Woodstock 50 Festival Canceled, Promoter Hopes To Revive It

Woodstock 50, which was scheduled to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the legendary music festival, has been canceled.

The event which was slated for August 16-18 in upstate New York, featured an all-star lineup from Jay-Z to Miley Cyrus and Imagine Dragons, among dozens more including acts from the original Woodstock festival. But tickets for the festival which was officially announced in early March did not go on sale, and a planned Earth Day ticket sale date in April was postponed due to reported permit issues. 

On Monday, Dentsu Aegis Network, one of the festival’s main investors, broke the news that Woodstock 50, organized largely by Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang, would not proceed. 

 50 CELEBRITIES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

“Despite our tremendous investment of time, effort and commitment, we don’t believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners, and attendees,” the company said in a statement.

“As a result and after careful consideration, Dentsu Aegis Network’s Amplifi Live, a partner of Woodstock 50, has decided to cancel the festival.  As difficult as it is, we believe this is the most prudent decision for all parties involved,” it continued. 

But Lang said the firm’s actions were “undermining” festival organizers.

“It is one thing to decide for oneself that it is best to move on, but it is entirely another thing to try and close the door on us,” he said.

“Woodstock never belonged to Dentsu, so they don’t have a right to cancel it,” he continued. 

But Tim O’Hearn, an administrator of Schuyler County, New York, where the festival was set to take place, told reporters on Monday, “I have been notified that the event is canceled at this point.”

The festival was reportedly canceled due to financing and permit issues, organizers were said to have also grown increasingly concerned that the Watkins Glen International Speedway would not be able to accommodate the 100,000-person three-day festival.

According to Billboard, $30 million has already been spent on the festival lineup. A source also revealed to Billboard that most artists have also already been paid by Amplify Live. This isn’t the first time an event at Watkins Glen, a site which has housed large-scale music, has been canceled. As in 2018, Phish Curveball was canceled at the last minute due to water conditions at the festival site.