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Virgin Fest Cancelled this summer
Virgin Fest cancelled this summer due to economy, lack of headliners
Iggy Pop performs with the Stooges at the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York. The act will give a free show in Toronto as part of a strategy by Virgin, which has decided not to stage Virgin Fest concerts this summer.
A dearth of available talent and continued worries that consumers are cutting back have led to the cancellation of Virgin Festival concerts across Canada, for at least this year.
Shows were staged last year in Toronto, Calgary, Burnaby, B.C., Halifax and Montreal with big-name headliners, including Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, and the Black Eyed Peas.
The festival had some logistical problems, including a change of venue in Toronto after slow ticket sales for a show north of the city.
And the headliner in Halifax, The Tragically Hip, cancelled at the last minute. The festival still went on as scheduled and was turned into a free show.
A spokesman said the problems with last year's shows didn't kill the festival and the decision not to go ahead was just made in recent weeks.
"Those kinds of things, logistics stuff, are not the kinds of things we really pay attention to because that's pretty standard; every event comes with its own challenges and issues," said Nathan Rosenberg, chief marketing officer for Virgin Mobile.
"The economy was a factor in deciding not to stage the shows this summer, as were scheduling conflicts with preferred headline acts.
"We've always had a commitment to provide festivals that we think provide talent that people don't get to see that often, and when you can't get that perfect lineup that we think best represents the brand, then we took that decision that this isn't going to be an event that we would consider right to do."
He said the acts targeted as headliners are touring solo this summer or were otherwise unavailable.
"When we looked at what we were able to get from a talent point of view, it just didn't give us that level of confidence," Rosenberg added.
Virgin Mobile is instead sponsoring free concerts in Toronto and Montreal, including performances by Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Karl Wolf, Bedouin Soundclash and Faber Drive.
In the U.S., the company is organizing Freefest festivals, which are also open to the public.
"We've transitioned our strategy," Rosenberg said, "it kind of just reflects the world we're in at the moment."
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