Woodstock 50 music festival officially cancelled, co-founder blames 'series of unforeseen setbacks'

A huge US music festival to celebrate 50 years of the iconic Woodstock music festival is now officially cancelled. “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,” Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang said in a statement, according to People. This came after, Amplifi, with whom the organisers had originally signed a contract to host the 50th anniversary of the show in Watkins Glen, New York, from August 16-18 and its parent company and concert financier, Dentsu Aegis Network, attempted to cancel Woodstock 50 in April after logistical issues began to arise, reported Variety. Following the same, in a statement to Billboard, Dentsu, the financer of the event shared dread that the site at Watkins Glen would not be ready to safely accommodate the 100,000 people expected to attend. [caption id=“attachment_7094561” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The original Woodstock music festival. Image from Twitter[/caption] However, Woodstock 50 was deciding to create a free benefit concert to raise awareness and funding and also to select organisations that combat global warming. “When we lost the Glen and then Vernon Downs [a venue in Vernon, New York] we looked for a way to do some good rather than just cancel. We formed a collaboration with HeadCount to do a smaller event at the Merriweather Pavilion to raise funds for them to get out the vote and for certain NGOs involved in fighting climate change. We released all the talent so any involvement on their part would be voluntary. Due to conflicting radius issues in D.C .area many acts were unable to participate and others passed for their own reasons,” Lang said in his statement. “I would like to encourage artists and agents, who all have been fully paid, to donate 10 percent of their fees to HeadCount or causes of their choice in the spirit of peace. Woodstock remains committed to social change and will continue to be active in support of HeadCount’s critical mission to get out the vote before the next election. We thank the artists, fans, and partners who stood by us even in the face of adversity. My thoughts turn to Bethel and its celebration of our 50th Anniversary to reinforce the values of compassion, human dignity, and the beauty of our differences embraced by Woodstock,” he continued. Artistes who were originally slated to perform at Woodstock 50 included Miley Cyrus, JAY-Z, the Killers, the Black Keys and Chance the Rapper, as well as Woodstock 1969 veterans Santana and John Mayer.