Agent Will

This is very cool. I’ve been to big outdoor festivals before from Canada Day at Molson Park in Barrie Ontario (The Tea Party playing with a full moon to close it out was the highlight of the day) to Roskilde Denmark (1998 weeklong festival with numerous bands including Kraftwerk, Bob Dylan, Beastie Boys, Garbage, and so many other great bands mixing up with World Cup played on theatre sized screens outdoors… wow). Nothing beats a good outdoor festival. I can’t stand arena shows with all the echoes and poor sound reproduction. It’s also nice to have everyone be general admission (though front row can be a crushing experience).

Outdoor festivals are where it’s at. No doubt. And now we will have one, too! Pemberton is going to host some very cool bands for those of us not so much into country music (a la Merrit Mountain Music Fest which I hear is a truly good time and will likely go to when the kids are old enough). If you have never seen The Tragically Hip play you may not be 100% Canadian (just kidding, kind of).

From the CBC:

The U.K. has Glastonbury, the U.S. has Coachella and, this summer, Canadians will get a similar type of music festival in the village of Pemberton, B.C.Organizers announced on Friday plans for the first-ever Pemberton Festival, with the fledgling event set to take over the town of about 2,200 — noted for being a picturesque hub for outdoor adventurers and located just 25 kilometres from famed ski resort community Whistler — from July 25-27.

Spearheaded by concert promoters Live Nation and Good Boy Productions, the inaugural festival will feature a host of headliners that include Coldplay, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jay-Z and Nine Inch Nails.

Canadians slated to take part include The Tragically Hip, Sam Roberts Band, Metric, Buck 65, MSTRKRFT and Wintersleep.

The bill will also feature many newer and emerging acts, including Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol, The Flaming Lips, Vampire Weekend, MGMT and The Airborne Toxic Event.

The concert site will feature two stages, a dance tent and a “festival village” — all located at the foot of Mount Currie, with concert-goers able to camp or set up recreational vehicles on-site. Officials will also run a shuttle service to and from Whistler.

As with other massive outdoor music festivals, Pemberton organizers have also vowed to keep the festival as green as possible, with incentives planned for concert-goers arriving via car pool and concessions to feature bounty from local Pemberton Valley farms.

Tickets will go on sale March 28.