Woodstock 50 canceled
August 1, 2019
"Woodstock 50 today announced that the three-day festival to celebrate its 50th anniversary has been canceled," the organizers said in a statement on Wednesday.
The tribute festival to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary 1969 celebration of peace, love and music was scheduled for August 16-18.
"We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on the festival we imagined with the great lineup we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating," said Michael Lang, co-founder of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. "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."
The cancellation did not come as a complete surprise, as the organizers experienced a series of setbacks. They were turned down at two proposed festival sites in upstate New York and lost funding. Headliners booked for the concerts, including rapper Jay-Z and pop star Miley Cyrus, also pulled out. The festival lineup in 1969 included The Who, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
An alternative event
Woodstock 50 was called off, but there actually will be a celebration of the mythical festival at the original 1969 site.
On the anniversary weekend, Ringo Starr, Santana and Dan Fogerty are performing at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts: "Same place.Different time.Still historic," the website proclaims.
db/eg (AFP, AP, Reuters)