Thank you, Free Press, for giving Houston a music festival that's been long overdue. I must admit that I expected a couple thousand people at this gathering, but so many more thousands proved be wrong; braving the scorching temperatures all in the name of good tunes, I couldn't even give you a number to how many folks were in attendance. There was just a sea of people ... everywhere. This was was a great crowd, a good mix of teens living up their final days of summer, parents and their hippie babies, hotties, notties and above all, a really excited group of locals proud to have this festival right in their backyard. Let me say that with the craziness to the left and a beautiful Houston skyline to the right, it was surreal. And I didn't know Houston had so many hippies, either. There were tons of restrooms (non of which I used), hand sanitizing stations, beer, grub, a volleyball action, lots of local vendors selling clothing, art, cigs and other "festival must-haves," A/C cooling tents, water misters, a VIP tent serving hard alcohol and two stages with great lighting and sound showcasing more than 50 acts. Just two drawbacks: It pained me to see all the metal Budweiser beer bottles thrown in the trash; and the line/ticket situation. Those who purchased their tickets early online, saving a few bucks, ended up spending as much as three hours waiting in line at will call. Whoa. (They did warn to arrive early to avoid this!) But those who were purchasing that day? Eh, some paid and played within minutes. Next year, either spend the few extra bucks to buy then and there ... or maybe they'll work out a better sitch. But keep in mind that they ran out of two-day passes on the first day! Kudos to the staff for allowing people bring in a few snacks and water bottles, cause like I said, it was hot! Once again, Free Press and Omar, thanks for working your little tails off to host this and congrats on such a tremendous success. Can't wait til next year! read more

Free Press Summerfest - Festivals Near Me - Houston, Texas

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"On an island in the sun We'll be playing and having fun" Free Press SummerFest! It's about time people get used to Houston having a bad ass music festival. I'm tired of hearing about Coachella, Lollapalooza, Sasquatch, and Voodoo Fest. It's just a matter of time before FPSF becomes a place people around the nation travel to. This year was great! (besides the heat). It didn't rain, which could be a negative or a positive, as opposed to last year. This year brought a much bigger crowd, maybe because WEEZER owns FLAMING LIPS, but either way the headliner is getting much better. Also I felt this year the local bands/smaller bands were better performances overall. I found a couple that I really enjoyed and was able to stand literal inches away from them. There were so many stages with so many different performers to watch I couldn't figure out which one to see and which one I'd have to miss. Even though it's a huge music festival, we're still in Texas, so you still get that Southern Hospitality, people are still really nice, not pushing, and yelling, over a spot. Don't get me wrong you still get crazy dancing and even some crowd surfing by the end. The promoters of this event do a great job of bringing together, a perfect mix of music, food, activities, and giveaways! OH YEAH! Fireworks at the VERY END. I can't wait to see who they have in store for next year! "We'll run away together We'll spend some time forever We'll never feel bad anymore" read more

Summefest 2011 came and went, but I still have fond memories or great music, people, and food. Despite the intense heat, the music aficionados still came out to support their favorite groups. I definitely enjoyed the stretch of Chromeo, Cut Copy & Weezer on Sunday night this year. Merchandise lines were quick and well-staffed, and I was able to rock a discounted $10 summerfest tshirt just before the final concert with Weezer. The layout of the concert stages was well spread out and allowed for easy movement between groups with plenty of cool little vendors in between. I was also a big fan of the food tents that came out this year. Moon Tower Inn, Pagoda, and a slew of other local eateries came out to feed the masses. Overall, it was a great party at the park, and I wouldn't mind coming back again next year! read more

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Great music festival here in Houston, and if you're a diehard music fan of certain types of music and large crowds, then this is definitely your scene. For 2015, they moved the festival to the Yellow Lot of NRG Park and had 7 stages. I thought the location change was going to make it worse, but I liked the venue location and from what I've heard from others that went, they preferred the concrete "parking lot" to the wet grass and dirt. You can wear nicer clothes and shoes on the concrete of course without having to worry about them getting too dirty. I only visited on Day 2 (Sunday) when most of the musical acts were electronic, rock and alternative type music. My favorites included: Skrillex, Major Lazer, Weezer, GTA, Flogging Molly and Flume. Sadly, I missed Steve Angello and Tove Lo. Plenty of restrooms (port a potty's) although the lines were long, food trucks, food booths, drink booths, people watching cause there were some crazy outfits people were wearing, interactive experiences (i.e., 3D show for $5.99), and good times to be had. read more

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Order of events on Sunday, June 6 2010: 1. Leave for Summerfest. 100 degrees in the car. Make executive decision to stop for snocones before concert. Takes 15 minutes in blistering sun to get snocones. Friend complains, "It's hottttt." 2. Arrive in downtown and park. Get out of car. Immediately starts raining. Find shelter under Allen Parkway overpass. See bum showering in rainwater. Looks happy. Friend complains, "It's wettttt." 3. Thunderstorm subsides, but still raining. Make executive decision to head to festival. First wrap phones in t-shirt and stuff in pockets to make sure doesn't get wet. Gets kind of nippy with the rain and the wind. Make a dash for it. Friend complains, "It's colddddd." 4. Arrive at festival. Mudfest galore. See people sliding down the hill. Start pounding Dos Equis. Convince another friend to slide down hill. Try to make my way down the hill to see the madness. On way down, accidentally slip and get pants mud-soaked. Don't see friend slide. Cops close down mudslide. Lose friends. Oh well. Buy more beer. 5. Find friends randomly. Find famous crepe stand but closed until rain subsides. Promise to come back later. Catch Stars playing. Wait for "Your Ex-Lover is Dead." Satisfied with Stars. 6. Sun is out. Considerably hungry. Wait in crepes line for 20 minutes only to be told they're sold out. Sucks. Mosey farther along. Find a Panda Express stand. Cheap Chinese never tasted so good. Get more beer. Listen to Slim Thug & Bun B. Lots of Pimp C references. Pour one for my homies. 7. Sun has set. Flaming Lips. The bubble. Here about Yoshimi fighting some robots or something. Confetti. Friend complains, "This is awesomeeee." Great success. read more

