Jay-Z and John Fogerty abandon Woodstock 50 following site relocation

Jay-Z. Photo / AP

Less than 24 hours after news broke that Woodstock 50 organizers had decided to move their troubled festival to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, things have taken another turn for the worse. Both Jay-Z and John Fogerty have reportedly pulled out of the commemorative event - just three weeks before it is scheduled to take place.

The artists were two of the biggest names on the eclectic lineup announced in March, which organizer Michael Lang, who co-founded the 1969 festival, hoped would have multigenerational appeal. Fogerty was among the few acts who had planned to take part in both Woodstock 50 and a separate, smaller gathering in Bethel, New York, where he performed at the original festival as the frontman of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

"John Fogerty knows where he will be for the Anniversary weekend of Woodstock. At only one site ... At the original one - the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts," his reps wrote in a statement. "As he says in his song, 'Who'll Stop the Rain,' written upon returning from Woodstock - 'NO MORE CONFUSION ON THE GROUND.' "

The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the situation, reported on Friday that Jay-Z would "no longer close the three-day festival scheduled for Aug. 16-18." The Black Keys also canceled their set in April due to "a scheduling conflict."

Woodstock 50 has been plagued with setbacks since it was announced in January, from permit denials to missed payment deadlines to the loss of a financial backer. Merriweather is the third site organizers have looked into, following the Watkins Glen International raceway and the Vernon Downs track and casino, both in New York.

Because their contracts are bound to the original location, other artists in the lineup - which includes Dead and Company, Santana, Miley Cyrus and Janelle Monáe - could back out of performing at the new venue as well. Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P., which operates Merriweather, said in a statement Thursday that Woodstock 50 organizers were still working to secure artists.

"If the bands come," he said, "we'll produce the show."

But will a crowd turn out? Woodstock 50 tickets, which were supposed to go on sale in April, have yet to do so.