HFStival announces 2011 line-up headlined by Avett Brothers; stays at Merriweather
HFStival announced its 2011 line-up Wednesday. The Avett Brothers will headline a show that will also feature Flogging Molly, Dr. Dog, Gin Blossoms, Minus the Bear and Clutch.
The festival, which returned after a four-year hiatus last year, will stay at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
It will take place September 17.
The line-up this year is an improvement over last year's, which featured an all-star cast from the 90s, including Billy Idol, Third Eye Blind and Everclear.
Among the other bands that will perform this year are Diane Birch, Lionize, Pasadena, and the Five One.
HFStival is the granddaddy of East coast music festivals. Organized by the seminal, shuttered radio station WHFS-FM, it drew massive crowds through most of the '90s and the first half of the '00s, when it hosted the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Coldplay, among others.
It ended a 16-year-run in 2006 at Merriweather Post Pavilion, which also hosted last year's return.
In this oral history, Jon Bailey of Baltimore-based Jon Bailey Band, Mike Hall of the Baltimore rock group Sick Sick Birds, and Sound Garden's Bryan Burkert recall its heyday. Our interview with the Avett Brothers is here.
Tickets, $35-50, go on sale Friday at Ticketfly.com.
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Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
A few edits I'd make:
1) Lineup was released May 9.
http://whfs.radio.com/2011/05/09/hfstival-2011-lineup-and-more/
2) HFStival WAS the granddaddy of East coast music festivals. Now it's a joke.
3) I'd take last year's lineup over this year's. But I can understand that the indie crowd will like this year's more.
Posted by: Proofreader Paul | May 19, 2011 9:57 AM
I remember when it was 15 bands for 15 dollars at RFK - I'm not even sure why the promoters continue to use the name HFS-tival anymore
Posted by: Foo | May 19, 2011 10:40 AM
They use the name because it is well-known.
And as for Proofreader Paul's comment, the "indie crowd" was the point of HFStival. Growing up listening to 80's and 90's alt-rock when every other arena show and festival was jock rock was rough. HFStival featured a mix of local indie bands and an an eclectic lineup of some more national alternative acts. That was always the point. Just because they got bought out and started booking radio friendly grunge-lite and power-pop bands toward the end doesn't change the fact that HFStival made its name as an indie and alternative festival before "alternative" just meant "mainstream modern rock".
Not trying to be a snot about it. It's none of my business what other people listen to and I'm not gonna get into critiques of something as personal and subjective as musical taste. It's just one of those things where a niche audience had found something awesome that was theirs and watched it turn into something boring and common.
Posted by: herp | May 19, 2011 2:53 PM