One Woodstock Down

It began as dual concerts in New York and Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, then turned into a one-day, green event in NYC. But ultimately, Michael Lang’s dream of a 40th anniversary tribute to Woodstock was dropped.

Lang and Joel Rosenman, who along with Artie Kornfeld and John Roberts, put together the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, were attempting to organize a free concert in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

Lang told Pollstar the event would be a one-day affair, starting around noon, with about a dozen contemporary and legacy acts on the main stage. It would be free although a ticket would be required for entrance. There would be focus on ecology, the economy and the state of the human condition, Lang added. Capacity would be around 150,000.

“The thread of this thing is it’s a green event,” Lang said. “And the reason why we want to do this in the city is it will involve public transportation. A lot of bands are concerned with green touring and cutting the carbon footprint. That’s the kind of artist we want to have involved.”

In the end though, Lang could not land the sponsorships required to host such a major event, one that reportedly would cost between $8 million and $10 million.