Free Press Summerfest - Festivals Near Me - Houston, Texas

Guys. I finally figured out how to do a music festival if you're over the sweaty mass thing, and just want to sit and listen to nice music. Because I'm no longer in the young, carefree age, and rapidly approaching the crotchety mindset, I require more amenities. So how to properly "do" a music festival on your day off from baby showers and weddings? You spring for the expensive ticket. Yes. But no sweat, you've been saving for this like a responsible adult. But why should you? Air conditioned toilets. Meals. Side stage access. Parking Free beer and water. If I didn't win this argument at "air conditioned," then nothing will save you from the sweaty masses in hipsterwear. Here are the deets (as the cool kids call it): meals are 12-3, and 5-8pm--don't be late, because all the food will be gone (as we found out); bring ear plugs (your geriatric ears need protection); you can bring minimal cash, because you've already paid for everything up front; sunblock; ear plugs; sunglasses; hat. The sidestage entrances are back away from the stage, so that you can get to the stage without wading through the huge crowd. It was a really nice to avoid the crowds and get to where you want to be. Also a nice perk was a small tent with limited seating, because, you know you're not physically what you used to be (and standing for 8 hrs is really hard on the back). Because the years and my desk job have been hard on my body, and my stomach area is...not as firm as it used to be, I opted for running clothes for its moisture wicking properties. And shoes you don't mind getting muddy. While you're feet won't be encased in mud (free spa treatment!), with all the water flowing, it can get pretty dicey on the ground. I also recommend closed toed shoes with backs to prevent scrapes on anything that can give you an infection. This year it was particularly smart to have some sort of closed toed shoes because of the rain. People complained about the lightning in the area that caused the organizers to evacuate everyone, but I feel like complainers aren't properly scared of lightening, liability, and lawsuits. Personally, I evacuated to the public library for some light reading (while furiously pushing refresh on my twitter feed). Of course this is still Houston, and you need to be prepared for the sun, so cover yourself in sunblock and bug spray, and top it off with hat and sunglasses. One criticism that I have of this year is that the stages were all out of order. The stages were: Saturn, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars. An Jupiter was like the tiniest stage. Have some respect from astronomy and put it in order!! It's hard to tell if you're going the right way, when you're going from the Neptune stage to the Venus stage, and more annoying to find out you went the wrong way. Also, some acts were in comically small stages. Like DMX at the Mercury stage. The crowd spilled out onto Allen Parkway and beyond. Why was Welcome to Houston not on the Mars stage? Literally everyone was there, and it seems the Mars stage would have been better suited. These are all planning issues that could be better. I did see a few people faint, and it seems that a few of the volunteers weren't trained in what to do. A few of them had a deer-in-the-headlights look and went to get a staff member, who would tell the volunteer to get some water. It was even more difficult when people would faint in the middle of a large crowd, so it was hard to get to, and resulted in a lot of people from the fancy areas handing out water over the barrier, and trying to get volunteers who didn't know what to do, to do something. So meticulously plan your music schedule like it's your best friend's baby shower, and do this awesome music festival like the responsible adult that you are. read more

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I'm super impressed that HTOWN hosts this music festival with approx 100 musical acts, over 100,000 attendees last year walking distance from my house! The acts were first class: Snoop Dogg, Willy Nelson, Afrojack, R3HAB, Major Lazer, Pretty Lights, Erykah Badu The Avett Brothers, Flaming Lips, Primus and whole bunch of other acts and bands I fell in love with for the first time at FPSF. VIP-Fancy pants is so worth it, tents were nicely furnished and bar lines were short. Perfect from getting away from the high heat if you can't bear it. I happen to love the Houston summers here because I'm an island boy at heart. Mark my words #FPSF will continue to get bigger and better each year as Houstonians demand these type of events in their city. And for the blind pre-sale price of $100 for a VIP ticket to a two-day music fest with big acts is a steal!! It's the cheapest festival of this kind in the country. In fact I'm sending invitations to a bunch of my friends in Los Angeles for this year's fest. The setting is absolutely one of a kind and beautiful using the elevations of the Bayou as a natural amphitheater with the Houston city skyline behind you. It's super rad. This is a must for anyone into music and summer fun who's in Houston June 1-2, 2013. Can't wait for it to come. If you see me holla at Mark G!!! read more

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"I feel so close to you right now," the thousands-deep crowd belted out in unison with Calvin Harris at the head, and I couldn't help but think how a propos (literally and figuratively) that lyric was. The crowd was huge at the sold out festival, but somehow the lines (entry, consessions, portapotties) were completely reasonable. Eleanor Tinesly Park could not be a better setting for an event such as this. In all my years of being, this was my first bona fide music festival experience. Here's what I learned: 1. Don't take a cab. It was so hard to get a return cab at the end of the first night. If you're planning on drinking, I'd suggest taking the Wave. Otherwise, there are plenty of lots and even street parking nearby. Biking was also a popular option. 2. Do spring for Fancy Pants tickets. You better believe I will be purchasing that option during the blind presale for next year. Why? Two words. Air conditioning. There are other perks too, but getting relief from the hot, hot sun for a few minutes will significantly improve morale. 3. Don't overdo it on the booze. Seriously. It's so easy to have sober fun at this festival, but one way to not have fun is by losing your brother, sitting on the curb, vomming, and remaining at the mercy of other sun-drunk festival goers. My suggestion is to stick to water during the day and drink it up as the sun starts to go down. 4. Do designate a meeting spot. I was reminded of the age before cell phones because while trying to help above mentioned girl we realized it was extremely difficult if not impossible to get a text out and cell phones were going straight to voicemail. 5. Don't be too rigid with your concert going plans. Some artists will be late, some will start early. Pay attention to your must-sees and set up shop early. Also, try to see some people you've never heard of. That's the beauty of music fests. 6. Do pack strategically. Bring the things you need (sunscreen, small ground cover to sit, water bottle, booze...wait, what?) in as small form as possible. You don't want to find yourself maneuvering through the crowds with giant bags. People will be annoyed if you hit them in the head. Now that my music festival cherry has been popped, I can't wait for more. You know what they say: Once you pop, the fun don't stop! read more

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I've been to FPSF twice in my 3 years in Houston, and I've loved my experience both times. Yes, the weather is hot and humid, but it's all part of the music festival experience! I haven't been to any other music festivals, but I'd say FPSF is a fantastic starting point. The 2014 line-up was not as impressive as the 2013 line-up (in terms of the bands that I liked), so I decided to volunteer for my festival entry this year. Honestly, it was not a bad trade-off. I still got to see my top artist (Zedd) along with performances by CHVRCHES and Childish Gambino. The Golden Grill gave volunteers $2 off meals, and Coreanos even let us cut the line dinner line! I thought the main stages + surrounding areas for 2014 were awkwardly set up as compared to 2013. More elevation at the Saturn stage would have been very useful. They also placed bands such as CHVRCHES and Cage the Elephant, bands that drew large crowds, at a relatively small stage where all the traffic was. I definitely preferred the 2013 layout and distribution of stages. Tips for surviving Free Press: - check the weather for chance of rain - bring a water bottle; there are free water stations throughout the park - extra phone battery - wear sunscreen - small bills & ID - sunglasses - wear comfortable shoes you don't mind ruining - make sure to keep your wristband on for both days; they will not let you in if it looks like your wristband has been damaged - if you leave after 5pm, you won't be able to reenter the festival I'm already excited for the 2015 line-up, and the festival was only 2 days ago... read more

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Many times, I'm deterred from going to these large music festivals when I think about the expensive tickets, traffic, the heat, the impossible crowds, etc. I get exhausted and annoyed just thinking about it! Summerfest was none of the above. My ticket was about $80 when purchased early on in the year. Parking structures were a mere few blocks away. No crappy burgers or hotdogs to be found. They recruited some of the top food trucks and food vendors in the area. Water bottle filling stations were scattered throughout the park. The lineup was really something amazing this year. Some people set up blankets and watched musicians from atop hills. Some people boogied and jammed from up close to the stage. Some people sat in trees and got a fantastic view from above. The magic of it all was the mass of people all joining to listen to some really great music. I can't wait to come back next year! read more

I had heard of this event for quit some time and I was finally able to attend Free Press Summer Fest in 2013. I had previously attended Lollapalooza so I of course could not help but to compare the two and I was extremely impressed with Free Press. Of course, the HUGE downfall with this festival is how extremely hot it is in June. I am not going to lie... around 2 PM it is miserable. Do not let this be your reason why you don't attend though! If the heat is an issue for you they offer the Fancy Pants tickets which is more expensive but it does provide you AC. If you are a Texas native Free Press heat is a walk in the park! Moving on... the rest of the festival was amazing! The music, food, crowd, drinks, and the vendors all made for an incredible experience. MUSIC: The artists that performed at FPSF were all so diverse. If you love hip hop, folk, or EDM (in my case I love all three) there is performance for you to enjoy! There were so many musical acts I didn't even know of and when I left FPSF I immediately downloaded their albums! FOOD: Make sure to bring cash! I believe you can use credit/debit however having cash makes things a lot easier. There were a ton of food options to choose from everything from pizza to asian food to burgers. Free Press has anything to satisfy your craving! OVERALL EXPERIENCE: After FPSF was over I was genuinely sad. I was born and raised in Houston and Free Press is by far my most cherished Houston memory! Eleanor Tinsely Park couldn't be more perfect for this event. It highlights the city in such a way that make you feel proud to be in Houston! Things to bring: Bring cash Empty camelback (you have to purchase water at the festival) Sunblock Hand sanitizer Extra toilet paper (just in case they run out towards the end of the night) Counting the day for FPSF 2014!!! read more

Free Press Summerfest - Festivals Near Me - Houston, Texas

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This years 2011 Summerfest was great. The crowd was even larger than last year and people went wild! I got a free tote, baseball hat, shorts, buttons, soyjoy bars, energy drinks etc. all these different tents were promoting their business/ products so Yey! for free stuff (got those on the first day around the first 2-3 hours of when the festival started). They allow you to bring your own empty bottle and they have water refill stations to keep people from dehydrating especially in the super heat of 100 degree weather and full on sunlight. 1. So sunscreen is very important! 2. Small towel for individual or blanket for group to sit/ lay on the hill is nice because the grass/dry mud really sticks on you especially when you become sweaty, but be prepared for it to get dirty! 3. Keep hydrated! Bring your own bottle for refills! 4. Bring some small bills of cash 5. Wear comfortable clothing that you will feel like you can breath in because the more popular bands get bigger crowds = more body heat + SUN = Freaking Hot!!!!!! Attire for a good amount of girls were swimsuit tops with/without light shirt/ thank top and shorts. Guys wore swim trunks/shorts, with/without t-shirt. I saw one guy wearing jeans with cowboy boots and a button up t-shirt, I bet he was dying under that and he was the only person dressed like that from what I could see. He didn't get the post-it-note about Houston summer heat I suppose. Parking is not bad at all got into a lot nearby for $3 and it was an easy walk to the entrance. This years big closing band was Weezer. Excellent! :) Summerfest t-shirts went down to $10 each at the end of the night the 2nd day. read more

So I'm sitting here at work, blasting Passion Pit's iconic "Sleepyhead" through my headphones on full volume and munching on one of the, what, like BILLION free Cracker Jack snack-bags they were handing out yesterday (yeah, thanks FPSF, I'm set on munchies fo' lyfeeee), trying to bring myself back to that magical, almost euphoric setting of the EPICNESS that is Free Press Summerfest 2013. It's only been 12 hours since I left and I'm already having major withdrawals -- the music, the people, all the amazing energy and hype just radiating off all of us during those two days... freakin crazy. I swear, if you collected all of our good vibes and wrapped it up in a pretty little package, you could probably end a civil war somewhere. Yes, it was like 100 degrees outside. And yes, I nearly died in that sweltering heat. Everyone was melting. But I mean, whatever, you know? It's Houston. It's part of the grand package. And in my opinion, FPSF did a damn good job at making everyone as comfortable as they possibly could when it came to something so incredibly out of their control: there were numerous water stations set up all over the park for your re-filling pleasure; water mist stations for you to cool off in; paper fans being handed out left and right; free snacks to keep your energy up -- so chin up, buttercup! There's food trucks to visit. There's merch to buy. There's music to jam to -- 8 stages-worth of music, in fact. And this year's line-up was awesome: Calvin Harris, Passion Pit, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (fellow Texans fans, there was a J.J. Watt sighting at the end of that one!), Postal Service, Arctic Monkeys, Matt & Kim, Bassnectar, 2 Chainz, Of Monsters and Men, Alabama Shakes, etc. I know a line-up of 80+ bands is a *tad* much, but there's something for everyone -- whether you're swaying to the soft crooning of Cat Power, grinding something dirty to 2 Chainz, jumping and fist-pumpin' to Calvin Harris, or just going flat-out m'f*kn RIDICULOUS to Bassnectar. (Yes, I will admit to doing all 4. No shame no game, kiddos!) When you're not lost in the music, explore. Like I said, there's food truck and food stand galore. Orrrr you can be smart like me and pack a cooler of goodies to leave in your car and have yourself a fantastic parking garage picnic party. Since you're free to wander in and out of the park (with your wristband, of course), why the hell not? My party parked in a garage ($10 garage parking is TOTALLY worth it, btw) not too far away and people would walk by and stare at us hanging out, eating sandwiches, drinking beers... and I'm preeeetty sure I saw envy in their eyes. Then, after a 10min nap and a shot or two, my peeps and I were back in the game. In the end, FPSF was an incredible experience. In-between the heatwaves and occasional choking on second-hand weed smoke (yeah, that'll happen a lot), I found myself just drinking in all the amazing collective energy of everyone around me. We were just a bunch of young stupid kids having the time of our lives and not giving a dizaaaamn. :) Oh, and "1-star" Jesse K., I sincerely hope you enjoyed all that "bump thump bass" nonsense going on from Bassnectar last night. We made sure to go **EXTRA** hard for you, bud! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, FPSF!! read more

Free Press Summerfest - FPSF '13: 2 Chainz, Passion Pit, Calvin Harris, and a picnic in our friend's car (if you're smart, you'll do the same!) - Festivals Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Holy mother of all that is good and pure, it was hotter than a pressure cooker, encased in a sauna, buried in the bowels of hell. Or considerably hotter than what I'm comfortable with (my parents never let us increase the AC beyond 80/81 so I'm not like a total pansy). Saturday was miserable and I wore a dark navvy dress deceptively constructed of semi-breathable material. This of course is not FPSF organizer's fault, but I actively had to TRY not to pass out (so yeah, I'm prone to fainting, awesome, right?). The lack of shade did little to mitigate the sweltering heat factor . . . Also, I get myself sunburned maybe once a year, at that. Guess who got sunburned? ME. Just remember to always apply your sunscreen before you put on your dress, because you will miss critical shoulder/back areas when your dress shifts about during the day. Sunday was better as it rained earlier on in the day and we only committed ourselves to two of the acts. So. How about those massive sell-out festival crowds? One of my favorite past times is waiting seemingly over 45+ minutes in a food line to place an order - NOT. After twenty minutes of no movement, I gave up and stomped back to our little area. However, I will say that despite being shoulder to shoulder with random sweaty smelly strangers, most of the festival-goers were extremely considerate and polite while shuffling by and through us. Yes, we were all exasperated with the abrupt nearly completely static traffic jams, but we sighed and rolled our eyes at the situation and not at one another . . . which kind of made me feel better about humanity. Oh, and we observed a poor plastered fellow, 25 yards away, face-down on the Mars stage hill, vomiting his brains out at 11 a.m. on Saturday (amateur!). A group of rambunctious college kids actually stopped to offer him water and stay with him while two members of the group alerted the medics to scenario before running off to dance and shout with their other friends. Awww. The porta potties were rather plentiful and I did appreciate the Fancy Pants tents - ahhh! Good thinking with the free water stations . . . I actually freakishly obsess about heat exhaustion and dehydration - (insert something about my curious childhood or psychologically exaggerated news reports). The food lines did slim down later on in the day and there was a healthy amount of vegetarian/vegan options. I don't really have much to add with regards to the musical artists. Pretty stellar job, the ones I actually made it to, because at some point I was just like, "EFF IT, I WANT TO SHOWER AND SLEEP," on Sunday. No shoot, I am officially too old to participate in outdoor music festivals. If you need anything, I'll be in the corner, indoor somewhere, AC blasting, collecting my cats, and knitting matching sweaters for all of them. YOLO! read more

