The Woodstock 50 team announced this morning that Oppenheimer & Co. will be the festival’s new financial advisor to complete financing for the festival.
Over the past few months, Woodstock 50, the festival commemorating the 1969 event, has faced several hardships. Then, earlier this month, their financial backing partner Dentsu Aegis Network pulled out of the fest, causing more uncertainty. When Dentsu revealed that it would no longer work with Woodstock, it cancelled the event entirely. Organizer Michael Lang fought the company, and won a ruling in court that found Dentsu did not have the authority to cancel the festival.
While Lang assured fans that Woodstock 50 would continue as planned this August, critics worried how the festival would even proceed without the financial needs Dentsu had provided – adding up to $18 million. However, now with Oppenheimer, organizers might be able to pull this event together.
“We are thrilled to be onboard for this incredible weekend of music and social engagement,” John Tonelli, head of Debt Capital Markets & Syndication at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., said in a press release. “We believe in Woodstock as an important American cultural icon and look forward to its regeneration in the green fields of Watkins Glen this August with all of the artists on the remarkable lineup.”
Woodstock 50 is slated to take place from August 16 to 18 at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. While headliners The Black Keys backed out of the event due to “scheduling conflicts,” other top-notch artists are still set to perform, including pop-stars Miley Cyrus and Halsey, rapper Jay-Z, and rock groups Imagine Dragons and The Killers.
Lang, who also produced the 1969 festival, explained that the lineup will not “just entertain, but will remind the world that music has the power to bring people together, to heal, to move us to action and to tell the stories of a generation.”
“We look forward to putting on an incredible festival,” he said in a press release. “Words cannot express how appreciative Woodstock 50, the artists, the fans and the community are to Oppenheimer for joining with us to make W50 a reality.”
Tickets, while originally slated to go on sale on April 22 for Earth Day, will be available once the festival secures a permit from the New York State Department of Health.