The highly-anticipated 50-year anniversary festival commemorating 1969’s Woodstock was set to release tickets today, in honor of Earth Day. However, the festival’s on sale date has been delayed, causing rumors to spread about the downfall of the event.
Woodstock 50 is slated to run from August 16 to 18 in Watkins Glen, New York – the same weekend as the original festival. Although the event is four months away, tickets and pricing have yet to be announced.
“There is currently a hold on the Woodstock 50 on-sale date,” a statement from Rolling Stone reads. “We are waiting on an official press statement from Woodstock 50 regarding updated announce, ticket pricing, and overall festival information. We will get this information to you as soon as we receive it.”
According to Pitchfork, as of last Friday, organizers have yet to acquire a mass gathering permit from New York State Department of Health. Tim O’Hearn, the administrator of Schuyler County – which includes the village of Watkins Glen – told the publication that Watkins Glen International filed a permit application on April 15 and the department is “reviewing to determine if a conditional permit may be issued that would allow for ticket sales to commence,” and at this point, there is no on-sale date yet.
In light of the ticket delays, rumors began to circulate about the cancellation of the festival. So far, Woodstock 50 announcements have been late; the lineup was supposed to be announced in January but wasn’t revealed until mid-March, and The Black Keys, one of the headliners, dropped out due to a “scheduling conflict.” However, organizer Michael Lang denies a cancellation, saying these are “just rumors.”
“Woodstock is a phenomenon that for 50 years has drawn attention to its principles and also the rumors that can be attached to that attention,” he told Billboard in a statement.
While a ticket on sale date is unknown at this time, Lang announced earlier this month that only three-day passes will be available, meaning no single-day tickets will be sold. Camping options will also be available for fans.
The festival is set to feature headlining acts like The Killers, Miley Cyrus, The Raconteurs, Chance The Rapper, Sturghill Simpson, Jay-Z, Imagine Dragons, Halsey, and Cage The Elephant, as well as legendary artists who performed at the original fest like Santana and Dead & Company. In order to make up for the ’99 festival, which ended in riots and drug overdoses, Lang booked all of the acts himself and took aspects like water, bathrooms, and attendance into serious consideration when planning the event.
He hopes that this year’s edition will bring back Woodstock’s original values.
“Woodstock, in its original incarnation, was really about social change and activism,” Lang said. “And that’s a model that we’re bringing back to this festival. It’s a gathering for fun and for excitement and for experiences and to create community, but it’s also about instilling kind of an energy back into young people to make their voices heard, make their votes heard.”
To stay updated on Woodstock and ticketing information, visit Woodstock.com.