Names and faces
■ Jay-Z’s got 99 problems but Woodstock isn’t one: The rap king has pulled out of the 50th anniversary Woodstock festival just weeks before the troubled event is supposed to take place. Jay-Z will no longer close the three-day festival scheduled for Aug. 16-18, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because of not being allowed to discuss the plans publicly. The news comes on the same day that John Fogerty, who performed at the original 1969 festival with Creedence Clearwater Revival, pulled out of the anniversary event. Representatives for Woodstock 50 and festival co-founder Michael Lang said they had no comment about Jay-Z and Fogerty’s decision to back out of the festival. Woodstock 50 has faced a series of setbacks in the past few months, including permit denials and the loss of a financial partner and a production company. The festivities were supposed to take place across three main stages at Watkins Glen International racetrack in Watkins Glen, N.Y., about 115 miles northwest of the original site, but the venue pulled out. No replacement venue has been publicly announced and tickets have yet to go on sale. Bloomberg reported Thursday that the event will now take place at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater that seats 19,000 in Columbia, Md., about 270 miles south of the original New York site. A representative for Woodstock 50 couldn’t confirm the report and said the organizers had no further comment.
■ The National Civil Rights Museum says this year’s Freedom Award recipients are musician John Legend, feminist writer Gloria Steinem and human rights activist Hafsat Abiola. The Memphis museum announced in a news release Thursday the winners of its annual awards honoring civil- and human-rights leaders. The awards will be presented Oct. 30 at The Orpheum theater in Memphis. Legend is a recording artist who uses his music, influence and resources to promote social justice and equality. Steinem is an author, lecturer and political activist who leads several organizations promoting gender equality and the rights of women and girls. Abiola is a Nigerian activist who is president of Women in Africa, a group that supports African women with high potential, and the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy.