Ah, summer festival season. In years past, those of us in the D.C./Baltimore region had to either consider an expensive trip to a faraway locale or jealously eye the lineups of Coachella, Sasquatch, Lollapalooza, Intonation, Pitchfork, Bumbershoot and countless other fests, hoping that the festival gods would someday smile upon our little patch of the Mid-Atlantic. Luckily, that all changed with the introduction of Virgin Fest in 2006 (now known as the Virgin Mobile Festival) and since then, the folks at Virgin and I.M.P. have worked to outdo themselves with each year’s lineup.
Well, judging by the looks of it, they’ve done it yet again. This year’s schedule aims to have a little something for everyone and very nearly lives up to I.M.P. Chairman Seth Hurwitz’s claim that “The entire line-up will be must-see acts.” For example, if you consider yourself a fan of the classics, you’ll be pleased to hear that Bob Dylan, Iggy & The Stooges and Chuck Berry have all been added to the bill. If you’re a time traveler who recently joined us from the year 1995, you’ll feel right at home, what with the Offspring, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails and a recently-reunited Stone Temple Pilots on the schedule. Indie rock fans, as usual, will also be well-served, with Wilco, Cat Power, The Go! Team, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Andrew Bird (who will be reuniting with the Bowl of Fire, if the press release is to be believed)* all signed-up. This year brings some big names on the hip-hop and electronic fronts as well, including Kanye West (sans spaceship, we assume), Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Underworld, Erol Alkan, Chromeo and Moby. There’s even a shout-out to the D.C. scene in the form of a long-awaited Shudder To Think reunion. And finally, just because it wouldn’t be a corporate-sponsored summer music festival without him… Jack Johnson.
As we’ve mentioned before, it all goes down August 9 and 10, at the Pimlico racecourse in Baltimore. Tickets go on sale May 3 at 10 a.m., with a two-day pass running $175. Check out the full line-up below and let us know if it’s worth your hard-earned cash in the comments.
