Canceled

On April 29, Dentsu Aegis Network’s Amplifi Live announced it took back about $18 million – the remains of the $49 million it had put in – from the anniversary event, set to take place Aug 16-18. In its statement, the company also prematurely said that Woodstock 50 had been canceled, and some media outlets reported it as fact. (Lang sued, and a judge ruled Dentsu couldn’t singlehandedly call off the show).

Lang said Dentsu’s decision “really put a halt to our efforts to get a mass gathering permit because all of the government agencies stopped working when they announced that. That nearly lost us about six weeks. That was a crucial six weeks.”

When asked about the official cancellation of Woodstock 50, Dentsu told AP it had no comment.

Lang said Dentsu approached him about coming on board to handle some of the finances, media sales and sponsorships. He said he isn’t sure why the relationship went left.

“I’ve been struggling with that all along. For them to walk away from such a big investment, frankly, it was puzzling,” he said. “I think because the permit was not completed, which I attribute to the fact that Dentsu just dragged its feet in getting our producing team in place and our booking team in place.”

Lang added that when it was leaked to the press that artists booked to perform were not paid on time, Dentsu might have thought he had done it. Lang said all the artists were eventually paid, and he denies leaking the info.

“That really sort of destroyed the trust that we might have had together,” he said. “It was probably one of the agencies who were just doing their job and trying to get their band paid.”

So he got a new financial partner, although the original venue, Watkins Glen International, pulled out, as did production company Superfly. And tickets were still not available for purchase.

Woodstock 50 organizers were denied a permit to hold the festival at the Vernon Downs racetrack and casino in upstate New York; it was filed too late and had problems. Local officials denied permit applications amid concerns about having 65,000 people come to a largely rural area on short notice.

And while Lang hoped to make the event work as a free concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, less than a week after announcing that location he announced that everything was canceled.

“Merriweather was just an attempt to do some good with some of the talent that were available,” he said.