Woodstock 50 trivia: 80 facts about the festival!

Woodstock 50 was a planned festival celebrating the 50 years from the original Woodstock festival. Unfortunately, it was cancelled!

Woodstock 50 was a planned American music festival
It was scheduled to be held on August 16- 18, 2019
At Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland
The event was intended to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair
A landmark festival held in August 15- 17, 1969, in Bethel, New York
The festival was canceled on July 31, 2019
After a series of production issues, venue relocations and artist cancellations
Artists initially announced for the Woodstock 50 lineup included The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Miley Cyrus, Robert Plant, The Raconteurs, Cage the Elephant and Janelle Monáe
As well as several musical acts that had performed at the original 1969 festival
Such as Dead & Company, John Fogerty, Santana, David Crosby, Melanie, John Sebastian, Hot Tuna, Canned Heat and Country Joe McDonald
Woodstock 50 and its lineup were officially announced in March 2019
Tickets were not released for sale on a previously scheduled date, and were still available as of July 2019
In late April 2019, a financial backer claimed the festival had been canceled, which was disputed by organizers
Subsequently, there have been conflicting media reports ranging from allegations of financial and legal difficulties and an inability to secure proper permits from local officials
In May, a judge ruled that the financiers had no right to cancel the festival
Allowing the event to proceed as planned
The festival was to take place at the Watkins Glen International
But the racetrack announced in June 2019 that the event would no longer be held there
On July 25, the concert’s location was moved to Merriweather Post Pavilion
The next day, all of the artists who had been initially announced as part of the festival’s lineup were released from their contracts
On April 29, 2019, investors Dentsu Aegis Network, who had been funding the festival through their subsidiary Amplifi Live, announced that it was no longer funding the music festival and therefore that the event has been canceled
Officials from Schuyler County, New York also confirmed the cancellation
Dentsu Aegis ceased its involvement after the organizers reduced the capacity for the festival grounds from 100,000 people to 75,000 in order to accommodate campers
After initially promising the company a crowd of 150,000
Later that day, the organizers of the festival disputed the cancellation in a statement to the Poughkeepsie Journal
And announced they would be seeking a “legal remedy”
On the same day, Lang stated on his Facebook page that, despite the loss of their financial backer, the Woodstock organizers would continue to plan the festival and look for new investors
Therefore, the festival is not canceled and will still be held as planned
On May 1, Superfly, a production partner of the Woodstock organizers, also pulled out of the festival
Superfly also cited changes to the festival’s capacity as a reason for ceasing involvement with Woodstock 50
As result of Dentsu Aegis backing out of the festival, none of the artists on the lineup were obligated to play at the event
Because they had all made payment agreements through either Dentsu itself or its Amplifi Live subsidiary and not the Woodstock promoters
Representatives from two major talent agencies told Billboard that Dentsu Aegis’ decision may have voided the artists’ contracts
And it was unlikely their clients would be performing at the festival
Following the company’s announcement, Dead & Company removed Woodstock 50 from the tour itinerary on their website
John Fogerty told Rolling Stone that he was disappointed by the announcement and surprised that the festival had not secured permits sooner
Noting “You got the sense there was some shakiness to this whole thing”
On May 6, Billboard reported that CID Entertainment would be producing the festival
But Lang would have also needed about $30 million by May 10 and a mass gathering permit from the New York Department of Heath for the event to proceed
Lang also accused Dentsu Aegis of illegally removing $17 million from the festival’s bank account
Blocking the April 22 ticket sale and attempting to cancel the event without his consent
On May 9, lawyers for the Woodstock organizers requested an injunction against Dentsu Aegis in a New York court seeking the return of the disputed $17 million
On May 13, Dentsu Aegis’ Amplifi Live subsidiary filed a counter-claim against Lang
In which the company argued that they had the right to take over the festival and cancel the event due to contractual breaches and logistical misrepresentation on Lang’s part
On May 15, a judge in New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Woodstock organizers and found that Dentsu Aegis had no legal right to cancel the festival
Allowing the event to proceed
However, the judge also ruled that the organizers were not entitled to the $17.8 million that had been removed from the festival’s bank account
On May 17, Oppenheimer Holdings was announced as the new financial backer for the festival
Following the court ruling, Lang announced that three-day passes to the festival would be around $400 with limited single-day passes available
A change from earlier plans in which only three-day passes would have been made available
A mass gathering permit for the festival was submitted on April 15
But was not approved by the New York Department of Health
On June 10, Watkins Glen International announced that it had cancelled the contract for the Woodstock 50 festival and the event would no longer be held at the racetrack
It was later revealed that the festival had lost its booking at the racetrack because organizers had missed a $150,000 payment
The same day, CID Entertainment announced they would also be pulling out of the festival
A representative for the festival subsequently told Associated Press that the organizers were in preliminary talks with another venue to host the event
In late June, the Woodstock organizers applied for a permit to hold a smaller-scale festival at the Vernon Downs horse racing track in Vernon, New York
On July 9, the organizers were denied a permit to hold the festival at Vernon Downs
On July 16, the organizers’ third appeal was denied by the Vernon planning board
Following the ruling, Lang said he would not sue the town to force them to host Woodstock 50
And conceded that that the festival would not be held at Vernon Downs
On July 25, Bloomberg News reported that the Woodstock organizers had moved the festival to Merriweather Post Pavilion
A venue in Columbia, Maryland
With a smaller capacity than either of the planned New York sites
Known as “Woodstock 50 Washington”, the festival would act as a fundraiser for voter registration and climate change non-profit organizations
Instead of being a ticketed event as originally planned, the festival will be free
And concertgoers would instead be encouraged to donate to charitable causes
Seth Hurwitz, co-founder of Merriweather Post Pavilion operator IMP, said his venue would host the festival if organizers presented them with a lineup
A concert headlined by the Smashing Pumpkins is scheduled to take place at the venue on August 17, 2019
On the weekend Woodstock 50 was slated to occur
In order to accommodate that concert, the festival would have been reduced from three days to one day
Jay-Z and John Fogerty pulled out of the Woodstock 50 lineup shortly after the move to Maryland was announced
On July 26, the promoters released all of the remaining artists on the lineup from their contracted appearances at the relocated festival
The organizers informed artists of the relocation and contact release through a letter
Which also requested they still perform at the festival, and reminded them of the payment they had received from Dentsu Aegis
In the following days, Dead & Company, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, Santana, The Lumineers, The Raconteurs, Pussy Riot and Miley Cyrus all announced they would not be appearing at the relocated festival
A representative for The Zombies told Variety that the band still planned to perform at Woodstock 50
As of July 30, 17 days before the festival’s planned start date, Woodstock organizers had not submitted a permit application to hold the event at Merriweather Post Pavilion
On July 31, the organizers for Woodstock 50 announced that the festival had been canceled
In a press release, representatives for the festival stated that “unforseen setbacks made it impossible to put on a festival we imagined with the great line-up we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating”