I'd rather pay money for a bigger and better festival on grounds more suited for a large festival, perhaps Pimlico...and the fact it's like two minutes from my house is only slightly influential

maybe it's just me

A festival is not the place to see your favorite band because the sets are scaled back alot versus a normal show.
Otherwise fun times I suppos if your into hanging with a throng of yuppies and hipsters that wear jeans 4 sizes too small LOL

This is very good news! I thought they did an outstanding job last year.
Always impressed with the Virgin people. They keep the crowds under control, bad behavior is at a minimum, lotsa of activities outside of the music, overall good festival vibe. Much better than what the old HFSivals degenerated into.
I hope the line-up is just as good. Besides, can't argue with a free show.

Awesome...while I prefer bigger festivals and am not a huge fan of that amphitheater, I did have a great time visiting the fest from New York last year.

Terry...

"I'd rather pay money for a bigger and better festival on grounds more suited for a large festival, perhaps Pimlico...and the fact it's like two minutes from my house is only slightly influential maybe it's just me"

NO it's not just you. I agree and would gladly pay to see something back at Pimlico, RFK, or Charslestown racetrrack..

Just about everyone I talked to, my friend that went with me, and people on various message boards had the same problems I had.

Too much crowd for such a small space, if you were on the lawn you were screwed because the sound system was so low you could barely hear a thing, the video screens were out of sync with what people were actually hearing when they could hear something,

I guess that massive survey I took afterwards was a waste of time.

I was there last year and on the hill for the entire second half of the day. Not sure what sound problems people are referring to b/c it sounded fantastic where I was at. The complaints about Merriweather are getting tiresome. The place is in as beautiful of a setting as any amphitheater of it's size on the East Coast, is widely regarded amongst sound techs as having some of the best acoustics in the country and is also oozing with history. Here's an idea - if a band doesn't sound good from where you are on the lawn, MOVE! It's a big hill and you can always find another spot to improve it.

I wish I better understood the motivation for this change. Maybe it's been explained before and I missed it. I went to every Virgin Festival at Pimlico. I would be happy to continue to pay to see the bands they were bringing in.

I don't have much of a desire to go to Merriweather whether it's free or not. Partly due to the venue and partly due to last year's line-up.

I thought it was a good time last year, it's always good to have something going on thats only 15 to 20 minute drive away. I can't complain

I agree that I miss big shows at RFK like the 90's HFStivals but I have grown to like Merriweather. By opening the whole grounds we had shade to sit in during the really hot part of the day and there was plenty of room to move around. Last year's was remarkably fun despite the fact that I didn't care too much about any of the bands. Didn't mind getting to see Weezer and Girl Talk and some other fun bands but it was more fun as an event. Spending the day with your friends out in the sun eating food and drinking a few beers is fun any time.

Hopefully they get some more bands I like this year but as long as there are a few decent ones I will still probably go.

Lame. Tickets were impossible to get last year unless you wanted to buy them off of ebay/stubhub for $70 a pop. This year should be even worse with every scalper on the planet trying to make a quick buck.

What a shame. This used to be a really great festival.

Jeremy: I dunno what you are talking about. Me and maybe 10 or 15 friends all got free tickets. I don't know anyone who bought online or from scalpers.

free tickets is not good idea. Those with only a passing interest in music and scalpers get the tickets.

I don't understand what the complaining is about.
1 - It is free.
2 - Merriweather has trees to crawl under and take a nap after you've had a few beers and baking in the sun.
3 - I thought the lineup was pretty solid. The headliners were not huge bands but who cares, who do you expect? I thought Franz Ferdinand put on one of the best live outdoor shows i've ever seen.
4 - I think Sir Richard knows what he is doing, he does after all, own an island.

We went to the Virgin Fest @ Pimlico every year and loved them. I really wish Sir Richard (AKA my close personal friend and drinking buddy because I have a pic of us clinking Bud Lites at the first one) had chosen to continue on with the big concerts - they provided us with so many great memories, like how incredilbe The Who still sounded, the over-the-top energy of the RHCP's and the fact that Amy Winehouse actually showed up.

you get what you pay for, and in the case of a free festival last year we got many bands who were a big deal 10 years ago...

I was there last year, And I'm so happy they'll do it again next year, THank you so much!!! IT was great and people enjoy!!! I think it's great that it is free now :D

yes! i'm glad they're doing it again. i do wish they'd do it at pimlico again but it wasn't so bad last year. maybe they could offer vip tix for those of us that don't mind paying for better seating. please book queens of the stone age!!!

This is sad news. As others have said, the Pimlico festivals were solid and I gladly paid real money to see the best current bands. I don't know if the decision to do Merriweather again has anything to do with the Pimlico situation, but Baltimore should know that my tourist dollars will go to Chicago this year - Lollapalooza here I come.

shut up. its a free concert. if you don't like who is playing- don't go. if you don't like the place- don't go.

i went when we had to pay for the tickets a few years in a row. (and i made the commute from FLORIDA togo) and i was SO pissed that i couldnt go this year when it was FREE. so don't waste your time complaining. just find something "better" to do with your time.

@bdh... and quite the island it is. saw some special on it on Travel Channel and I don't think I stopped drooling once.

Need. My. Own. Island.

I agree with some of the other comments. I was so excited last year when I found out everything about it...the dates fell of the weekend of my birthday, the tickets were free, and the lineup was great. Small but great. I wasn't able to get pre-sale tickets because they were all gone by the time I found out about it, and then when the tickets were released to the general public, I was on Ticketmaster the moment they went on sale and they were gone before I finished the catchya phrase, and I have fast internet. The system that these were released in did not allow the people to get tickets for free. Some people got lucky, but mostly Stubhub and other ticket vendors snatched them all up and charged anywhere from 75 to 300 dollars a pop. It was ridiculous. I hope they go about this another way, a way that everybody can get a ticket.

To Chrissy,

When I went to the FreeFest last year they had free tickets available the day of the festival. I just went up to the Merriweather box office and asked for two and they gave them to me. There wasn't even a line to get the tickets; just a line to get in.

This is great news! We had a blast last year and loved the atmosphere. Bring back the DJs!!!!!!

Posted by: sbd7062 | March 15, 2010 8:39 PM

you must not have been at the 2009 Virgin Freefest, the sets were COMPLETE, even Weezer and Blink-182.