The Woodstock 50 festival has had significant trouble with, among other things, securing a venue. That issue was taken care of yesterday, though, as it was reported that the event will take place at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland between August 16 and 18. However, it looks like either that move was too little too late or artists were counting on the festival being in New York as originally planned, because artists are starting to pull out.
The Associated Press reports that Jay-Z, who was supposed to be the headliner on the final day, will no longer be performing at the festival. This news comes on the same day it was revealed that John Fogerty will also be skipping out on Woodstock 50. Fogerty, who performed at the original Woodstock festival in 1969 as part of Creedence Clearwater Revival, was next to festival founder Michael Lang when he announced the festival headliners back in March.
Those two appear to be the only ones who have publicly dropped out of the festival, but it seems that others aren’t even sure whether or not they’re obligated to perform in the first place. John Mayer, who is in the lineup as part of Dead & Company, said recently, “I’m as much of a spectator as anyone else is to this wildness. I was told it’s not happening, but every time I hear someone say like, well, there’s only one person still saying ‘No, it’s going to go.'”
