Virgin Festival 2009: the Good News and the Bad News
The Virgin Music Festival 2009 (the Ontario edition) announcement FINALLY dropped this morning, and thankfully the rumours were true... NIN will be headlining at this year's Vfest!
This year will also see appearances by Ben Harper & Relentless7, and the full line up boasts some impressive talent. But with the good news, comes the bad: an out-of-town (I mean WAY out-of-town) venue, and some interesting marketing tactics to monetize the event.
This year definitely promises to be an exciting new chapter in the Vfest saga and I've got all the line up, venue, ticketing and VIP details right here.
With NIN to headline in what *may* be their last north American show ever (if we believe Reznor) I'm already sold on this year's Virgin Music Festival; but most people will want the full benefit of the details before forking out the hefty ticket price.
So first, this year's line up... in order of how much I care:
Day 1
The Pixies
Ben Harper & Relentless7
Franz Ferdinand
Paolo Nutini
Grizzly Bear
Sloan
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Down with Webster
Lights
Mates of State
Iglu and Hartly
Day 2... which is insanely stacked:
NIN
Mute Math
Pet Shop Boys
Thunderheist
N.E.R.D.
Our Lady Peace
Cold War Kids
The D'Ubervilles
MEW
Coeur de Pirate
The Von Bondies
Datarock
Hyper Crush
Trouble Andrew
Silver Starling
Looks like Bacardi's B-Live tent has been completely scrapped this year in favour of the Virgin Radio stage, which will host artists Candy Coated Killahz, Anjulie, Sean Kingston, Melanie Fiona and The New Cities. I'm a bit disappointed to see that the dance/electronic stage is being downplayed, but then again the Day 2 main stage line up is pretty bangin' in its own right.
Now the other big questions...
When? August 29th and 30th, 2009 (hopefully guaranteeing warm weather!)
Where? Burl's Creek Park, Orillia (click for map) ...about an hour and a half drive from Toronto, in good traffic flow. Given the ferry escapades involved in getting to and from the Toronto Island in past years, it'll probably take most people the same amount of time to get to Vfest this year.
How much? The ticket price this year is deceptively cheap, at only $99 for BOTH days of the Festival. However, given the location is pretty far for most people, don't forget to factor in travel, food and accommodation.
Getting to the festival is probably best by car... the site will have free parking and is generally easy to get to. However organizers have promised that shuttle buses will also be available from the Barrie terminal; probably with similar logistical issues as the Island ferries, but at least they're available (organizers are expecting 35,000 to attend, so shuttle at your own risk).
Staying on site is probably another good option, but camping fees are NOT included in your ticket price. Two day camping is $100 per site (max. 4 people on a site), and three day is $135 per site (max. 4 people on a site) - which adds to the cost of the $99 ticket price if you want the Vfest camping experience.
The organizers have also opened up a limited number of VIP festival and camping tickets, which I guess in this case means 'Very Invested Person'? The festival VIP pass, which covers both days of music, is $270 plus $180 per camp site per night (max 4 people per site). Aside from getting you into the 'Loud Lounge', shorter washroom lines, and special drink and food services, the VIP ticket's value seems to lie in giving holders front of the line access to the festival itself (useful if you're coming in from far away!)
Overall, great news about the line up and facilities, but bad news about the travel distance and extra costs. I can't pass up the chance to see NIN at a large North American festival but I'm not convinced that the line up alone will be enough to attract the expect 35,000 out to Orillia... we shall see on August 29/30th!
Comments (38)
Camping costs are per site not per person - so at worst if you camp in 4s it is quite the deal especially when compared to US and UK festivals where the camping is based on a per person setup.
i'm pretty disappointed about the b-live tent. that was a great venue for getting your groove on!
Should note that camping prices are PER SITE. Split the cost with your friends and it's actually pretty affordable ;)
I wonder how will people will get to Orillia - by bus.......I made my own view about the Virgin Festival in Ontario. All can be viewed on my blog.
*note: You are indeed correct - the camping fee is per site, with a max of 4 people per site!!! That's a little better :)
I'm going to try to stay at a cottage up in Muskoka, so hopefully I can just come South from there :)
But the worst hwy 11 times are Friday night and Sunday night... should be interesting for shuttle buses (blech)
FREAKIN RIGHT!!! its like only 15 min away from me!! now thats what im talkin about!!! its gonna be killer!!!
I was thinking the same thing. The Reading festival lineup could quite possibly be the best lineup ever put together.
SWEET!!!!
