Brandon Flowers has spoken out about Woodstock 50’s line-up – which has previously been criticised for being modern and “nowhere near the spirit” of the 1969 festival.
The Killers are among the acts scheduled to perform during the three-day event taking place in August in Watkins Glen, New York. Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Chance The Rapper and Maggie Rogers are also part of the line-up.
Asked to comment on the event’s programme, Flowers told NME: ”I know The Raconteurs are playing before us, then there’s also Jay-Z and Dead And Co. They’ve kind of got all the bases covered.”
The musician deemed Woodstock’s original spirit of peace and love “a good message”, musing: “When they asked us to play, it wasn’t like ‘Oh, are we going to keep the tradition alive?’
“I didn’t have to sign a waiver to deliver that message. They offered us a certain amount of money and we said yes. I don’t know what you want. It’s not 1969 any more, but we’re gonna do our best.”
The Killers are set to perform on the first day of the festival on 16 August.
A number of social media users shared mixed reactions after the Woodstock 50 line-up was unveiled in March. Some were expecting to see more acts featured in the 1969 festival, or more artists from the sixties and seventies.
Woodstock 50 does feature some heritage acts among its line-up, such as Dead And Company (made up of former Grateful Dead members) and Santana.
Michael Lang, one of the co-organisers of the 1969 festival, has previously defended the anniversary event’s modern line-up, indicating that it would have been unadvisable to only include legacy acts.
