Woodstock 50 tickets will be free at Merriweather Pavilion

Last we checked in on the tumultuous Woodstock 50, the festival had a new venue at Columbia, MD’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, but no lineup – all the artists originally booked to play were released from their performance contracts, and a few, including Jay-Z, John Fogerty, and Dead & Company, officially pulled out upon the move to Maryland. The latest new wrinkle with the festival, as TMZ reports and Pitchfork confirms, is that tickets will be free. In addition to VIP tickets that will reportedly be sold, an unspecified number of free tickets will be released, with instructions on how to acquire them expected to be announced by the end of the coming week. Recipients will be encouraged to donate to charity.

Pitchfork asked venue operator Seth Hurwitz about the free tickets, and in an email to them, he wrote, “that was the last thing we heard too.” “We’re still waiting to hear who is playing,” Hurwitz continued, “but that’s not our job. They do still have a venue if they have a show.”