McCartney Times

Tickets for Woodstock 50 will be “on sale soon,” according to the anniversary festival’s website.

But, that will not be as soon as originally planned.

While organizers and the event’s site originally said tickets would go on sale Monday, the site on Saturday was updated to simply say they would be “on sale soon.”

Tim O’Hearn, administrator for Schuyler County, where the event is scheduled to be held, said the state Department of Health is reviewing Woodstock 50’s Mass Gathering Permit application, which he said was submitted April 15. The state must issue a temporary permit for events before ticket sales can begin, he said.

Details regarding ticket prices and where to purchase them have not been made available in the month since its lineup of more than 80 performers was revealed.

The postponement came amid rumors of troubles for the show celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic Woodstock and Music and Art Fair.

Organizers of Woodstock 50, which is planned to be held Aug. 16-18 in Watkins Glen, have not responded to Journal inquiries.

Late Friday, multiple media outlets including Billboard and Variety reported an email alerted agents representing acts scheduled to play the festival that ticket sales had been postponed. In a response to a Billboard article asserting there were fears that the postponement was indicative of a larger problem with the event, Woodstock 50 founder Michael Lang told Billboard it was simply “rumors.”

Jay-Z, the Lumineers, Dead and Company, Common, Miley Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Imagine Dragons and Carlos Santana are among the dozens of acts scheduled to perform at Woodstock 50. Each day is expected to feature at least 13 hours of music.

Woodstock 50 has also not received a permit from Schuyler County, which would conduct a State Environmental Quality Review before issuing. However, O’Hearn said that permit is not required to begin ticket sales.

Lang, an Ulster County resident who is a co-founder and co-producer of the 1969 Woodstock festival, has previously said there would be no single-day tickets sold for Woodstock 50. There will be packages that include camping, with more swanky “glamping” packages available, or attendees can fend for themselves, though lodging in the area has been selling out quickly.

Considered the crowning achievement of the 1960s counterculture, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in August 1969 attracted hundreds of thousands of people to Bethel in Sullivan County. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Richie Havens and Janis Joplin were among the performers at the festival, which took place against the backdrop of 1960s turmoil.

Lang in 1994 held a 25th anniversary Woodstock concert in Saugerties. He staged Woodstock ’99 five years later in Rome, New York.

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, on the site of the original Woodstock concert in Bethel, Sullivan County, will also be marking the 50th anniversary of Woodstock in August.

Original Woodstock performer Arlo Guthrie will play a free show at Bethel Woods on Aug. 15, prior to a screening of the 1970 Woodstock documentary. Reservations for these two free events have all been filed.

Original Woodstock acts Edgar Winter and Blood, Sweat & Tears will be on the bill when Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band perform at Bethel Woods on Aug. 16.

And original Woodstock performer Santana will perform Aug. 17. Santana plays Woodstock 50 on August. 16. Visit www.bethelwoodscenter.org for information.

Woodstock 50 is being produced under license from Woodstock Ventures, which was founded by Lang, Joel Rosenman and the late John Roberts. Those three, along with Artie Kornfeld, produced the 1969 Woodstock festival. Kornfeld will be rejoining the team for Woodstock 50.

John W. Barry: jobarry@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4822, Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo

Woodstock 50 Lineup

Day 1, Aug. 16: The Killers, Miley Cyrus, Santana, The Lumineers, The Raconteurs, Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, John Fogerty, Run the Jewels, The Head and the Heart, Maggie Rogers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bishop Briggs, Anderson East, Akon, Princess Nokia, John Sebastian, Melanie, Grandson, Fever 333, Dorothy, Flora Cash, Larkin Poe, Brian Cadd and Ninet Tayeb.

Day 2, Aug. 17: Dead & Company, Chance the Rapper, Sturgill Simpson, Greta Van Fleet, Portugal, The Man, Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr., Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, David Crosby and Friends, Dawes, Margo Price, Nahko and Medicine for the People, India.Arie, Jade Bird, Country Joe McDonald, Rival Sons, Emily King, Soccer Mommy, Sir, Taylor Bennett, Amy Helm, Courtney Hadwin, Pearl, John-Robert and IAMDDB,

Day 3, Aug. 18: Jay-Z, Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Cage the Elephant, Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monae, Young the Giant, Courtney Barnett, Common, Vince Staples, Judah and the Lion, Earl Sweatshirt, Boygenius, Reignwolf, The Zombies, Canned Heat, Hot Tuna, Pussy Riot, Cherry Glazerr, Leven Kali, The Marcus King Band, Victory, Hollis Brown, John Craigie, Amigo the Devil and Liz Brasher.

Source: Woodstock 50 ticket sales pending permit: Schuyler County administrator