Washington D.C.: American singer and songwriter Shawn Corey Carter, professionally known as Jay-Z, will no longer participate in Woodstock 50 music festival. The rapper was scheduled to close out the revival of the famous 1969 concert, scheduled for August 16-18. This stands cancelled, a source confirmed to Variety.
This comes a day after musician John Fogerty pulled out from the fest over a change in the venue. Michael Lang, who is organising the revival, is in talks to relocate the festival to Merriweather Post Pavillion, which has a capacity of 32, 500 people and is equidistant from Washington D.C. and Baltimore.
Tickets for the fest are yet to go on sale. Originally, Woodstock 50 was set to take place at Watkins Glen International Speedway in New York, but shortcomings in arranging food and beverages for a massive crowd as well as parking, bathroom and security led to a change in venue.
An insider told Variety that the Merriweather Post option is a non-starter. "The bands won't do it. They were contracted to play a show in Watkins Glen."
Another source said many of the top artists have already been paid and are simply waiting for the fest to cancel itself so they can keep their fees. (ANI)