Two of my favourite bands, plus the park is right down the road from my parent's place! Should be asskickingly good!
SWEET!!!!!
Two of my favourite bands, plus the park is right near my parents' place! Should be asskickingly good!
The location really turns me off... damn.
Virgin Festival next year in Markham... yeah?!!!! haha
Seriously? I was anxiously awaiting this? What a horrific lineup. How about some relevant bands that arent from 10+ years ago. Do we really need to hear any more Our Lady Peace? And half the fun of the day is going to the island and being in the city, not trekking to Orillia and camping. This is not Reading festival..Such a drag...ok im done complaining now! :)
Seriously? I was anxiously awaiting this? What a horrific lineup. How about some relevant bands that arent from 10+ years ago. Do we really need to hear any more Our Lady Peace? And half the fun of the day is going to the island and being in the city, not trekking to Orillia and camping. This is not Reading festival..Such a drag...ok im done complaining now! :)
NIN=good
Burl's Creek=BAD!
I went to see Jack Johnson there last summer and it took TWO hours to get out of the park after the concert! They better have added some exits.
sorry, but this line-up -- aside from NIN and Ben Harper -- is pretty lame. contrary to popular belief, NIN isn't everyone's bag, so to have them as the only REAL headliner is disappointing.
yes, i agree with the person who said that half the fun of v-fest was that it was IN the city and on the island... ferry and all. for the reporter who claims that the "travel" time up to orillia will be the same... he failed to take into account that a lot of supporters of V-FEST in the last few years are people who live in DOWNTOWN toronto and don't necessarily have a CAR. you could go to V-Fest without having to worry about transportation at ALL. just bike or walk or subway to the ferry. there are also water taxis if the ferry wait is too long. so NO, the location is NOT the same in terms of travel ... AT ALL!
BOO, Burls CREEK. Boo, camping. Yuk. Like, seriously, if you're going to make it a CAMPING type festival out in the boonies, you better make the line-up worth it. Otherwise... I predict a bust.
Actually, the reference to travel time was in regards to the ferry line ups/wait times... it took near 2.5 hours to get off the Island last year, and I was on the VIP ferry (not the public ones, which were backed up until approx 2am according to other attendees...)
Therefore, a drive up from or down to the city, with good traffic flow, will be a similar expense of time. Course being downtown means public transit and all sorts of options like walking/biking... people complain when it's ON the island, people complain when it's OFF the island. MEH.
p.s. The Pixies? Hello? Franz Ferdinand and Thunderheist? I hardly think NIN is the only draw, but you know - to each their own. You can always go to Reading instead :P
btw getting to Burl's Creek is a bitch without a car, but not impossible - bus to barrie, shuttle to burl's. If you doubt the success of an out of city music festival, think WEMF crowds.
Burl's Creek is an awesome spot - I have no problems with Torontonians opting to stay home. But I'll be leaving my King St. condo (sans automobile, btw) to make the trek.
City kids need to live a little. Experience life outside the big smoke. Get your feet dirty and body stinky. This is an 'experience". It's more than the music, it's hanging out with 35,000 music lovers for 48 hours, sharing stories, meeting new friends, and getting wasted. Start planning the logistics now and you'll have a fucking bang on time people. See you up there
corina: i'm imagining your fingers typing about transportation, but all i hear is "blah blah blah". not convinced on burls creek, at all. plus, i saw thunderheist for free, twice, in the last year. in toronto. i like them, but they're not the act that's going to convince me to drive two hours and pay to see them again.
i've never complained about v-fest being on the island, never heard anyone else complain about it either, even standing in the ferry line-up. it was all part of the 'experience', and people wee usually in a pretty good mood. enjoying a picturesque ferry ride, vs. sitting in a gridlock traffic jam on the 400? not so much. camping with drunken yahoos just to see the few bands that you might want to see? no thanks.
the great thing about having this show in downtown toronto was that you could JUSTIFY buying a ticket just to see the acts you WANT to see, then time your ferry arrival/departure to avoid the most crowded times and only show up for the acts you want.
moving it to a camp site means you basically have to commit to the whole festival, deal with traffic, and be stuck with drunken frat boys all weekend just to see, um... well, in my case, ben harper. that's the ONLY act on this bill that would even slightly convince me to go, and again, if it was on the island, I WOULD buy a ticket and GO just to see him. but i'm not doing the whole damn weekend just for ben harper.
blamblamvietnam: pixies? puh-lease. don't feel sorry for me. saw them in the '90s, first time around. and twice again since.
