Fun & frolics at FreeFest
- By Richard Branson -
- Oct 08, 2012
Had a fantastic time at Virgin Mobile's FreeFest, a really unique festival we put on at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
As well as mingling with thousands of happy festival-goers, we were lucky enough to meet some of the artists on the bill. Skrillex gave me a quick lesson on how to DJ - judging from the feedback on Twitter yours truly should definitely stick to the day job!
Also braved a slightly rusty ladder to climb onto the roof of the stage to welcome everybody to FreeFest and spray a bottle of champagne or two over the crowd.
We had a great handing out free drinks behind the Re*Generation Bar too. Nervo, the twins you can see in the photo above, joined me after they had played an exciting set over in the Dance Forest. We tried out a few new haircuts too - more on that soon.
There were plenty of brilliant bands on show. I particularly enjoyed Alabama Shakes, as well as Ben Folds Five and Nervo. Sadly missed ZZ Top, as I hear their dog was running around onstage with them!
What sets FreeFest apart though is the way it gives people the chance to do good while having fun. Virgin Mobile’s ‘Free IP’ programme allowed fans to earn tickets by volunteering their time to help homeless youths. Last year FreeFest donations built the Virgin Mobile RE*Generation House, a homeless youth shelter in Washington, DC.
Can't wait to share with you what FreeFest has achieved in 2012. Now, where did I put my decks?
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
