According to reports, the much troubled Woodstock 50 festival has been officially cancelled.
Last week, organizers announced that the festival was being moved from upstate New York to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. With the move, the festival was supposedly going to be free to attend.
After the move was announced, artist after artist who were billed to play the festival in New York said they were not going to take part.
The festival was meant to take place August 16 - 18 but had no confirmed performers.
On the morning of July 31st, with less than three weeks to book a new lineup and organize the event, vendors and stakeholders were reportedly told that Woodstock 50 was cancelled.
In a statement, Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang says,
“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. When we lost the Glen and then Vernon Downs we looked for a way to do some good rather than just cancel. 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 DC area many acts were unable to participate and others passed for their own reasons. I would like to encourage artists and agents, who all have been fully paid, to donate 10% of their fees to HeadCount or causes of their choice in the spirit of peace. Woodstock remains committed to social change and will continue to be active in support of HeadCount’s critical mission to get out the vote before the next election. We thank the artists, fans and partners who stood by us even in the face of adversity. My thoughts turn to Bethel and its celebration of our 50th Anniversary to reinforce the values of compassion, human dignity, and the beauty of our differences embraced by Woodstock.”
The Smashing Pumpkins and Noel Gallagher, who had been scheduled to play at Merriweather on August 17, will still perform.