Michael Lang Needs Around $30 Million, More Time & A Miracle To Save Woodstock 50

There is precious little time left to save Woodstock 50, according to recent reports which say co-founder and organizer Michael Lang needs around $30 million and much more time in order to pull the event off.

To recap: Dentsu, the festival's primary investors, declared the event cancelled last week, which led to Lang vowing it would go on without them and claiming they had no legal right to cancel the event (which is a Woodstock event, and Lang & Co. own that brand). What they did have, however, is the money. And in a 5-page letter that Lang wrote to investors—which Pitchfork read and reported on—he says they "illegally swept approximately $17 million from the festival bank account." He also claims they blocked ticket sales, and encouraged everyone involved to break ties with Lang, from vendors to venue to artists.

"We also have evidence that Dentsu representatives have gone so far as to say that should the talent back out of Woodstock, they would be seen favorably by Dentsu and that this could result in their performing the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where Dentsu is a major organizer," Lang wrote. "In these actions too, Dentsu has acted not only without honor, but outside of the law. It is one thing if your company, Dentsu, wanted to back out of its commitment to Woodstock because it would not make as much money as it had hoped, but to try to suffocate and kill Woodstock so that we could not have a festival for our Golden Anniversary without you is puzzling for any company, let alone one that claims reform.”

Still, Lang insists the show will go on (and at some point, he went and hired one of Trump's personal attorneys to help him out). He is looking for new investors, and asking that Dentsu return the $17 million, though according to Billboard he estimates he'll need closer to $30 million total in order for the 3-day August concert to happen as planned at Watkins Glen International speedway. They also report that "Representatives from two major talent agencies with artists booked at the festival say their contract is with Dentsu... and not with Woodstock 50. But Lang's attorney Marc Kasowitz disagrees, saying 'the artists’ agreements are with Woodstock 50 LLC... the festival has not been canceled and preparations are continuing.'"

It's possible artists and their reps have been scared off by the Fyre Fest unraveling, and are waiting to see how it goes. Fader notes that "besides the Black Keys, no artists have yet confirmed that they're dropping out of the lineup," but they haven't been promoting the show, either. Artists on the initial lineup included Chance The Rapper, Jay-Z, Santana, Miley Cyrus, The Killers, Janelle Monáe, Robert Plant, and many more.

At this point, it appears Lang still does not have the mass gathering permit from the New York Department of Heath that will be needed to hold such an event.

All this said, we are still rooting for Lang to pull off a miracle here. Besides, the lineup for that other Woodstock anniversary event is heavy on the TED talks.