Woodstock 50 which was supposed to kick off in less than a month is officially canceled once and for all.
Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang announced the cancelation of the event which was scheduled to take place August 16 to 18 to celebrate Woodstock’s 50th Anniversary.
“We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks have 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,” said Michael Lang, co-founder of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival.
“We thank the artists, fans, and partners who stood by us even in the face of adversity,” he added.
The officials announced that the 50th-anniversary tribute to Woodstock will set to take place in Bethel, New York, near the original 1969 festival’s site. But new plans were later made to hold the festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland.
The event is canceled due to Dentsu Aegis, the festival’s former financial partner, which announced that it had canceled the festival in April. The company wrote in a statement at the time, “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.”
Lang protested Dentsu’s decision, claiming that the investment firm didn’t have the right to unilaterally shut it down.
Some of the music industry’s biggest names were announced as headliners, including Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and Chance the Rapper. Artists who performed at the original Woodstock, like Santana and David Crosby, were also set to perform.
