Woodstock 50 Concert Reportedly Plagued by Financial Issues
The Woodstock 50 event, meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the festival this August, is reportedly running into financial and logistical issues staging the concert.
Due to take place Aug. 16-18 in Watkins Glen in Upstate New York, the event promised to “give generations of fans the opportunity to join together in the festival’s foundational intent of harmony and compassion.” But since that January 9 announcement, few details have emerged — namely, the lineup reveal.
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According to Hits Daily Double, that delay is due to “issues regarding the raising of money and venue capacity.” The site notes that such acts as Dead & Co., The Killers, Miley Cyrus, Santana, The Black Keys, Chance the Rapper, Jay-Z, Imagine Dragons and Halsey have been approached to perform at the 1,000-acre Watkins Glen International race track.
But in a statement to Variety, festival co-founder Michael Lang insists that Woodstock is a go. Says Lang: “There’s always been lots of rumors around Woodstock. We have excellent partners and an incredible talent lineup of over 80 artists which will be announced within the next couple of weeks. We’re preparing a once in a lifetime event.”
While not the original site of Woodstock, the race track has hosted two Phish festivals as well as the 1973 “Summer Jam,” which featured the Band, the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band. The festival was due to have three main stages featuring “more than 60 of the biggest names and emerging talent in rock, hip hop, pop and country,” read the announcement, which also described lodging availability for tents, RVs and camping.
The Woodstock 50th anniversary is being produced under license from Woodstock Ventures, which was founded by Lang with original festival co-founders Joel Rosenman and the late John Roberts; Artie Kornfeld, who co-produced the 1969 event, will be rejoining the team for Woodstock 50.
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