Troubled Woodstock 50 Officially Called Off

The beleaguered Woodstock 50 festival has officially been canceled. Organizers announced the that they will no longer even attempt to hold the event at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

“We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on the Festival we imagined with the great line-up we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating,” Michael Lang, co-founder of Woodstock, said in a statement.

“When we lost the Glen and then Vernon Downs we looked for a way to do some good rather than just cancel,” he added. “We formed a collaboration with HeadCount to do a smaller event at the Merriweather Pavilion to raise funds for them to get out the vote and for certain NGOs involved in fighting climate change.”

The 50th anniversary of the world’s most famous festival faced several setbacks since it was formally announced at beginning for the year. Financial backers pulled out, permits were denied several times and tickets never even went on sale.

“We released all the talent so any involvement on their part would be voluntary,” Lang said. “Due to conflicting radius issues in the DC area many acts were unable to participate and others passed for their own reasons.”

He continued, “I would like to encourage artists and agents, who all have been fully paid, to donate 10% of their fees to HeadCount or causes of their choice in the spirit of peace.”

Several big-name artists, including Miley Cyrus, The Raconteurs, Santana, Dead & Company, Jay-Z and John Fogerty had already pulled out of the festival.

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