Yesterday the lineup for this year’s edition of the HFStival was announced and headlining the two day festival will be Kanye West and…Counting Crows? Kanye is a no brainer but the addition of Counting Crows, in a headlining slot no less, seems to be a curious one. The band hasn’t released an album of original material since 2002 and tends to have a fan base that skews much older than the Clear Channel approved rockers like Coheed and Cambria and Yellowcard with whom they share the bill. Will the young ‘uns stick around to hear the theme song from Shrek 2? Other bands on the bill include The Strokes, Matisyahu, Cypress Hill, Dashboard Confessional, OK Go, The Misfits, and of course, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack.

This year’s festival will be held at Merriweather Post Pavillion and spread out over two days, Saturday May 27th and Sunday, May 28th. As a result, tickets are much more expensive; $45 for lawn seats, $65 for pavilion seats $100 for the pit. Keep in mind, those prices are per day.

It goes without saying that HFStival is a traditon in these parts, but in all honesty, this lineup is pretty underwhelming, especially compared to last year’s bill. More bands will be announced on April 10th, so there’s still hope.

The other area summer festival, DC101’s Chili Cookoff, will be held one week earlier, on May 20th, at Independence Ave & 12th Street SW and features Hoobastank, Better Than Ezra, Tonic and Bloodhound Gang. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 on the day of the show. If neither of these bills inspire you to get your festival on, there are plenty of other options if you’re willing to get on a plane or hop in a car.

Photo taken by Flickr user clintonmoore