Wow. I'm impressed. I'm a SXSW and ACL veteran many times over. I can honestly say I think FPSF 2012 was better than ACL. The lineup was good, though perhaps not quite as great as ACL, there was tons of shade, easily available water and mister tents, and easy entry. The line out front on Saturday for General Admission was long as hell, but we quite literally walked up to the Fancy Pants entrance and directly through. The Fancy Pants tents were well worth the money - the Anvil (a well reviewed mixology bar) had cocktails and decent beer on tap for reasonable (for a festival) prices, and there was a fenced off outdoor area that could see the respective stages. There was also a Fancy Pants only platform area at each large stage that I really enjoyed. I'm too old (over 25 and that's all I'm saying) to be getting up in the crowd of sweaty college boys... wait... sweaty college boys? MMmmmmm.... Anyway, I dug the whole thing. I know that being in Eleanor Tinsley park had a lot to do with it; the large hills and tons of shade made *ALL* the difference compared to Zilker Park and ACL. There were tons of places you could see the stage without having to be four billion miles away, and you were in the shade while you did it. If you go, DEFINITELY get the Fancy Pants. It's still only around $100 a person, and the perks are totally worth it. Cons? Well, the staff kept driving carts down the main "street", delivering ice and such to booths (I assume), but I really felt it was disruptive. The walking areas were fairly crowded, and the vehicles caused everyone to have to smash up together so they could get through. Next year, FPSF, make sure you make a little closed off road for the golf cart things so they don't plow through us. Also, I stood in line at three different ATM booths and watched as they ran out of money OVER AND OVER again. Eight physical ATMs ran out of money in the 45 minutes or so I was waiting in line for them. So, two pieces of advice - first, bring cash in the first place. Second, FPSF, get more ATMs. Like, double the amount. It's not like it costs you anything more than producing one more ATM flag, and you know you make a cut of that $5 transaction fee. Everyone wins! Maps. Dude, WHAT. THE. EFF. We missed Bad Veins because we couldn't figure out where anything was. Better signage, and hand out a map to EVERYONE when they get their wristband. By the time I found one of the two or three signs in the pictures, it was too late. Still, on a whole, I think the whole general experience was a bit better than ACL, despite the cons. The location is perfect, and I suggest they re-book it for next year. My swears-he's-not-a-hipster-boyfriend and I will be there again if you do. read more

Call me a selective summerfester. I only attended those bands I wanted to see and only when the rain stopped. Still, I caught at least 5 of the acts and can still say Summerfest rocks. Here is my breakdown for the two day mugasim (music + o...) 1. Keep the ticket prices down. A two day music festival for between $22 bucks for those early birds and $44 for the latecomers. SCORE. 2. Please, please please rethink allowing bands to play on the side stage when the main act is on. I was more than peeved when the Pantera wannabes were still screaming about death when Wayne Coyne's birth began. I kept thinking it was going to end, but it didn't. Eventually I moved but I heard another act even came on after them. The Flaming Lips were profound and these bands totally interrupted the experience. 3. I may own one album called "feed the animals." However, I totally lost respect for all friends who think Girl Talk is cool after seeing a dude armed only with waiving hands and a mac book. WEAK SAUCE. I can hear him laughing to the bank. Dude's a DJ packing stadiums. 4. Love having it at the ET park. Sweet spot. Keep it up. 5. Wayne Coyne, you make me want to be a groupie. Please come back to Summerfest like you promised. read more

This was my first FPSF and I had an awesome time. Of course the heat was amazing, it was Houston in June; I'm amazed how many people seemed surprised by this. The lineup this year was amazing with The Postal Service, Bassnectar, Passion Pit, Calvin Harris, Monsters and Men and many other great bands. My favorite show had to have been Postal Service, but I was almost as impressed with, and had a great deal of fun with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. They did a cover of war pigs that was out of this world. There was a huge lineup of food and drink stands at FPSF. They had some of Houston's great eateries serving up some goodies. Chilantro was a popular stop for me and there was a natural soda booth, sorry i forgot the name =(, that let you buy a commemorative mug and have free refills all day, with ICE!!! By far the best deal there. My only complaint was the entire event was along a very narrow path in the park so people traffic built up along the walk way. This also meant that every stage was located down a straigh line through the park so walking from one end to the other was a bit of a jaunt. The two big stages were located at the bottom of hills which was great for times when you just wanted to sit and listen and not rock it with the crowd at the stage. Overall I had a great time with my friends and will definitely be looking into the 2014 show. read more

Free Press is trying to help put Houston on the map! Well, at least the up-and-coming music festival map. I've attended FPSF the last two years and couldn't have been more happy! The only downside was the exhaustive heat, and I'm hoping the sponsors will take the heat into consideration when planning the dates of next year's event! The headliners this year, Weezer, totally brought it home. I don't even remember the last time they played a show in Houston, so for me it was a total win. I enjoy FPSF, because it also exposes me to bands I may have never heard otherwise. Not only do they work to showcase local talent, they also bring in independent artists from across the globe. From flash dance mobs, to retired hippies coming out of retirement - you can get some great people watching in at this event. I brought my 13 year old niece with me, and even though she's not a fan of heat or crowds she really enjoyed the music. And in the end, that's what it's all about! Good times and great memories made! read more

