Less than two weeks after being rejected by the township of Vernon, N.Y. to set up at Vernon Downs, the team behind Woodstock 50 may have just found themselves a useable site to host the long-troubled festival.
That’s right. After an ongoing sea of troubles and doubt, including Woodstock 50 being falsely cancelled, followed by their team losing a number of investors and business partners, there finally seems to be light in the development of the nearly doomed music festival.
As initially reported by Bloomberg and later confirmed by the New York Times on Thursday, the festival organizers have reportedly secured the Merriweather Post Pavilion.
The only condition? For the first time in Woodstock history, the new venue in question would require the event to leave New York state and relocate to Maryland — in the city of Columbia — where it is situated.
The nearly 20,000-capacity outdoor amphiteatre is set to host Woodstock three weeks from now, during the festival’s originally scheduled weekend — Aug. 16-18.
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According to Bloomberg, an executive of Howard County, Md., named Calvin Ball, wrote to Woodstock 50 organizer Greg Peck expressing excitement and positivity regarding the future of the golden anniversary extravaganza.
Ball’s statement began: “When we heard that there was an opportunity to save this festival and bring a piece of American history to our community this summer, we jumped at the chance.
“Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia is a jewel of Howard County and one of the top music venues in the nation,” he continued. “It felt like such a natural fit to host a historic festival on our storied stage.”
However, chairman and operator of the Merriweather Post Pavilion, Seth Hurwitz, was seemingly more transparent in a statement provided to the NYT.
He revealed that original Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang and his team contacted the venue first about hosting the festival in Maryland
“The Woodstock folks are working on securing the artists now,” added Huritz. “If the bands come, we’ll produce the show. We’re looking forward to getting an update as soon as Woodstock 50 has one,” he concluded.
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The initial lineup announcement, made back in March, boasted a variety of high-profile music acts, including Vince Staples, Santana, Gary Clark Jr., Halsey, Earl Sweatshirt and many more.
However, as a result of the recent roadblocks, many of these acts are no longer confirmed or secured.
As reported by the Associated Press, Jay-Z, who was set to headline one of the three nights, cancelled his scheduled appearance on Friday.
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This revelation followed the news that John Fogerty, who performed at the original 1969 Woodstock with Creedence Clearwater Revival, had cancelled his performance as well.
The Black Keys also pulled out of the festival back in April, putting their decision down to “scheduling conflicts.”
A representative for Woodstock 50 told the Associated Press that they couldn’t confirm the report of Woodstock 50 taking place at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, adding that the organizers had no further comment.
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As of this writing, no acts have been confirmed for Woodstock 50.
The Smashing Pumpkins and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds are also scheduled to play the Merriweather Post Pavilion on Aug. 17. The potentially conflicting performance has not yet been addressed publicly or readjusted.
It’s currently unclear when — or if — tickets for Woodstock 50 will actually go on sale.
— With files from the Associated Press