Remember how glorious last September was? The air was hot but crisp, the sun was always out… and VIRGIN MOBILE FREE FEST KNOCKED OUR GLADIATOR SANDALS OFF! Check out our killer coverage here. Well, after enough teasing, it’s OFFICIAL: This year’s festival will be on September 10th in Columbia, Mary-land (or so says Sir Richard Branson) at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
LET US RECAP FOR YOU. THE STELLAR LINE-UP IS:
- TV On The Radio
- Deadmau5
- The Black Keys
- Cee Lo Green
- James Murphy (SOLO!)
- Cut Copy
- Big Sean
- Okkervil River
- Empire of the Sun
- Calvin Harris
- Ghostland Observatory
- Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
- Porter Robinson
- Two Door Cinema Club
- Eclectic Method
- Alberta Cross
- Bombay Bicycle Club
- !!!
- Teddybears
- Patti Smith
The only way to get tickets (which go on “sale” this Friday, July 15th @ 10AM) to “LIKE” Virgin Mobile Live on facebook. Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/VirginMobileLive
FULL TICKET SCOOP:
Tickets to the 2011 Virgin Mobile FreeFest will go “On Free” to the public at 10 a.m.
(EDT) 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. Virgin Mobile customers and Virgin Mobile Festival ticket holders from the
past five years will be invited via text and email to a private “free-sale” (much like
a pre-sale, except free) to be held at 10 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, July 14, also at
SEE YOU THERE?!?
@1st Lieutenant L – British? No, not at all. (No less than three acts of Parliament prevent me from ever obtaining a UK passport, not that I’d really want one). Besides, there’s no such thing as “Britain.” God help you if you ever meet a Scotsman with knife and an anger management problem.
Pedant? So sue me. Sorry .
For the rest of you, Male Bonding is playing at the Red Palace on the same night as Virgin Mobile Free fest. Choose the better adventure.
@Colonel K: so if deadmau5 leaves the mask at home its all good right?
CK, gathering some context clues and it seems like maybe you’re a Brit. I bet you’re well familiar with the word “pedant.”
I went last year and it was a hot crowded mess. It was totally worth it.
The Top billing is first notch. TV on The Radio, The Black Keys, DeadMau5, and James Murphy for free is pretty f*ing insane. But what is up with the only way to secure through facebook? Weak sauce. If it was Google+ then we would be talking.
Im pretty sure empire of the sun and deadmau5 can handle a festival
For a man who had the foresight to sign Public Image Limited, XTC and so many other amazing bands, Richard Branson’s Virginfest 2011 is painfully MOR. Combine a crap lineup with an unnecessarily complicated means of procuring tickets and you’ve got grounds for true players to leave town and do something cooler.
Real talk, who here is tight enough to hold down a festival crowd. Not worth a day of sitting in traffic and waiting around in the hot sun. (Cuz we all know summer in DC doesn’t end until October).
Christ, some people will find an excuse to complain about anything.
Yeah i think the people who get tickets will be more then happy to go…
@ Curt
An excuse to complain about anything? Please. The article specifically called for people to leave their 2 cents. Sorry that only a handful of these acts can actually cut it in front of a festival crowd (Cut Copy, !!!, TV on the Radio, maybe James Murphy???), but the rest? Yawn city. Is Patti Smith gonna bring Kevin Shields on stage? Probably not. Teddybears? Goodness it’s been years since anyone cared about them, not since that “I’m a Punk Rocker” joint with Iggy Pop. Calvin Harris? Has he ever been to the states (apart from maybe DJ gigs in NYC or LA?).
Again, no one worth sittin’ in Traffic for. Real. Talk.
@Colonel K, WTF are you talking about? Have you ever even been to a music festival? Many of the artists that you “yawn” at have been killing it in the Festival Circuit these past two years (I was at Coachella the past two years, Governers Ball a few weeks ago, and I’ve been to Virgin Fest every year back since when it was a paid festival at Pimlico). The Black Keys will kill it in front of this crowd. Deadmau5 puts on one of the sickest live electronic music acts in existence right now. He must have had 10,000 people in the Sahara Tent last year at Coachella. Empire of the Sun puts on an insane show as well, they filled up one of the outdoor stages at Coachella this year. And you say “maybe” James Murphy? Seriously? How about MAYBE you are a complete idiot and should STFU. This is a FREE festival with an AWESOME lineup. If you don’t like it, don’t go! There are plenty of people who will readily enjoy this awesome day of music.
1) I went to both Freefests and avoiding traffic was not that difficult. This isn’t Jiffy Lube Live
2) It’s a free concert with a number of artists that many people enjoy and have festival experience. If you don’t like the line up, that’s your business. I am, however, tired you and every other curmudgeon that feels the need to tell the rest of us how much “these line ups suck”. Go ahead and do “something cooler” that day and spare us from this bullshit.
Well Curt, Bdus. From the way y’all talk about senior Branson’s festival, it wouldn’t surprise me if y’all were on his payroll. But compare Virgin fest to Coachella or All Tomorrow’s Parties (especially this year’s in Asbury Park) and you’ll see what the hell I’m talking about. And none of you has even acknowledged my comment about the ass-backwards ticket scheme. Further proof that y’all aint paying attention!
