Has the Woodstock 50 festival been canceled? Conflicting reports emerge

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Courtesy of Woodstock VenturesHas Woodstock 50 been canceled?  Well, maybe.

Billboard reports that Dentsu Aegis Network, the company that’s funding the festival, has issued a statement announcing that it has pulled the plug on the event. 

However, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Woodstock 50 organizers have put out their own statement saying they “vehemently [deny] the festival’s cancellation,” and adding that “legal remedy will [be] sought.”

Dentsu Aegis Network’s statement reads, “[D]espite our tremendous investment of time, effort and commitment, we don’t believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners and attendees.”

Representatives for the festival note that reasons for the cancellation of the fest include concerns about the number of attendees, readiness of the site and issues over permits. The event is slated to be held August 16-18 at the Watkins Glen, New York, more than 140 miles from the original site of Woodstock, which took place in Bethel, New York.

Official details of Woodstock 50 were announced in March, with a lineup featuring a wide range of veteran and contemporary artists, including a variety of musicians who played at the original festival, including Santana, ex-Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty, the Grateful Dead spinoff group Dead & Company, David Crosby, Canned Heat, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian and Melanie.

Other big-name acts confirmed to play Woodstock 50 include Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape Shifters, The Zombies, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Greta Van Fleet, Chance the Rapper, Halsey, Cage the Elephant and The Lumineers.

Woodstock 50’s organizers include Michael Lang, who helped organize the original 1969 festival.

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