If you've ever purchased tickets to one of the big summer festivals, I'm sure you've looked at the V.I.P. packages available and thought there's no way they're worth the generally insane prices. But for the readership of Forbes, they're really the only option.
More »
That's the word from Jeff Leeds at the New York Times, who penned a story on the fact that there may be something of a summer-rockfest glut hitting the U.S. over the coming months. With the lousy economy putting the hurt on potential cabana sales and the overlapping lineups making each festival less of a destination, can America handle "more than a dozen" parties based around the consumption of music? The answer seems to be "it depends on the lineup"—apparently the jam-band-heavy Mile High Festival is selling like gangbusters, while the promise of two Radiohead shows isn't helping tickets to the New York-adjacent All Points West festival move as quickly as one might have hoped.
More »
Crocs Inc.—the makers of the ugly, yet allegedly very comfortable rubber shoes that are most famously worn by Mario Batali—is trying to hip up its brand. What better way to do that than by sponsoring some music festivals? The company is throwing money at the likes of All Points West promoter AEG and the people behind Bumbershoot; it's also signed a deal with superpromoter Live Nation that will allow the company to have some sort of "on-site presence" at 25 amphitheaters throughout the country. If ever there was a reason to buy a pair of steel-toed Doc Martens for concertgoing, this is it. [IEG Sponsorship Report via The Daily Swarm]
The All Points West Festival—from the people who brought you Coachella, and set in bucolic Jersey City—has announced the lineup for its inaugural year, and people who wanted to see Radiohead play a show somewhere around New York City are going to be really, really excited, as the band is headlining two of the fest's three nights. They'll top the bill for Aug. 8 and Aug. 9; headlining the Aug. 10 show is 2008 festival staple Jack Johnson, whose Pollstar page is going to look like a list of every major three-day show happening in the US this summer pretty soon. The rest of the roster, which includes Underworld, the Roots, Cat Power, Youssou N'Dour, CSS, Amadou & Mariam, and the Go! Team, follows after the jump.
More »
Idolator