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Virgin Fest Cancelled this summer
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| Swamper |
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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| The Highroller |
| Very ty. It's almost sickening that Toronto can't host any sort of respectable festival. |
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| I_Am_Vince |
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
Very ty. It's almost sickening that Toronto can't host any sort of respectable festival. |
I totally agree :( |
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| ~C~ |
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
Very ty. It's almost sickening that Toronto can't host any sort of respectable festival. |
It really is. Especially since 'Bayfest' in Sarnia (my hometown) gets bigger and bigger each year, and shows no signs of slowing down. The festival got so big, that it now has an entire wknd concentrating on Country, and one on Rock. And Sarnia's population is 73,000! LOL
Weezer this year FTW :D
http://www.sarniabayfest.com/ |
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| jon jon |
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
Very ty. It's almost sickening that Toronto can't host any sort of respectable festival. |
all of the North American dates were scrapped, not just Toronto |
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| Swamper |
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
Very ty. It's almost sickening that Toronto can't host any sort of respectable festival. |
Agreed.
1986 - Houston - Jean Michel Jarre - A City In Concert.
"The occasion for the concert was the conjunction of the 150th anniversary of the City of Houston and the 25th anniversary of NASA. The entire skyline of Houston formed the backdrop for the gigantic show. Huge sheets of canvas were stretched on the facades of the skyscrapers which thereby functioned as screens for laser and light projections that were synchronised with fireworks displays and Jarre’s live musical performance The concert drew a record live audience of 1.3 million people."
This picture makes me want to cry.
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| Shaya007 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Swamper
Agreed.
1986 - Houston - Jean Michel Jarre - A City In Concert.
"The occasion for the concert was the conjunction of the 150th anniversary of the City of Houston and the 25th anniversary of NASA. The entire skyline of Houston formed the backdrop for the gigantic show. Huge sheets of canvas were stretched on the facades of the skyscrapers which thereby functioned as screens for laser and light projections that were synchronised with fireworks displays and Jarre’s live musical performance The concert drew a record live audience of 1.3 million people."
This picture makes me want to cry.
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Speechless!! |
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| kaniz |
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
Very ty. It's almost sickening that Toronto can't host any sort of respectable festival. |
But, but, we have Beats, Breaks and Culture!
And any good festivals we do have (Pride) are now getting so tame and bogged down with beer-garden-cattle-herding that it takes most of the fun and spontaneity away. |
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| Jayx1 |
| it seems that people dont value a good time anymore. They are conditioned to receiving entertainment for free. People are also cocooning into their internet worlds. So when they do venture out, they expect the biggest names for the littlest price. |
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| nadezhda |
virgin fest kind of sucked anyway. besides, iggy and the stooges, and the raveonettes among others(!), are performing here for FREE in yonge dundas square as part of NXNE, which is actually a fairly decent festival.
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
During the Plastikman performance at Hart Plaza at DEMF on Saturday night, they were projecting visuals onto the buildings behind the main stage as part of the performance. |
that was my favourite part. |
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| Swamper |
#tbt
Wasn't that long ago when we didn't have any big outdoor summer parties! |
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