Dentsu attorney sounds off on Woodstock 50 ahead of legal battle for $18 million injunction

Woodstock 50 is a little over three months away and ticket sales haven’t even been released. Still, co-founder Michael Lang insists that the show is going on, despite a number of shortcomings on the part of organizers.

The first signs of trouble began when Dentsu, the main backers behind the event, pulled their $18 million due to “Lang’s misrepresentations, incompetence, and contractual breaches,” taking it upon themselves to cancel the event. Now Woodstock Ventures LLC, under the legal representation of Trump’s lawyer, is suing Dentsu for a $17.8 million injunction to retreat the money on the basis that they never had the right to go public with that kind of announcement.

In the midst of the ensuing legal battle, more financial woes struck when Superfly also pulling their funding from under the rug. Not only that, Woodstock still hasn’t begun infrastructure for the event, failing to secure the required permits in Watkins Glen and beginning necessary roadwork construction leading into the event venue. Woodstock still needs $30 million to go on, and has thus far approached AEG, Live Nation, and C3 for funding, all of whom turned them down.

Gruesome details over Lang’s shortcomings are detailed in a strongly-worded statement released by Dentsu’s lawyer, Marc L. Greenwald, ahead of the federal court hearing taking place, Thursday, May 16.

“Woodstock 50 LLC’s and Michael Lang’s misrepresentations, incompetence, and contractual breaches have made it impossible to produce a high-quality event that is safe and secure for concertgoers, artists, and staff,” says Greenwald. “The production company has quit, no permits have been issued, necessary roadwork has not begun, and there is no prospect for sufficient financing. As much as the parties might wish it otherwise, the festival contemplated by their agreement cannot happen and allowing it to go forward would only put the public at risk. The injunction sought by W50, even if there were a legal basis for it, cannot change that.”

Source: Variety