Including one unannounced headliner
New details have emerged on plans organisers had in place for the Woodstock 50 festival.
The US event, which was set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock, was cancelled at the end of last month. This followed multiple issues faced by bosses during the planning stages for the weekender.
In new documents obtained by Vice, details such as artist stage times, “prohibited items”, and organisers’ spending figures have now been revealed.
Speaking to the publication, organiser Greg Peck said that $23 million (£19 m) had been spent on securing talent alone. He explained there were currently no plans to attempt to regain these funds, with most coming from investors Dentsu Aegis.
A stage-by-stage daily line-up schedule also revealed that Woodstock 50 were hoping to book one of either Kacey Musgraves, Kings of Leon, The Black Crowes, or Beck for a headline appearance on the Saturday evening (August 17). Joining the secured artist as bill-toppers on the site’s Love Stage would have been Miley Cyrus (August 16) and Imagine Dragons (August 19).
Kacey Musgraves performs live. Credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
“We really wanted Kacey Musgraves,” Woodstock 50 organiser Susan Cronin said of the open slot.
Invoices obtained showed that around $28,000 (£23,000) worth of the drug Narcan had been purchased. Used to revive users who overdose on heroin, fentanyl, or other opioids, it was said to have been bought at the request of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, who had flagged up an overdosing issue in the area.
Explaining that organisers purchased an amount “much bigger than what the industry standard would be”, Cronin claimed that they would “donate all of the unused supply to local law enforcement” after the festival ended.
Woodstock, 1969
In a statement announcing the cancellation of Woodstock 50 in July, co-founder Michael Lang said: “We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on the Festival we imagined with the great line-up we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating.
“When we lost the Glen and then Vernon Downs we looked for a way to do some good rather than just cancel. We formed a collaboration with HeadCount to do a smaller event at the Merriweather Pavilion to raise funds for them to get out the vote and for certain NGOs involved in fighting climate change.”
