Jay-Z will no longer be performing at the upcoming Woodstock 50 festival, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN.
The source did not cite a reason for the rapper’s decision to pull out of the performing lineup, but the troubled 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival has faced a series of setbacks.
It remains unclear if the festival, currently scheduled for August 16 to 18, will go on as planned. Tickets have not yet been made available for sale. Jay-Z’s departure from the festival, first reported by The Associated Press, came the same day that Variety reported musician John Fogerty had decided not to perform as well.
The report also said festival organizers are now planning to hold the festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland instead of a previously-scheduled site in New York.
According to Variety, representatives for Fogerty who performed at the original Woodstock festival as the frontman of Creedence Clearwater Revival said in a statement that the artist “knows where he will be for the anniversary weekend of Woodstock.”
The festival has been plagued by one issue after another. Back in April, a marketing firm that was financing the festival opted to pull out, with executives telling festival organizers they were canceling the event.
But organizers, including promoter Michael Lang, one of the creators of the original festival in 1969, said it wasn’t up to the firm to cancel the festival, and they trudged on.
Last month, festival officials announced the scheduled venue for Woodstock 50, Watkins Glen International, had pulled out.
“We are in discussions with another venue to host Woodstock 50 on August 16th-18th and look forward to sharing the new location when tickets go on sale in the coming weeks,” Gregory Peck, a managing organizer of the festival, told CNN in a statement at the time.
Back in March, some of the music industry’s biggest names were announced as headliners,including Miley Cyrus and Chance the Rapper.
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