ZED: um, sorry, but "experiencing life outside the big smoke" to me, doesn't mean driving to orillia. if i want the whole festival 'experience' of being dirty, stinky, and dealing with WASTEheads like you... i'd go to a real festival like coachella.
p.s. "getting wasted"? not everyone who loves music also necessarily loves getting trashed, or being stuck with people who are trashed and generally ruin the whole 'experience' for everyone around them. keep that in mind when you're annoying people at burls creek. frat boy.
Shhnap! Yeah, I hear ya. It's a minor pain to trek out in the middle of nowhere. I'm just looking at it as a road trip/overnight experience, so I guess that's where we differ. Given the location, the promoters are hoping to cater to people who are willing to make the trip, not the T.O. city crowd.
But not everyone who enjoys drinks and recreational drugs during a concert experience are frat boys out to annoy people. Some of them are pretty fun and are there trying to enjoy the music. Given this attitude, I would assume you don't leave your house very much.
i realize not all people who drink/use are out specifically to annoy people. but someone whose main goal is 'getting wasted' is probably not there for the music. i leave my house all the time for things that are WORTH it, and i don't consider being stuck in a campsite with a bunch of drunks to be worth it. i could get a motel room, but again... not for a half-assed line-up like this.
note to v-fest organizers: nice try, but you ain't bonnaroo, coachella or reading fest... far from it. better luck next year.
for my money, if i was going to travel to a festival this summer, i'd go to lollapalooza in chicago, aug 7-9. now THAT's a line-up worth travelling for, and v-fest organizers should take note. exactly what kind of festival do you want to be? putting on a great festival in a great CITY is pretty cool. BARRIE or ORILLIA are never going to be another 'destination' festival the likes of a coachella or bonnaroo, IMHO. they've already been done, and much better... elsewhere.
so they wait until mid-july to announce this lame line-up ... and then they expect 35,000 people? good luck. i'd bet they're lucky to sell half that. anything over 20,000 is freebies or giveaways to make it look fuller/better than it is.
this year they expand to more cities. (calgary, nova scotia and montreal, i think?) but then they move the toronto show north of barrie, of all godforsaken places? what's the point of that? lame.
big festivals like bonnaroo or coachella don't try to be in five different cities. they just focus on making ONE festival the best line-up possible. with a few exceptions (NIN, Ben Harper, PJ in Calgary), v-fest looks like it was thrown together with whoever they could get ... (OLP anyone? barf.)
if all you guys complaining of it being in the middle of nowhere, its only 45 minutes from finch in decent traffic there are 3 different main routes back to the city,(400,11,27). plus i dont think the stink from the people camping is going to be any worse then the 1000's of tons of garbage around the city & with the city workers on strike I dont think the ferries would work out so well, & there has been a few large concerts there, that easly 30,000 people showed up for cidiots and all
Other than The Pixies and Franz Ferdinand (an awesome band in any venue having seen them in small bars, large clubs, stadiums, and outdoor festivals) most of the line-up is ludicruous. Ben Harper has top billing? Our Lady Peace are still a band? Sloan? If the intention was to build suspense by not announcing the line-up until now, I think the organizers must be sorely disappointed.
The nightmare of highway 11 alone would be enough to keep me as far away from cottage country that weekend.
This event needs to follow the lineups and organization of the superb European festivals, and the Fuji Rock festival in Japan if it wants to be a destiantion and eargerly anticipated event with a slew of stand-out bands of up and comers and old favourites.
Traffic is traffic, every festival has it - 4 hours from Palm Springs to Coachella? Yup, done that. 4 hours to get into and 4.5 hours to get out of V Fest UK with parking 2.5 kms away? Yup done that. Stuck in the Pemberton parking lot (1 lane highway) for more hours than I can remember, yup done that.
I'd do it again.
It's not necessarily about the traffic or making the trip north, It's that the lineup does not justify it. Their bright idea of camping was to give us a U.K festival like experience, but this lineup is not in the same calibre. They should a just stuck to what worked for the past 2 years. Uhhh
kellogs, my point exactly... the line-up for this festival does not justify the trek/traffic or the need for camping! please.
yes they should've stuck with what worked. even if they had to move it for one year due to the ferry strike... downsview perhaps?
Per CBC, the festival has been moved to Molson Ampitheatre, due to complaints from fans about it being too far away!
All the deets coming up on blogTO shortly! Direct from the Virgin Music Festival Director and several other music insiders - got your scoop right here :)
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