ABC/Heidi Gutman

ABC/Heidi GutmanIn the wake of reports that the Woodstock 50 festival now will take place in Columbia, Maryland, John Fogerty apparently has become one of the first artists on the originally announced bill to pull out of the anniversary event.

A message on the original Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman’s Facebook page reads, “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. As he says in his song, ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain,’ written upon returning from Woodstock [in 1969] — ‘NO MORE CONFUSION ON THE GROUND.'”

Fogerty signed on to play an August 18 show at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts — the venue located at the site of the original Woodstock in Bethel, New York — after being announced as part of the Woodstock 50 lineup, which originally had been scheduled to take place August 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York. Until now, it wasn’t clear if he still would commit to playing Woodstock 50, which has been plagued with a variety of issues since first being announced, including losing its license to be staged in Watkins Glen.

Fogerty’s note continues, “When John took the call from the organizers in 1969 and was asked to play a festival called ‘Woodstock,’ John accepted. He and his band [Creedence] were the first act to sign up for the festival leading other iconic bands to follow…So now, 50 years later, John is going back to the original site where his name appears on a plaque commemorating that weekend.”

It’s worth noting that the proposed new site for Woodstock 50, the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, is located about 270 miles from Bethel and Watkins Glen.

Meanwhile, TMZ reports that rap star JAY-Z also has pulled out of Woodstock 50.

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