In January, organizers confirmed that Woodstock will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special concert performance that they promise won't be as bad as the train-wreck that happened 20 years ago at Woodstock 1999.
With the event only a few months away, some confirmed bands are leaking out.
Earlier in the week, Billboard reported that The Killers, Chance the Rapper, and Imagine Dragons will be on the bill. Grateful Dead offshoot Dead and Company and Santana, who performed the original festival, have also been confirmed for the bill.
Today, Variety leaked more artists: JAY-Z, The Black Keys, Miley Cyrus, Greta Van Fleet, Robert Plant, and Cage the Elephant, Janelle Monáe, The Raconteurs, Sturgill Simpson, Brandi Carlile, Courtney Barnett, Run the Jewels, Portugal. the Man, The Lumineers, Gary Clark Jr., Halsey, Dawes, Pussy Riot, Margo Price, and Bishop Briggs.
Whereas the last two Woodstocks had more of a hard rock/metal feel, this version of the fest is decidedly not metal. Michael Lang, who created the original event, emphasized in previous interviews that things will be much different from the 1999 event, which he called an "MTV event." “Woodstock ’99 was just a musical experience with no social significance,” he says. “It was just a big party. With this one, we’re going back to our roots and our original intent. And this time around, we’ll have control of everything.”
Lang also told Rolling Stone that "newer" bands will stage tributes to some of the artists that played the original festival, with tributes planned for Janis Joplin, the Band, Jefferson Airplane and Joe Cocker, among others. As for the lineup? “It’ll be an eclectic bill,” Lang says. “It’ll be hip-hop and rock and some pop and some of the legacy bands from the original festival.”
The venue is pretty far from any hotels, so it seems camping will be the main option, and Lang promises some VIP amenities for those who want them:
“There will be ‘glamping’ tents and stuff like that,” he says. “There will be those types of experiences in various forms where there’s a real bed, and there’s a chair to sit in and a light bulb. There will also easier access to portable toilets.”
There was a report earlier in the week that the festival already ran into some financial trouble because all the artists were demanding 100% payment up front, since this is a first time festival, but they secured new backers to make it happen.
Are you at all curious about this new iteration of the event?
