--taken from:
Toronto Star
by Raju Mudhar
After much speculation and some premature announcements by participating artists, the lineup and new location for Virgin Festival Ontario have officially been announced.
As previously reported, it's taking place on Aug. 29 and 30 at Burl's Creek just outside of Barrie, and Nine Inch Nails is headlining the second night of the two-day concert, but the full list of 23 artists playing is quite impressive.
As for the highlights, Ben Harper and Relentless7 are headlining the Saturday portion, with the Pixies, Franz Ferdinand, Grizzly Bear and Sloan also playing. On the Sunday, the Pet Shop Boys, Our Lady Peace, Thunderheist and Couer de Pirate will also be playing. The new location also provides the opportunity for camping, something that hasn't been available in the previous local installments on the Toronto Islands.
"It's kind of a coming age for us, as we think we're going to be providing a true U.K. festival experience," says Andrew Bridge, Virgin Festivals director. "We loved the Islands, it was an amazing venue for the festival but we wanted to grow a bit, and the island has some constraints as it stands in terms of size, and we saw this venue that we loved and it offered camping...If you've been to any European festivals, camping is a big part of it."
In addition to the announced list of performers, who will be playing on two stages, there will also be a third stage for more acts being put together by Virgin Radio. The Ontario installment will be the 10th Virgin Festival in Canada.
As for the premature announcements, Bridge just laughs off the leaks.
"The line I always say is, it's rock 'n' roll, these things happen. We'd like to announce our lineup in its entirety and there's always lots of speculation and to have an artist so excited to play, we're thrilled to have that come out and create some real excitement," he says.After much speculation and some premature announcements by participating artists, the lineup and new location for Virgin Festival Ontario have officially been announced.
As previously reported, it's taking place on Aug. 29 and 30 at Burl's Creek just outside of Barrie, and Nine Inch Nails is headlining the second night of the two-day concert, but the full list of 23 artists playing is quite impressive.
As for the highlights, Ben Harper and Relentless7 are headlining the Saturday portion, with the Pixies, Franz Ferdinand, Grizzly Bear and Sloan also playing. On the Sunday, the Pet Shop Boys, Our Lady Peace, Thunderheist and Couer de Pirate will also be playing. The new location also provides the opportunity for camping, something that hasn't been available in the previous local installments on the Toronto Islands.
"It's kind of a coming age for us, as we think we're going to be providing a true U.K. festival experience," says Andrew Bridge, Virgin Festivals director. "We loved the Islands, it was an amazing venue for the festival but we wanted to grow a bit, and the island has some constraints as it stands in terms of size, and we saw this venue that we loved and it offered camping...If you've been to any European festivals, camping is a big part of it."
In addition to the announced list of performers, who will be playing on two stages, there will also be a third stage for more acts being put together by Virgin Radio. The Ontario installment will be the 10th Virgin Festival in Canada.
As for the premature announcements, Bridge just laughs off the leaks.
"The line I always say is, it's rock 'n' roll, these things happen. We'd like to announce our lineup in its entirety and there's always lots of speculation and to have an artist so excited to play, we're thrilled to have that come out and create some real excitement," he says.
--taken from:
Toronto Star
