Woodstock 50 2019

Woodstock 50 ticket on-sale postponed, Michael Lang talks cancellation "rumors"

Tickets for Watkins Glen, NY Woodstock golden anniversary festival Woodstock 50 were set to go on sale on Earth Day, Monday 4/22, but that date has been postponed, Billboard reports. Agents with acts scheduled to perform at the festival received an email from the talent manager of Woodstock 50’s talent buyer, Danny Wimmer Presents, that read, “There is currently a hold on the Woodstock 50 on-sale date. 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.”

One agent told Billboard, “no one knows what the hell is going on but there is clearly a problem,” speculating that issues with investors or site complications were likely behind the on-sale delay.

The ticket sale postponement has sparked fears of the cancellation of the festival, which organizer and original Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang addressed in a statement to Billboard. “Woodstock is a phenomenon that for fifty years has drawn attention to its principles and also the rumors that can be attached to that attention,” he said, calling cancellation worries “just more rumors.”

UPDATE: Pitchfork reports that one possible reason for the on-sale delay is that Woodstock 50 hasn’t obtained a mass gathering permit from the NY State Department of Health. Schuyler County administrator Tim O’Hearn told Pitchfork that Watkins Glen International filed an application for the permit on 4/15. “The health department is reviewing to determine if a conditional permit may be issued that would allow for ticket sales to commence,” he said. “At this point there is no on-sale date set.”

The Black Keys cancelled their Woodstock 50 set three weeks ago because of a “scheduling conflict.” No replacement act has been announced so far.

Stay tuned for an updated on-sale date for Woodstock 50.