Summer is heating up and that this year’s annual crop of music festivals is fast upon us. You already have Lollapalooza in Chicago (Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Eminem, The Cars, Lykke Li) and the Austin (Texas) City Limits music festival (Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Stevie Wonder) in August and September, respectively. You also have one right here in our backyard in the Virgin Mobile FreeFest taking place on Saturday, September 10th at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia.
The lineup was announced today via Sir Richard Branson on Virgin Mobile Live’s Facebook page and it is a veritable who who’s of indie music. Artists on two main stages and the Dance Forest include blues-rock duo The Black Keys , Cee Lo Green, Deadmau5, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals (one of my favorites), Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith, Alberta Cross, TV on the Radio, Big Sean and the eight member dance/pop band !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) among others.
“It’s so much fun to be a part of this,” said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P. and Virgin Mobile FreeFest producer. “ As a promoter, I enjoy watching 40,000 people walking around, having a blast, feeling very lucky they got a free ticket…it’s my favorite day of the year.”
Tickets to the 2011 Virgin Mobile FreeFest will go “On Free” to the public at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 15, via Virgin Mobile LIVE on facebook.com/virginmobilelive. Fans must first “like” Virgin Mobile Live before they are eligible to secure free tickets.
For more information and complete lineups, visit:
Virgin Mobile Live on Facebook
Austin City Limits Music Festival
Great info John, looking forward to this years show.
i just saw that GroopEase is giving away 2 pairs of Lolla tix + $500 cash! how cool would that be? looks like one of the best lineups in the last few years…and Chicago in the summertime is heaven!
Just signed up for the GroopEase sweepstakes! Got my fingers crossed! As much as I don’t want my odds to dwindle, heres a link to enter. http://www.facebook.com/#!/groopease?sk=app_242484089111033
Awesome thing is, even if you can’t make it to the festival, you can sell your tickets and wind up with a fat G of cash. Personally I wouldn’t miss the music, however.