Features
Woodstock 50 Fallout: Bands Released From Contracts
James Hendershot – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Woodstock 50’s last hope?
With a tortured history unlike the machinations which led to its forerunner 50 years ago, Michael Lang’s beleaguered Woodstock redux continues to take on water, as the promoter reportedly announced all artists scheduled to play the event would be released from their performance contracts, leaving a whole new lineup to be booked with just weeks to go.
With Jay Z and John Fogerty announcing their non-participation, Lang reportedly emailed talent agencies and bands the message about their contracts after yesterday’s news of a proposed move to the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland for that weekend of Aug. 16-18, according to reports in Variety and Billboard.
After its original investor, the Japanese Dentsu Aegis Network dropped out in late April – leaving all the artists with their full performance fees – Lang has already cycled through several different locations, much like he did in moving the original festival from Wallkill to Bethel, N.Y.
One manager of an act who was scheduled to play said the change of venue was enough for him to pull the group from the show: “We have our schedule planned months in advance and it messes that up.” A major talent agent told Pollstar things are still unclear and was unable to comment further.
Portugal. The Man’s manager, Rich Holtzman, told Pollstar the band, which was part of the original lineup announcement, is upset at the situation.
“It is really a shame that this festival has become such a mess.,” Holtzman wrote to Pollstar via email. “I am sure there is enough blame to pass around but the name, the mystique and all that are the victims. Portugal The Man named their record after the festival and sampled music from it so they are especially upset. “
A report from Variety says a “united-front announcement” is expected encouraging artists not to appear at the beleaguered event.
Manager Chris Tuthill of indie firm The Rocks told Pollstar his clients The Zombies and Hollis Brown are both still planning to play the anniversary event.
Tuthill acknowledges both his acts have been paid what he describes as a “solid payday.”
“We certainly intend to, as long as it moves forward, we’d like to be a part of it,” he told Pollstar, adding the last-minute change of venue to the Merriweather Post Pavilion was not a “deal-breaker” for him. “It’s a complication, but it’s doable. Just some logistics to sort out.”
One source with legal knowledge of the situation told Pollstar that moving the location some 270 miles south to the D.C. area is a material breach of contract with its relative distance from the original site. One could argue, at least in legal terms, that when the site was moved to Vernon, N.Y., roughly 100 miles from Watkins Glen, it was still in the same upstate New York region which would fall under “curing a breach,” a reasonable solution to ameliorate a breached contract.
“If I represented any one of those artists scheduled to play … depending on the contract and its terms, I would argue that moving the site over 250 miles away is a hardship and material breach and the artist should not be required to play. I would also make an argument to keep all or some of the money,” says Dina LaPolt, founder and owner of LaPolt Law, P.C. “What we would do is put together an analysis of the money it’s costing the artist to move the crew to a distant location and also show that the artist gave up other dates to play this show which ultimately caused them damages.”
Just yesterday I.M.P.’s Seth Hurwitz, which operates Merriweather Post Pavilion, told Pollstar the venue is available if Woodstock 50 happens, “but my role is merely as the venue.”
“Basically what I have to say is they approached us about finding a venue in D.C., I said Merriweather is available. We have a show booked that day [The Smashing Pumpkins are schedule to play Aug. 17], there’s still some things we have to work around. We’re not sure if we’ll do all those days or not. Which of those three days we’ll actually do, it’s still being talked about, and we would help obviously produce the show in-house for them if they bring us the show but as far as the content is concerned, we have nothing to do with that, that’s all them.”
Questions remain for other artists on the bill, including Cage The Elephant which is scheduled to play its own Merriweather Post Pavilion gig Aug. 22.
The reported exit of Fogerty is a considerable blow considering the rocker stood alongside Lang when he first announced the festival in January.
In a statement, Fogerty recalled that Creedence Clearwater Revival was the first act to be signed for the original Woodstock, but will be playing at a competing Live Nation-promoted celebration at the original site in Bethel at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on Aug. 18, the same weekend Woodstock 50 is planned, on the very site where his name appears on a plaque commemorating that weekend. Also taking place is the “WE2019 Experience” festival in Jefferson, N.C., featuring Woodstock alum and related artists such as Ten Years After, Vanilla Fudge, members of Sly and The Family Stone, Mountain and Canned Heat among others Aug. 9-11 and Aug. 14-16.
Now, Lang presumably must re-book the festival – just three weeks away – possibly as a one-day event with proceeds going to charity.
Publicity for the troubled Woodstock Festival is being handled by the PR crisis company of Sitrick and Company, with the lead being taken by ex-L.A. Times entertainment reporter Sallie Hofmeister.
The company had no comment on the reports.