Virgin FreeFest 2010 Lineup Announced

Some parts of living in DC in the summer aren't so great...the never-ending heat wave we're currently experiencing for example. Throngs of tourists. More subway cars that don't have air conditioning than do...But one pretty cool part of living in DC in the summer, at least the past few years, has been the Virgin Mobile FreeFest taking place.

The FreeFest will occur on Saturday, 9/25 this year and being held again at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. “Our goal is simply to book the coolest bands we can. This year we’re breaking with the traditional format of monster headliner trickling down to baby bands, and instead we’re sprinkling fantastic acts all day long. It’s kind of like a festival on full-day shuffle,” said Seth Hurwitz, the Fest's producer and owner of the 930 Club here in DC. The 2010 lineup was announced today and includes the following acts:

M.I.A., LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, PAVEMENT, T.I., LUDACRIS, JOAN JETT, THIEVERY CORPORATION, MATT & KIM, JIMMY EAT WORLD, THE TEMPER TRAP, EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS, AND YEASAYER; DANCE FOREST: CHROMEO, SLEIGH BELLS, DIE ANTWOORD, MODESELEKTOR, NEON INDIAN

In addition to two main stages, a dance forest filled with inspired music, and a special second line march from stage to stage with Trombone Shorty will be held. We love us a good second line around here, and Trombone Shorty is fantastic so if you go, definitely go see him!

Tickets to the 2010 Virgin Mobile FreeFest will be available to the public on TicketFly at 10 am EST on Saturday, 7/24. Virgin Mobile customers and previous Virgin Mobile Festival ticket holders from the past four years will be invited via text and email to a private “free-sale” (much like a pre-sale, except free) to be held Friday, 7/23.

Last year, $80,000 was raised and 30,000 hours of volunteerism were generated for youth homelessness. This year, The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile’s charitable initiative to end youth homelessness, is encouraging fans to make a $5 donation and in return receive a 2010 Virgin Mobile FreeFest mix produced by Rusko. The download will mash up select bands in the lineup to create a unique 20-minute mix. The DJ mix will be available for pre-order on Friday during the pre-sale with every $5 donated to youth homelessness. In keeping with the “free” mantra, Ticketfly is waiving all service charges when fans pick up their FreeFest tickets at Merriweather or the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. or print their tickets at home.

Another change this year is the premium ticket. This provides Pavilion seating, with a portion of the ticket price going to support homeless youth charities.

For more details on the ticketing, including options for donating money to youth homelessness, and to sign up the news alerts and updates, check out Virgin Mobile FreeFest.

News: Virgin Fest to Go "Free," Move to Merriweather Post Pavilion

The Baltimore Sun wrote today that the Virgin Festival is indeed going to happen this year, but in Columbia, MD instead of Baltimore, and not charge for tickets.

In theory, a free Virgin Fest sounds like a cool idea. In practice? Not so sure. How many free festival shows with decent lineups (this one includes Public Enemy, The Hold Steady, Girl Talk, Franz Ferdinand for example) have you been to that haven't been either a total zoo or a total clusterf*#k? And Aug. 30th? I so wish that festival organizers here would get that doing anything outside like this in August around here is the equivalent of breathing through a towel soaked with hot water. We gave up our tickets to the second Fest as it was around the same calendar date and 97878686 degrees Calvin that day.

But I could see this time round changing my outlook on all that. The one thing that Merriweather has that Pimlico didn't though is shade, which will be a plus. And I will say that when I attended the first Virgin Fest at the Pimlico track, the organizers seemed to be really together in terms of set up and whatnot. So what do I know, maybe they'll pull off "free" properly as well? Given the lineup, here's hoping!

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UPDATE (11:34 am):
Apparently, the Sun reporter either didn't do the research or has the same crummy internet browser I do that doesn't show links across the top of the Virgin Fest site page. A friend (with Firefox) just sent me the following info:

-The June 25 and 26 dates are not for the free tickets but more of a "presale" if you purchase one of two "karma packages" ($30 and $55): Karma Packages

-The "free ticket onsale" is actually June 27: Free Ticket 'Onsale'

-There is no mention on the Virgin Fest site of any "first pick" tickets allotted for Virgin Mobile customers or for attendees of previous Virgin Fests.

-Nothing on the site confirms/denies the free parking and no convenience charges for tickets picked up at Merriweather or the 9:30 Club in Washington stated in the article.
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Weezer, Blink 182 to headline a smaller, but free, Virgin Fest

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 even t, 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, which will be distributed through Ticketmaster June 25 and 26. 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."