Woodstock 50's Permit to Host Festival at New Site Denied

Hosting the event at Vernon Downs has been called a "recipe for disaster"

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Jul 9, 2019

Woodstock 50 has been hit with yet another setback. This time, the troubled festival's permit to host the event at the New York "racino" Vernon Downs has been denied.

Speaking to Variety, Oneida County administrator Anthony Picente Jr. said organizers have five days to appeal the decision, but "what they have submitted to date has not met many of the requirements." He added the likelihood of the festival take place in Oneida County — where Vernon Downs is located near Utica, NY — was "highly unlikely."

The festival, on the other hand, has so far issued no public statement regarding the latest in a long string of setbacks.

On Monday (July 8), Woodstock festival was labelled a "recipe for disaster" by the local head of emergency services at a town meeting concerning plans to move the event to Vernon Downs — a venue much smaller than the originally planned festival site.

"No matter how good the plan looks on paper, to implement this plan in 39 days, is impossible to ensure the safety of the public," Oneida County head of emergency services Kevin Revere said at the meeting.

Believe it or not, Woodstock 50 is still scheduled to take place on August 16 to 18. This comes after losing its original venue and after losing its main financier (which announced the festival was cancelled), among various other issues that have plagued the event in recent months.

The festival lineup had previously announced the likes of JAY-Z, Chance the Rapper, the Raconteurs, Sturgill Simpson, the Killers, Santana, Run the Jewels, Margo Price and more.

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