate the venue challenges Woodstock 50 faced “quickly,” Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P. (which owns the Merriweather Post Pavilion), said they were “just too late to the game.”
“Hopefully, with plenty of time to prepare, Merriweather will become the site of a future festival that captures the original vibe,” he said. “A lot of people clearly wanted it to happen.”
Said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball: “I share in the disappointment of everyone who hoped to celebrate the anniversary of ‘Peace & Music’ with a festival this summer. While Woodstock 50 will not be coming to Howard County, we continue to offer tremendous cultural events at Merriweather Post Pavilion and beyond.”
source: people.com