And yea, I’ll say “Maybe” James Murphy. I’ve seen LCD Soundsystem. They were amazing, but that’s no guarantee that a DJ set by James Murphy’s gonna be enough to get me to go stand out in the hot son paying $8 for bottled water.
PS Stop bitching about Sir Richard’s pronunciation of “Maryland.” I bet half of you reading this can’t correctly pronounce the following “Bath” “Reading” “Edinburgh”
Jesus H, Colonel K, you are like the textbook definition of quintessential internet asshole. The lineup doesn’t conform to your very specific expectations therefore everyone who “sits in traffic” for it is just an idiot right? You act like you’re some sort of professional music festival analyst on ESPN discussing these things as though they can be measured objectively – , why don’t you go fuck off you little nerd.
Further proof that the American education system continues to fail its children. No less than 4 angry reply replies and none of you has actually addressed some of the more crucial criticisms that I made in my initial posts.
1) That the line up listed above is subpar compared to other major festivals in the US and abroad. Would you book a plane ticket to LA to see Cee Lo or TV on the Radio headline a festival? No, probably not. Last TVOTR record was good, but not great. And Cee-Lo is no Goodie Mob or Gnarls Barkley (especially not after his tantrums at a couple of European festivals).
2) That the ticket procurement process for this festival is UNNECESSARILY complicated. Allow me to re-copy it, as it seems reading is not y’alls strong point:
“Fans must first “like” Virgin Mobile Live before they are eligible to secure free tickets. Virgin Mobile customers and Virgin Mobile Festival ticket holders from the past five years will be invited via text and email to a private “free-sale” (much likea pre-sale, except free) to be held at 10 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, July 14, also at facebook.com/virginmobilelive.”
Even more infuriating is the fact that you’ve all resorted to personal attacks. Fox News much, kids?
I think the point here is that this is, hands down, the best free day of music in the country and we should be excited that it happens to be in our area. Unlike, say, COACHELLA which needs to fill several days and sell tens of thousands of (very) expensive tickets, this is essentially a gift. It does, however feature some amazing acts that most people would still pay good money for, and doing some basic social media-ing to get what would probably be (at least a) 100 dollar ticket is not that big of a price to swallow.
And we don’t necessarily need people from California to fly here for it, it is great that DC/MD/VA gets to enjoy a high quality, FREE day of music with internationally recognized acts on their territory with their own friends and family.
There is a pretty good chance that your responders didn’t find a problem with the general thrust of your argument, they found a problem with your attitude and overall approach, which is hilariously dickish.
Here it is, in a nutshell:
RB: “Colonel K, do you want this succulent piece of steak for free?”
CK: “Does it have a side of garlic mashed potatoes?”
RB: “Buttered mashed potatoes…”
CK: “FUCK YOU I DON’T WANT YOUR FUCKING PIECE OF STEAK GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH THIS SHIT.”
@Svetlana – Diplomatic, graceful, clever without necessarily pointing any fingers. A+
@ML – Steak and potatoes. Dreadful metaphor. Me pointing out what I feel to be problems with ticket distribution and line up is not the same as shouting in ALL CAPS THAT I DONT WANT A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT STEAK.
Guess it’s time to take it to the next level then:
* TV On The Radio – When their sound is mixed well (and this seems to be quite rare) they’re amazing
* Deadmau5 – Might could wanna leave the mask at home if the Mid-Atlantic heat is still in full effect
* The Black Keys – Excellent, but top billing material? I heard they were good at Summerfest in Wisconsin.
* Cee Lo Green – Is dude gonna show up late and complain?
* James Murphy (SOLO!) – Again, just cuz LCD Soundsystem was amazing doesnt mean a DJ or solo set will be great.
* Cut Copy – One killer festival band so far….
* Big Sean – This is the only hip-hop act listed so far? What a painfully conservative line-up so far. Egad….
* Okkervil River – Yawn
* Empire of the Sun – Just cuz the dude from the Sleepy Jackson is in your group doesn’t mean you’re gonna rock the party. May as well start with “walkin on a dream,” and watch it slip away from there
* Calvin Harris – For legal reasons, no comment.
* Ghostland Observatory – Saw them twice, it got old real quick. Ditch the cape, dude.
* Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – Yawn
* Porter Robinson – Yawn
* Two Door Cinema Club – Teenybopper time!
* Eclectic Method – Who?
* Alberta Cross – (Tumbleweeds)
* Bombay Bicycle Club – Find the guy who at NME who championed these bastards and club him with a shovel
* !!! – So long as they cover ESG’s “Moody” and play “Feel Good Hit of the Fall,” I’m game.
* Teddybears – Anyone remember when the staff at Wonderland used to bump “Punk Rocker (feat. Iggy Pop)” at the end of every night?
* Patti Smith – Errr Patti Smith reading from “Just Kids,” Patti Smith performing with Kevin Shields? Patti Smith spoken word? Gotta specify, dude.
Can you sell your free feast tickets ?