There's something visceral and somewhat sado/masochistic about having an outdoor music festival in Houston in June. That said, what a party Houston turned out in Elanor Tinsley! They thankfully closed down Allen Parkway and turned what was a peaceful park along the bayou in to a fairground of rock. Headlining was Girl Talk and Flaming Lips, with awesome appearances by Mix Master Mike and Slim Thug. I'd say, much more alt and cool than other Summerfests (headliner TimMcgraw? ZZZ...). Sunday afternoon on the second day of the festival, it started raining, turning the bayou ledge in to a sludge, giving no mercy to those stuck there all day, and raining out Dead Prez (which was a damn shame; they started at the same time as the Flaming Lips, and like hell I'm missing them.). Also, giant ball. Kinda awesome how you have 3 people from Austin staying over at your place in Houston to go to a music festival. Oh, and the Mayor of Montrose has apparently legalized cannabis, so go tell your local cops this if they bust you. :p Rock on, Space City. read more

This fucking thing is so fucking great that it makes me want to fucking curse more than i fucking do in any regular sentence. FUCK YEAH. Only thing that i hated was over priced food and beverage. read more

ive been to all of the free press summerfests. Its been a great journey to see Houston rise in the music festival scene. The rise in popularity doesn't come just from money and lineups. The draw is the location on a hill with a gorgeous view of the city! the diverse audience ready for hip hop, metal or folk ! The weather can be hit or miss but always a bit toasty. The food trucks and free giveaways are always pretty high class. Overall, FPSF has really become on of my favorite festivals up there with ACL and Fun Fun Fun Fest. read more

I really can't complain about anything aside from the rain. But, that was uncontrollable, and it's far better to see people getting soaked in rain rather than passing out from heat exhaustion. 1. Prices! Cheap tickets, for some great bands. (I'm seeing Stars this fall and paid $20 just for them.) Food/drinks weren't terribly over-priced either, idk what FP is doing to keep prices so low, but keep it up. 2. Loaction! The main stage being on a hill made every "seat" a good one, and the houston skyline in the background of this lush park was beautiful. it really enhanced the atmosphere. 3. Security! I didn't see much in the way of security, but unlike other festivals, I won't name any names *Warped Tour* the security was there enough for me not to notice anyone getting out of hand w moshing or throwing things on stage. At the same time, the security was relaxed about many things ... which was great. Overall it was a very, very good experience that has me looking forward to next summer. read more

This past year was AWESOME!!! Even with the rain/ crazy storm alert, which clearly the staff have no consensus on how to instruct the patrons, it was so much fun. There's still some stuff I think they could get better: the water refill station was an attempt at plumbing. Having tried this myself at home, I can attest to how plumbing is almost NEVER a novices game, it failed poorly. It just leaked water all over the ground and with water supply shortages that's a very bad thing. People made do, but I think they'll learn for next year. The best advances were the congestion wasn't irritated by poorly placed setups, ie: ads for cars...., but one stage was chosen for acts with such a huge audience and that meant it was almost impossible to get out or around that stage without just walking down the hill, more than 200 feet from the stage. But with those few gripes, we really enjoyed it. Awesome acts, the food options were pretty good, we did have some tummy trouble (2 of us) that ate at one place, too bad really, it was actually good! Looks like they're learning, one year at a time. We'll be back, Houston is fun, the people are awesome, best place to see and interact with cool people. Plus, really awesome bands, which is really why we go! read more

FPSF2012 was my first full music festival and I had such a GREAT time that I've already purchased my fancy pants pass for 2013. Parking was $5 a day at the Allen Center garage. I recommend taking advantage of it. There were always plenty of spots and it saved time from scouring for parallel street parking. As for the line on the first day, yes it was long and the sun was unforgiving. If the festival continues at the rate it has, they might want to consider a third entry point. Bring a big, empty water bottle, too. There's free filling stations scattered throughout to keep you hydrated. Sunscreen will be your best friend; keep it on deck. Even I needed it! Saturday brought some logistical issues with the Jeep area and the mega-merch table creating a bottle neck in the middle of the festival, but by Sunday both areas were scaled back and broken up. Good thinking on their part. Food and drink is plentiful with lots of diversity in the options. With Houston's blossoming food truck scene, maybe a few more will get in on the action next year. The alyout of the park really made it easy to get a good view of everything. be forewarned, those hills are TRICKY. You have to approach them at the right angle if you dont want to tumble to bottom. MAke sure you have the right shoes! As for the acts, I think they had a good variety. I got to see Turquoise Jeep, Phantogram, Snoop Dogg, Major Lazer, Willie Nelson, and Fitz and The Tantrums just to name a few. As the festival grows, I expect even bigger artists to participate. Should bring some good surprises! I will say that the schedule needed some tweaking. Snoop Dogg and Erykah Badu's sets overlapped and were on two different stages. I wish they would have spaced those two out a little further. Overall I had a blast. Can't wait to see what the future holds. Houston NEEDS something like this and I'm glad it's getting some love. read more

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I will go again! The lines weren't the worst, bathrooms were spaces out. The bands played spaced out well you could catch a lot in one day. Fancy pants it worth it. I needed A/C a few times during the day. The rapid entry was a huge plus. Day one Sat the line to get in without it was a wait up to an hour. I saw a dozen bands. All of them are online, and each stage was set up where you could get as close or as far back as you wanted. Pros- Good people goo music. Prices for food were high but that ok its a fest and I had philly cheese steak sandwich 8 bucks, got full. I had pizza $5 was a huge slice like a foot long lasted a long time. They made vegetarian stands. They had free water. They had lots of places to drink and space to sit and eat. The quality of all of the performances was excellent. The energy was high the djs sets were a lot of fun. Cons- The heat!!! They gave out free SPF so that was great. Tickets for Fancy pants for 2 days were 100. Worth it. read more

