Woodstock 50 Ticket Onsales Delayed While Organizers Await Watkins Glen Permit

Eric Renner Brown – Woodstock 50 Lineup
L-R: Alan Zweibel, Andy Bernstein, Common, Michael Lang, and John Fogerty announce the Woodstock 50 lineup March 19.

Woodstock 50 ticket onsales, expected to begin today, are postponed while the festival’s permit application continues to be reviewed by Schuyler County, N.Y., health department officials.

According to Schuler County administrator Tim O’Hearn, the application was submitted April 15 and a temporary permit must be issued before ticket sales can begin for the 50th anniversary event, reports the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Woodstock 50 is slated to take place Aug. 16-18 at Watkins Glen International Speedway in upstate New York with a lineup featuring headliners Jay-Z, Dead & Company and The Killers.

The Woodstock 50 website indicates that tickets will be “on sale soon” but an email to artist reps from talent buyer Danny Wimmer Presents last week informed them it won’t be today, according to sources with knowledge of them.

Despite rumors the festival is experiencing problems, it’s believed all of the participating artists were paid deposits “a couple of months ago,” and none have dropped out for non-payment. The Black Keys announced it would not perform at Woodstock 50 and, while the reason for that cancellation wasn’t revealed, sources say it was not a payment issue.

It appears that rumors of a bloated artist budget are unfounded, as a source told Pollstar that while the top names would likely see a larger than typical payday, most artists on the roster are “being paid what they are worth.”

See also: Phish Fans Thrown A Curveball By Weather And Water Contamination As Watkins Glen Fest Is Canceled 

Phish was forced to cancel last year’s Curveball festival at the site because of severe flooding in the Schuyler County area, and potentially contaminated water in the Village of Watkins Glen and at the festival site.  The band announced the cancellation Aug. 16, coincidentally the date Woodstock 50 is to begin. 

The extensive Woodstock 50 lineup was announced at a press conference in March with Common and John Fogerty as part of the announcement, along with organizers Michael Lang, Alan Zweibel and Andy Bernstein. 

“Full disclosure: My kids, who are here, had a lot to do with it,” Lang said when Common praised him for a young, diverse lineup coming to Watkins Glen Raceway Aug. 16-18.

 Woodstock-era veterans on the lineup include David Crosby and Friends, Canned Heat, Country Joe McDonald, and Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape Shifters. 

Others include Miley Cyrus, The Lumineers, The Raconteurs, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Run The Jewels, The Head and The Heart, Maggie Rogers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bishop Briggs, Sturgill Simpson, Greta Van Fleet, Portugal. The Man, Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr.; Margo Price, Cage the Elephant, Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monáe, Young The Giant, Courtney Barnett, Common, Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt, and Pussy Riot, and many others.