Woodstock Ventures Split Over Woodstock 2009
With the Woodstock 40th anniversary quickly approaching, it seems as though the planning process is hitting more snags than a fishing trip with dad. Aside from the large problem of finding sponsors, an article in the New York Times reports that organizers Michael Lang and Joel Rosenman have a few disagreements.
The Times reports that Lang and Rosenman have failed to devise a solid plan for Woodstock 2009. It is reported that Lang would like to hold the festival sometime this year to commemorate the anniversary, while Rosenman doesn't seem to be in any hurry to make it happen without careful planning and preparation.
It has been widely accepted that the plans for a Prospect Park show in August have fallen through and that the concert could possibly take place the last week in September. Fans will still have plenty of Woodstock 40th anniversary celebration with such events as Ang Lee's "Woodstock Ventures fractured and Woodstock 1969 co-creators Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang sold their shares to partners John Roberts and Joel Rosenman for $65,000. Lang would later return before the 1999 festival as a minority owner. The Times states that co-owner John Roberts who died in 2001 was the buffer between Lang and Rosenman who can hardly be brought together for a photo op. It was also reported that between games of meeting schedule tag, that Lang refused to enter Rosenman's building to meet him.
Lang and Rosenman also did not show up for a recent meeting with Kevin Wall, a producer of the Live Earth concerts in 2007. It is reported that in Lang's book "The Road to Woodstock" he rekindles old arguments with Rosenman, stating that his opposition to investing in a recording studio located in Woodstock was a bad idea. Meanwhile, the Bethel woods Center for the Arts has scheduled their own Woodstock 40th anniversary concert called the Bethel Woods Music Festival, which will include the Heroes of Woodstock tour.
The official word from Rosenman is that his and Lang's personal differences has nothing to do with the slow progress of Woodstock 2009 and that it's a matter of whether or not to proceed without sponsorship. Either way, both men agree that the Woodstock effort is not a profit driven affair. Lang still has an idea for a last minute Woodstock, which would be a free event in Prospect Park driven by green forms of energy. Rosenman could not say with any certainty whether this concert would actually take place.