I think it's cool Houston has a festival and all...but I wasn't impressed with the way it's set up. From people throwing their trash on the ground to the once filled with grass but now destroyed patches with mud. I left the festival feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. read more

This was my first freepress. Let me tell you this: IT'S HOT!! If you're serious about this then buy the air conditioned passes to give yourself a break from the heat, you're going to need it. Drink TONS of water. Dehydration is no fun! Go early to bands you really want to see...the larger the name of the band the more likely you are to only hear and not actually SEE the band at all. They have plenty of bands to choose from. Love the app and ability to plan your schedule. MANY food options, a lot of food truck options. Booze is pricy and lines are long so if you're serious about that then double fist. Parking can be tough..try biking or taking a cab, it will likely be easier and/or cheaper. They check backpacks but not too thoroughly if you hear what I'm saying. Wink. Wink. Not that I smuggled anything in myself but saw a variety of items that certainly made it by security. Bring something to sit on if that's your thing. Dress cool, stay cool, wear pants...and you'll be good! Enjoy! read more

This was my first year at FPSF, and it was a solid success. The lineup was perfection, and I think I prefer 2-day festivals to 3-day festivals at this point. It's difficult to properly rock out 3 days in a row. The sound was pretty good, with the exception of the speakers cutting out for about 30 seconds during Arctic Monkey's set. It was reasonably easy to get a good spot for every show we wanted to see. The only times it felt crowded were at times on the main road when walking between stages, and especially when the festival ended on Saturday night, it turned into a cattle call. Thank god we left an hour early on Sunday. There was a mad rush to the stage by idiots who wanted to see Bassnectar after TV on the Radio's set which involved a lot of pushing and yelling. The crowd was on average much younger than your average festival, with a few dad rockers thrown in for good measure. Food and drink selections were plentiful and readily available without much of a wait. After dealing with the lack of free water at Coachella (forcing you to then spend $2/bottle), it was extremely refreshing to see so many free water refill stations at FPSF. We did get into it with the pizza guys for not giving us a refund for a cold slice of pizza that cost $6, but I guess that's how festival food management goes. Try the popsicle truck! Thankfully, while Houston in June is inevitably hot, the weather wasn't too bad this year. I've heard horror stories about the heat and lines to get into this festival in the past, so we opted for the fancy pants passes, which I felt were completely unnecessary. If I ever come back to this festival, I will be buying regular GA. There were never any lines at either of the gates and I'm not sure I ever saw a fancy pants viewing platform - if it existed it must have been far away from the stage and thus useless. The biggest disappointment were the fancy pants tents. The "air conditioning" was nonexistent, and in some cases it was warmer in the tents than outside, especially on Saturday. We got no fancy pants freebies at ALL. Don't bother. Eleanor TInsley Park is an interesting location...it's impossibly close to downtown and several parking garages, and its sloped hills make for much better sightlines than at flatter festivals. However, there was almost no grass on the ground, and so the little bit of rain turned many parts of the park into mud. It wasn't much of an issue, but I can't imagine the park condition if it had rained more. The festival is basically planned along one straight line, which makes walking between stages a bit of a hike in some cases. The amount of trash left on the ground by participants was extremely disappointing. The festival would do well to follow in ACL's footsteps and get volunteers to walk around the grounds with recycling and trash bags during the day. WEAR SUNSCREEN, PEOPLE! read more

Two stars only because I was able to see some of my favorite artists. Truly disappointed by my first and most likely last FPSF. Having gone to large festivals like Ultra Music Festival in humid Miami and four insanely hot Vans Warped Tour, I felt like I was well prepared to spend all day in the hot Houston sun, boy was I wrong. They advertised water refill stations but there were only two that functioned normally between the two days and another by the Saturn stage that was non existent the first day and disassembled by 6pm the second day. What are you trying to kill us all? This is Houston! You need water or people are going to start fainting! Not to mention the water stations that did work were placed at the most crowded and congested walk ways at the park. The arrangement of some of the stages was silly too. Why would you have the crowd stand on a steep hill sloping to the right and the stage ahead on an incline so that all you saw were people's hands in the air. And who's smart idea was it to place one of the biggest acts, Welcome to Houston, at one of the smallest stages right in the middle of the festival where everyone is trying to walk by or watch. The hoards of sweaty and pissed of attendees were all shoving and about ready to start trampling people. Poor planning overall. If you do attend, make sure to pack some wet wipes just in case one of the MANY intoxicated high schoolers decides to puke on you (as this happened to my friend during Adventure Club) read more

Fantastic two day festival for the early bird general admission price of $110! I had the opportunity to see BLSHS, The Orwells, Vampire Weekend, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Dwight Yoakum, Jack White, The Naked and Famous, The Kills, Robert Delong, and Adventure Club in one weekend! Despite this year's storm and standing in ankle deep mud for hours, it was worth the experience. Hydrate often and wear plenty of sunscreen! I'm not kidding when I say I see people faint from the heat! read more

Free Press Summerfest - One of the main stages. - Festivals Near Me - Houston, Texas

