Woodstock 50 lineup to feature Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, the Killers, Robert Plant, Black Keys
It’s peace, love and a very modern musical twist: An array of contemporary performers from rock, hip-hop and pop will be joined by old-school artists at the Woodstock 50 festival in August, organizers announced Tuesday.
Jay-Z, Imagine Dragons, the Killers, Miley Cyrus, Chance the Rapper and the Black Keys were among more than 75 artists revealed as the most iconic music festival in U.S. history gears up for its golden anniversary.
Woodstock 50 Music and Arts Fair will run Aug. 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York, about 150 miles west of the original Woodstock site in Bethel. It follows a previous pair of anniversary fests — the upbeat mud bath of Woodstock ’94 and violence-tinged Woodstock ’99.
Tickets will go on sale April 22 — or Earth Day, as Woodstock producers point out. Additional purchase information is available by emailing peace@woodstock50.com.
Others tapped for Woodstock 50 include the Lumineers, Robert Plant, Jack White’s rebooted Raconteurs, Greta Van Fleet, Halsey, Janelle Monae, Sturgill Simpson, Cage the Elephant, Run the Jewels and Brandi Carlile. (See the full lineup below.)
Details were unveiled Tuesday evening at a New York City event featuring Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang, who also produced the ’94 and ’99 events. Lang told Rolling Stone in January he’s hoping to draw a multi-generational audience this summer, and he dismissed the disastrous ’99 festival as “just a musical experience with no social significance.”
“With this one, we’re going back to our roots and our original intent,” he told the magazine.
This year’s Woodstock will include several acts who played the original 1969 edition at the height of the hippie era, including the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann as Dead and Company, along with Santana, David Crosby, John Fogerty, Canned Heat, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian and Melanie.
The fest also unveiled its official 2019 poster, with a look reminiscent of the original Arnold Skolnick design in ’69, including the classic dove but now — in perhaps a sign of the times — a scaled-down guitar.
The U.S. festival landscape has transformed dramatically in the years since Woodstock’s 30-year celebration in ’99, and this year’s installment joins a calendar teeming with events that draw fans by the tens of millions annually, led by heavy hitters such as Coachella and Bonnaroo.
But the Woodstock name still carries a special cachet, thanks to that original ’69 event, which featured artists such as Jimi Hendrix, drew a crowd of more than 400,000, and stands as one of the 20th Century’s cultural milestones.
Woodstock 50 also detailed a host of partnerships with nonprofit groups, including Conservation International, Dolphin Project, Felix Organization and the Happy Hippie Foundation.
Woodstock 50 festival lineup
(Artists in order announced by the festival)
Day 1 (Friday, Aug. 16)
The Killers
Miley Cyrus
Santana
The Lumineers
The Raconteurs
Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape Shifters
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
John Fogerty
Run the Jewels
The Head and the Heart
Maggie Rogers
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Bishop Briggs
Anderson East
Akon
Princess Nokia
John Sebastian
Melanie
Grandson
Fever 333
Dorothy
Flora Cash
Larkin Poe
Brian Cadd
Ninet Tayeb
and others
Day 2 (Saturday, Aug. 17)
Dead and Company
Chance the Rapper
The Black Keys
Sturgill Simpson
Greta Van Fleet
Portugal. The Man
Leon Bridges
Gary Clark Jr.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
David Crosby and Friends
Dawes
Margo Price
Nahko and Medicine for the People
India.Arie
Jade Bird
Country Joe McDonald
Rival Sons
Emily King
Soccer Mommy
Sir
Taylor Bennett
Amy Helm
Courtney Hadwin
Pearl
John-Robert
IAMDDB
and others
Day 3 (Sunday, Aug. 18)
Jay-Z
Imagine Dragons
Halsey
Cage the Elephant
Brandi Carlile
Janelle Monae
Young the Giant
Courtney Barnett
Common
Vince Staples
Judah and the Lion
Earl Sweatshirt
Boygenius
Reignwolf
The Zombies
Canned Heat
Hot Tuna
Pussy Riot
Cherry Glazerr
Leven Kali
The Marcus King Band, Victory
Hollis Brown
John Craigie
Amigo the Devil
Liz Brasher
and others
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Woodstock 50 lineup to feature Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, the Killers, Robert Plant, Black Keys