Late last night, Sir Richard Branson took a break from his busy schedule of golfing in the dark and trying, unsuccessfully, to sail across the world to tell us all about this year’s Virgin Mobile FreeFest, which will take place on September 10 at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Here’s the lineup:

On the two main stages: The Black Keys, Deadmau5, Cee Lo Green, TV on the Radio, Patti Smith, Empire of the Sun, Cut Copy, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Okkervil River, Big Sean, Two Door Cinema Club, Alberta Cross, and Bombay Bicycle Club.

In the dance tent: James Murphy, Calvin Harris, Ghostland Observatory, !!!, Porter Robinson, Eclectic Method, and Teddybears.

Here’s the skinny on tickets: they can be obtained by going to the Virgin Mobile Live Facebook page this Friday at 10 a.m. (You have to “like” the page first — now that’s some quality social media bribery!) Those who have gone to the show before or pay Virgin Mobile for phone service will get a one-day headstart on access — emails on the presale should already be making the rounds.

To be honest, the lineup is a tiny bit of a letdown. (But, hey, congrats on the 15 percent prediction rate, WaPo!) Last year’s roster — featuring LCD Soundsystem, Pavement and M.I.A. — was always going to be tough to beat, but this year’s edition seems to lack anywhere close to that kind of heft. It feels like the concert’s organizers were shooting for a compromise between 2009’s pop-emo-fest (Weezer, Blink 182, Taking Back Sunday), and last year’s lineup. Of course, there are some highlights: Patti Smith will certainly be something to see, for example.

That said, we are talking about a free festival, so perhaps some slack is due. And regardless of what you think about the lineup, it’s refreshing to see that “VIP” tickets have been scrapped in favor of a ticket that will get you the early admission and drink specials without the messy seating snafus — you can buy those from Merriweather or Ticketfly directly.