Woodstock 50 Has Lost Its Venue

By Andrew Magnotta @AndrewMagnotta

June 10, 2019

Woodstock 1999

Just when it looked like the worst was over and Woodstock 50 was about to cross all its T's and dot all its I's, the festival is without a venue to host it.

Watkins Glen International Speedway, the place that festival co-creator Michael Lang said gave him hope of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock with a bigger, better event, has pulled out.

TMZ reports the Speedway broke the news to Lang and his partners Monday afternoon, citing its contract as reason to terminate the festival's permit.

Fans (and performers) were hopeful Woodstock 50 would come to fruition even after rumors of discord among the organizers persisted all winter. Eventually, the festival's largest financial backer pulled out, setting up a weeks-long legal battle with Lang and his partners.

Lang and Woodstock 50 eventually prevailed in court, affirming their stance that the ex-financier didn't have the authority to unilaterally cancel the festival. But they were still running out of time.

Lang subsequently announced that Woodstock 50 had new backers and that tickets would be going on sale imminently. That was over three weeks ago, and Woodstock has been quiet since, irrespective of the fact that they would need to sell 75,000 tickets for an event happening in under two months.

The first Woodstock lost its venue a month in advance and was an iconic success anyway, but it's more than a little difficult to imagine the festival triumphing in the same way in 2019.

An official statement from Woodstock should be coming soon.

Photo: Getty Images

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