Halsey

Woodstock 50 will go on as scheduled, despite the departure of one of its core financial partners, according to a recent statement from the festival’s co-founder, Michael Lang.

Earlier this week, Tim O’Hearn, an administrator of the festival’s chosen location, Schuyler County, New York, reported Woodstock 50’s alleged cancellation to NPR after the event’s central investors at Dentsu Aegis Network contacted him to confirm their withdrawal.

However, Lang maintains that the festival has not been cancelled, and is actively working to secure new investors.

“Although our financial partner is withdrawing, we will of course be continuing with the planning of the festival and intend to bring on new partners,” said Lang. “The bottom line is, there is going to be a Woodstock 50th Anniversary Festival, as there must be, and it’s going to be a blast.”

Dentsu Aegis Network’s Amplifi Live released a somewhat broad statement of their own, attributing their exit to their belief that the festival would not materialize as “an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners and attendees.”

The commemorative 50th anniversary affair is slated for August 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York. The festival’s confirmed headlining roster, Jay-Z, Halsey, and Miley Cyrus, received varied feedback as to whether or not the lineup encapsulates the spirit of the original 1969 induction, which featured performances from Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, and The Who, to name a few. While the anniversary lineup is certainly a contemporary interpretation of the storied, four-day frenzy, the organizers did manage to extend notable nods to their predecessors in securing Dead & Company (consisting of multiple former members of The Grateful Dead), as well as a slew of contemporary rock outfits including The Black Keys and The Killers.

H/t: NPR