RIP.
In no surprise to anyone who’s been following the saga, Woodstock’s 50th-anniversary festival has been officially cancelled.
The festival was announced back in January, with the lineup revealed in March. The initial response to the lineup wasn’t enthusiastic, given the diversity of genres on the bill and the lack of legacy acts.
In April, major investor Dentsu Aegis claimed the festival was cancelled because it pulled its funding. Organisers said the festival would prevail and took Dentsu to court over whether it had the right to cancel the event.
Festival organisers struggled to secure a venue for the event, with the initial venue, Watkins Glen International racetrack, refusing to provide a mass gathering permit. The same issue happened with Vernon Downs, another racetrack in New York.
Just recently, Woodstock released all the contracts for its acts and announced the festival would be free. With no acts locked in and a serious drop in revenue, confidence in the event wasn’t high. Even with two weeks to go until the scheduled start date, tickets were never available to purchase.
In a statement, Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang said it was a shame the event wouldn’t go ahead as planned.
“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,” he said.
