Music

RIP Woodstock 50, a Disaster of a Festival That Never Was

The beleaguered festival has finally, mercifully called it quits.
JT
Chicago, US
photo of john fogerty at the woodstock 50 announcement
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

At long last, Woodstock 50 is finally canceled. According to reports by Variety and Pitchfork, vendors and stakeholders were notified that the scheduled event commemorating the historic festival's 50th anniversary was no longer happening. In a press release, organizers wrote, “We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on a festival we imagined with the great line-up we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating.”

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This is a relief for people who have been watching this bonkers saga unfold. The proposed event, which was scheduled for August 16-18, has been plagued by scandals, setbacks, and pure incompetence since its initial announcement but now, it’s finally done for. Just last week, the town of Vernon, NY for the fourth time denied an application to host the three day nostalgia concert at the racing track and casino Vernon Downs. While that should’ve been the end of it, organizer Michael Lang announced that it would move to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland and would be free to the public. That seemed unlikely as a whole wave of artists, who per the contract were getting paid anyway, dropped out like Jay Z, Miley Cyrus, The Raconteurs, and more. And now it's really, truly over.

Read an exhaustive play-by-play of all the Woodstock 50-related drama and take a shower thinking about how it could’ve been an even bigger disaster than Woodstock 99 had it actually went on as planned.