Woodstock 50, the on-again, off-again celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival in 1969, is officially canceled, according to media reports.
The festival, originally planned to run three days from Aug. 16-18, was at one time scheduled to feature a massive mix of newer and older artists including the Killers, Miley Cyrus, Santana, Robert Plant, John Fogerty, Dead & Company, Chance the Rapper, Jay-Z, Imagine Dragons, Brandi Carlile, David Crosby, Country Joe McDonald, Halsey, Janelle Monae, the Zombies, Canned Heat and Hot Tuna.
“The troubled festival was just over 2 weeks away from kicking off, but organizers just couldn’t recover from setback after setback that ultimately led to Wednesday’s announcement that its been officially called off,” TMZ reports.
TMZ quotes Greg Peck, a principal in the festival, saying: “The unfortunate dispute with our financial partner and the resulting legal proceedings set us off course at a critical juncture, throwing a wrench in our plans and forcing us to find an alternate venue to Watkins Glen.”
Peck adds: “The timing meant we had few choices where our artists would be able to perform. We worked hard to find a way to produce a proper tribute — and some great artists came aboard over the last week to support Woodstock 50 — but time simply ran short.”
TMZ notes: “The news comes on the heels of artist after artist announcing they were pulling out … from Miley Cyrus, Carlos Santana and Jay-Z to the Dead & Co. and John Fogerty. The good news for the artists who originally signed on … Woodstock 50 organizers say artists get to keep their fees, asking they donate 10% of it to charity.”
Good! The original was good enough.