E-mail
Print
Rock bands Weezer, Blink-182 and Franz Ferdinand and hip-hop group Public Enemy will headline a downsized Virgin Mobile Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion, organizers announced Tuesday.
The festival, formerly a two-day affair held at the sprawling Pimlico Race Course, has been scaled back to one day, Aug. 30, and moved to the smaller Columbia amphitheater. But, in a surprising change of course for the four-year-old event, this year's festival will be free, officials said.
"In a time of economic challenges and daily sacrifices, we wanted to throw a fantastic party so people could let loose and have a great time -- on us," said Sir Richard Branson, founder and president of Virgin Group, in a statement.
To accommodate the Virgin Mobile Freefest, Merriweather will be outfitted with multiple stages and a dance tent and expanded to hold nearly 35,000. Other performers include Jet, Girl Talk, the Hold Steady, St. Vincent, Taking Back Sunday and more.
Virgin Mobile customers and previous Virgin Mobile Festival-goers will get first pick at the free tickets through Ticketmaster on June 25 and June 26. Tickets will be available to the public on June 27. Parking will also be free, officials said, and there will be no convenience charges for tickets picked up at Merriweather or the 9:30 Club in Washington.
"I suppose people will think that there must be a catch, but there really isn't," festival producer Seth Hurwitz wrote in an e-mail. "We just wanted to put on a show that would make people happy."
When it debuted in 2006, the festival boasted headliners the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Who and drew about 40,000 to Pimlico. Since then, attendance has steadily slumped at the festival, which was expanded to two days in 2007. Last year's festival featured an eclectic lineup of more than 40 performers, including Bob Dylan, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails and the Foo Fighters.
"When Virgin Mobile first suggested to me that we throw this year's festival for free, I was like, 'Um ... OK,'" Hurwitz said. "I thought they were crazy. But then again, Virgin's always done things a little differently."
The festival, formerly a two-day affair held at the sprawling Pimlico Race Course, has been scaled back to one day, Aug. 30, and moved to the smaller Columbia amphitheater. But, in a surprising change of course for the four-year-old event, this year's festival will be free, officials said.
"In a time of economic challenges and daily sacrifices, we wanted to throw a fantastic party so people could let loose and have a great time -- on us," said Sir Richard Branson, founder and president of Virgin Group, in a statement.
To accommodate the Virgin Mobile Freefest, Merriweather will be outfitted with multiple stages and a dance tent and expanded to hold nearly 35,000. Other performers include Jet, Girl Talk, the Hold Steady, St. Vincent, Taking Back Sunday and more.
Virgin Mobile customers and previous Virgin Mobile Festival-goers will get first pick at the free tickets through Ticketmaster on June 25 and June 26. Tickets will be available to the public on June 27. Parking will also be free, officials said, and there will be no convenience charges for tickets picked up at Merriweather or the 9:30 Club in Washington.
"I suppose people will think that there must be a catch, but there really isn't," festival producer Seth Hurwitz wrote in an e-mail. "We just wanted to put on a show that would make people happy."
When it debuted in 2006, the festival boasted headliners the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Who and drew about 40,000 to Pimlico. Since then, attendance has steadily slumped at the festival, which was expanded to two days in 2007. Last year's festival featured an eclectic lineup of more than 40 performers, including Bob Dylan, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails and the Foo Fighters.
"When Virgin Mobile first suggested to me that we throw this year's festival for free, I was like, 'Um ... OK,'" Hurwitz said. "I thought they were crazy. But then again, Virgin's always done things a little differently."
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzz
DeathNails (06/24/2009, 11:51 PM )