Good news for music lovers: Woodstock 50 is on
LOSANGELES:THE organisers of a three-day concert marking the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival said on Friday they have obtained new funding to enable the show to go on.
Woodstock 50 said in a statement that US financial services firm Oppenheimer & Co, a unit of Oppenheimer Holdings, had signed on as an adviser to complete financing for the August 16-18 festival at the Watkins Glen motor racing venue in New York state.
The festival, with an 80-act line-up that includes rapper Jay-z and pop singer Miley Cyrus, was thrown into chaos last month after the lead Japanese investors announced they had decided to “cancel the event”.
Friday’s statement did not say how much money Oppenheimer had obtained.
“We are thrilled to be onboard for this incredible weekend of music and social engagement,” John Tonelli, head of Debt Capital Markets and Syndication at Oppenheimer & Co, said in the statement. “We believe in Woodstock as an important American cultural icon and look forward to its regeneration.”
Woodstock 50 is backed by the co-producer of the 1969 Woodstock festival, which was billed as “three days of peace and music” and is regarded as a pivotal moment in music history.
But the anniversary event was plagued with problems in announcing ticket-selling dates, permits and arranging security and sanitation.
Woodstock 50 producer Michael Lang said on Friday that a ticket on sale date would be announced shortly. “Words cannot express how appreciative Woodstock 50, the artists, the fans and the community are to Oppenheimer,” Lang said.