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Virgin Festival 2009

khris

khris

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Looks like this years Virgin Festival may not be in Toronto, but up between Barrie and Orillia.

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Toronto Virgin Festival Location Mistakenly Revealed?
by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

The Toronto edition of the Virgin Festival could be moving to Burl's Creek Family Event Park in Oro, Ont. this year. Burl's Creek is between Barrie and Orillia and hosted a show by Jack Johnson last year.

A listing (which has since been removed) was published on the Toronto Virgin Festival MySpace page stating the festival would take place at that site on Aug. 29 and 30.

Toronto's Virgin Festival was held at Toronto Island Park last year and featured performances by Oasis, Foo Fighters, Stereophonics, The Kooks, Constantines and others.

No official announcement has been made about the venue or the event's lineup, but we're willing to bet if you take several high profile Canadian bands who are releasing records this year and remove those who are playing Edgefest in June, at least a few of them will play the Toronto Virgin Festival.

Add in a few top international acts like what may be the biggest band in the world right now (who are playing a lot of festivals this summer), and you have a pretty probable lineup.

A Virgin Festival spokesperson told Calgary's 660 News radio station that the event could return to that city again this year. Stone Temple Pilots, The Tragically Hip and The New Pornographers were among those who played the event last year.

Source
 
That's fine. The islands already has the Olympic Island Festival. I love that Olympic Island has essentially become Broken Social Scenes event. They've inherited it the torch from Sloan and I bet they have a fair say in who they want on the bill. So you're bound to get some high quality bands. To this day the best lineup I've ever seen at any show was the inaugural Olympic Island Festival (Death from Above 1979, Arcade Fire, Buck 65. The Constantines, Pilate, The Stills, Broken Social Scene, Sam Roberts and Sloan)


What we need is a 3 day, Coachella/Bonnaroo/Glastonbury/T in the Park/Lollapalooza type event. Put it somewhere on the outskirts of the GTA and let people come for the weekend and camp out. For a market this big, it's a shame we don't have anything like that, but rather we've come to accept these one day festivals and bloated prices. Mind you Virgin was two days last year, but the whole "leave and come back the next day" element kind of reduces that sense of community that you'd experience at other festivals. NXNE has some potential to be an urban version of this, but in comparison to the SXSW cousin, it's fairly puny.
 
Virgin has always been two days. I wish it was like the Virgin festival in Europe with the camping, etc.
They don't even have an electronic music tent at ours. The lineups always consist of the same bands doing the other shows/festivals in North America too. Never one off appearances from an artist who isn't currently touring.

Chances of me going to Virgin Festival if it is up near Orillia is very low. Olympic Island was perfect. The ticket prices not so much, but the venue is awesome.
 
I went to Burl's Creek last August for Jack Johnson's show and it is a fairly decent venue. There was camping for 1 or 2 nights, so maybe that's what they're thinking for V-Fest? The negative was leaving the venue after the show. I didn't camp there, but hung out with friends at their campsite for a few hours, just as the line up of cars to get out was finally through.

That inaugral Olympic Island Festival had a great lineup, but I didn't go. Death from Above is (was?) one of my favourite bands and I never got a chance to see them live.
 
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I went a couple years ago and it was pretty good. Unfortunately headliners Massive Attack cancelled last minute and Broken Social Scene filled in for them. Weak. Aside from that it was good. The Strokes were solid, even though Julian Casablancas is a douche.
 
psychokandy said:
I went a couple years ago and it was pretty good. Unfortunately headliners Massive Attack cancelled last minute and Broken Social Scene filled in for them. Weak. Aside from that it was good. The Strokes were solid, even though Julian Casablancas is a douche.
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BSS always puts on an awesome show though. I'd take them as a headliner over just about any band I can think of.
adma said:
You mean Susan Boyle's not appearing?
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khristopher said:
Are you able to post on topic in any thread,ever?

No guests have been announced yet.
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Gotta agree with you Khristopher. 5000+ posts and I think I've only read a couple words of his that were worth reading. That's if he even posts a word. Sometimes it's just some stupid picture he pulled from a google search.

Anyways, I'm wondering if maybe there's some potential to make Hillside Festival bigger? I haven't gone to it before, but it always attracts great bands (Final Fantasy and Tokyo police Club are already slated for this year) and Guelph is one of those places that seems progressive enough that they'd take to hosting a larger event. They already do the whole camping thing, just not on a mass level.
 
I'd rather Guelph be a festival location over Orillia. It's at least accessible by GO.
I've never heard of this Hillside Festival. I'll have to check it out.
 
jn_12 said:
What we need is a 3 day, Coachella/Bonnaroo/Glastonbury/T in the Park/Lollapalooza type event. Put it somewhere on the outskirts of the GTA and let people come for the weekend and camp out. For a market this big, it's a shame we don't have anything like that,
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Like WEMF? (now defunct?)
or CEMF?

but with less K-tards? I'm so down!


No, seriously.....the lack of "three-days" around here now that WEMF is dead is very unfortunate.

I was planning a three-day with a bunch of local acts on my parents' farm a couple years back.....should have done it.
 
WEMF was going in the right direction when they started to have non electronic music. I really think Destiny should have kept up with it, or found another company to partner with. It's a shame it's gone.
Also, having a permament venue like festivals in Europe have, would really help matters.
 
Holy smokes, on the (off) topic of the Olympic Island Festival, what a lineup: BSS along with Explosions in the Sky, Beach House, Apostle of Hustle. Looking at past lineups as well, I can't believe I've skipped this every year. As for V-Fest, I've lost faith in them ever since they cut the Lips' set short a couple years back. Their lineups have gotten progressively worse too, or at very least, the headliners have. I could probably see all the decent bands for cheaper collectively by going to their solo shows (which most inevitably play).
 
khristopher said:
WEMF was going in the right direction when they started to have non electronic music. I really think Destiny should have kept up with it, or found another company to partner with. It's a shame it's gone.
Also, having a permament venue like festivals in Europe have, would really help matters.
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I thought they were going in the wrong direction with this at first, but then I realised it just made it more grand.

They're basically turning CEMF into this WEMF/rock hybrid. I'm pretty sure a bunch of the Destiny crew are in the lineup at CEMF.

I've placed bets with some friends on whether CEMF becomes the new WEMF which it already kinda is in a few ways.


I don't see how Southern Ontario can't support a serious, permanently-placed three(or five!)-day

There's quite a bit of money, people and free time kicking around this part of the world.
 
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