Columbia, MD (CelebrityAccess) — After striking out in Vernon, New York, organizers for Woodstock 50 are reportedly planning to relocate the festival to Maryland.
According to Bloomberg, the festival is now in the works for the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland from August 16 – 18.
“Woodstock 50 approached Merriweather about hosting their event here in Columbia, Md.,” said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P. and owner of the 9:30 Club and The Anthem and operator of Merriweather Post Pavilion. “The Woodstock folks are working on securing the artists now. If the bands come, we’ll produce the show. We’re looking forward to getting an update as soon as Woodstock 50 has one.”
The new venue will likely spell another capacity cut for the festival as the venue can only accommodate about 32,000 people, far fewer than the crowds of 150,000 festival organizers had initially hoped for, or even the 63,000 planned for Vernon Downs Racetrack.
“When we heard that there was an opportunity to save this festival and bring a piece of American history to our community this summer, we jumped at the chance,” Calvin Ball, told festival producer Greg Peck, in a note obtained by Bloomberg. “Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia is a jewel of Howard County and one of the top music venues in the nation. It felt like such a natural fit to host a historic festival on our storied stage.”
However, the festival still has a long road ahead of it. Tickets to the event have yet to go on sale and it is unclear how many of the artists who were initially announced as confirmed, are still contractually obligated to perform at the festival at a new location.
As well, with just 21 days to go before the festival, tickets have yet to go on sale and no official announcement regarding the festival’s new location has been made. Furthermore, the Merriweather already has a double bill concert with the Smashing Pumpkins and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds set to take place on August 17th, which would place the show squarely in the middle of the festival weekend.
A rep for the Merriweather confirmed that a move to the amphitheater is in the works.
