Ahhh, summer music festivals. As any music blog reader could tell you, as soon as the ground starts to thaw, they’re all the indie kids can talk about. Last year we were all lathered up about getting a mega-fest of our very own (or at least, within reasonable stomping-ground distance). Several DCists embarked upon Pimlico and were pleased to report that the festival was wonderfully organized, accomodating, really well done and… that it just plain rocked.

This year’s Virgin Festival (August 4 and 5) and its damn good lineup was announced a while ago, and two-day tickets ($175) went on sale earlier this month. This Saturday at 10 a.m., you can start buying single-day passes for $97.50 (even more expensive VIP tickets are available too.) Yes, those numbers sound really big when you’re used to $13 shows at the Black Cat. But V Fest is bringing you 40 bands in two days — many of whom (The Police, Beastie Boys, and the Smashing Pumpkins come to mind) would cost you at least $40 to see on their own. The big festival scheduling conflict for the weekend is that Chicago’s Lollapalooza is the same weekend, and features a handful of the same acts. Stereogum weighed the two against each other and V Fest seemed to come out on top.

Now, back to that lineup. It’s a heck of a thing. There are a few bands we’ve caught before and told you about: Peter Bjorn and John, TV on the Radio, Girl Talk, Interpol, Spoon, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Then there are the other jump-up-and-down, can’t-wait-to-see-’em’s, like Beastie Boys, Modest Mouse, The Police, the ONE reunion of the Smashing Pumpkins (or at least, Billy Corgan and his band), Bad Brains and the Wu Tang Clan. Throw in tens of other au courant bands and world reknowned DJs and you’ve got a weekend well worth the price of admission. Will you be heading north come August?

Photo of the Flaming Lips from 2006’s Virgin Fest by Kyle Gustafson