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2012 The festival really stepped up its game this year. Getting closer to the level of a large well-know fest such as Lollapalooza or Outside Lands- the line up was amazing, Non stop music from national and international acts from 130-1015 both days. There were a few logistical issues for day one. Long lines to get in, bottle necks caused by a poorly placed "jeep test drive" station, and strange locations for food tents - but most of these were fixed for round 2 on Sunday. The crowd was a very diverse group, ranging from fans of Country, MJ loving Snoop Dogg, EDM and indie rock scenes. Young kids were having fun dancing and should obviously be allowed into the all ages fest as long as they are supervised. Although the crowd is very pot and alcohol friendly, there was very little actual drug use probably due to the extreme heat. Water was free and I never had to wait more than 3 minutes, which was much improved over the 30 minute waits of last year. Food was cheap enough if you looked around ($5 for a Vietnamese sandwich). Overall, this was the first year the FPSF had the feel of a legitimate festival as opposed to a Houston novelty. read more

Great 2K14 Lineup!! What more can you ask for Vampire Weekend, Jack White, DMX, Wu Tang Clan , Lauren Hill, and the Ying Yang Twins. read more

CAN'T WAIT TILL THE NEXT ONE go with a great group, buy a portable charger, you need cash, drink a lot of water, HAVE FUN. read more

Great inexpensive show with a lot of awesome bands. Saturday was perfect. The rain on Sunday was terrible until it stopped... then it was as David N. puts it, "epic". I'm not one to typically want to have my feet and legs covered in mud but it really made it an experience to remember. The Flaming Lips, Ra Ra Riot, Stars, and Girl Talk were fantastic and so was the $5 Dos Equis. Seriously, you can't beat Summerfest for a cheap concert festival. read more

I've always been team FPSF since 2009. When they first had the festival I was there. And I've gone every year since then minus 2010 and I always loved it. But this year I refuse to be on board with a company that plays the same way as the Houston Rodeo does. "Early bird gets the worm" yeah right. This year just exactly how many cheap tickets were there? 2-5? I just find it hard to believe that even before my clock hit 10AM that the lower priced option tickets were already gone. And the second level options never went on sale. They were gone as well. But of course like the Houston Rodeo you don't care because well people still buy tickets and that's all that matters. I'm not a privileged person. I don't have 130+ dollars not included the other 100 bucks it takes to survive a 2 day festival to blow. The only reason I was able to afford all the other years was because you were fair with your tickets. If you're going to say you're gonna have cheaper tickets actually be fair and give a decent amount of tickets so the disadvantaged 21+ people have at least a better chance to get in and have a great time. And please try care about your unhappy fest goers. Care that they're unhappy and make changes don't just be lame because you made your money. read more

This thing is so retarded. I live off the park where this takes place for the nice and quiet, since this has been going on it has been non stop bump thump of bass. It sounds like an escalade with big rims is parked on my balcony. I cannot even hear anything on a phone conversation from inside my apartment. Looking into it, apparently tickets go for 170? Even if I was interested in obtaining substantial hearing loss, why would anyone pay 170 to go to a public free park that they happen to rope off (and close down surrounding streets making it extremely difficult for locals to navigate in addition to the insane traffic.) read more

The line ups are good. The location is horrible. The stages don't have great viewing areas from far away except for the main stage. Also, don't get the Fancy Pants tickets. They over sell these and the Fancy Pants tents are crowded, also there is no Fancy Pants viewing areas....there is a little bit of roped off space of it isn't elevated or anything special. Yeah the tents have AC but when they are packed it doesn't make a difference. Save your money and don't get fancy pants tickets. read more

This crap is way overpriced and way too freakin hot. They schedule this big yuppie event in the summer time of all times at a place that has very little shade. Get ready to suffer if you're going during the day time. I went to a couple of them. The only reason was because I wanted to see one of my favorite bands that never comes to the U.S. so I had bought tickets early. Turned out that the band ended up cancelling their entire North American tour so now I had a worthless ticket. I ended up going for like an hour and left. Too hot. I also went the year they had Primus and the Descendents. I caught the tail end of the Descendents. Primus played the shortest set ever. I felt ripped off. That's the problem with this event. They have way too many acts. Mostly subpar bands and like one or two well know acts. Since there are so many bands playing the sets for each band are cut short. This whole festival is heavily promoted and they start selling tickets for the next year's event like the day after it's finished. It's ridiculous. Yea they have a zillion bands play, but the majority of them are a bunch crap local bands (who most likely won some trendy douche Houston Press Award) who play on these small side stages. Mostly hipster garbage. Houston has been known to have an identity problem, but this festival in no way represents Houston in the slightest. read more

2013 & 2014. FPSF was my very first (and so far only) music festival and I must say it is quite impressive. I love their headliners and luckily for me, I haven't had to choose between the closing acts for either the Saturday or Sunday nights the past two years. 2013 started off deadly hot, no one in my group knew if we would survive the day much less the second day... but we had blast and (thank you based god) for granting us some awesome weather to complete an amazing weekend of fun musical acts and time spent with great friends. 2014 started off rocky as well with the storm that had us evacuated from the grounds for a few hours. It made my mood pretty sour but once the shows picked up, I was happy again. The layout was a bit weird this year as there was much congestion in the walkways for (I forgot what stage). But the best part of the festival were the closing acts because my boyfriend and I lucked out by finding a sitting area on top of a light structure that was high enough to see over everyone. That made everything so perfect! We got to see Zedd and Above&Beyond undisturbed and with the utmost comfort. Carry as little as possible but make sure you have cash and an empty bottle for water. Take lots of pictures and enjoy yourself! You're given two days of fun with some of the biggest artists around, and you have almost a whole hour to enjoy them right in front of your face. read more

Summerfest 2012 was as hot as last year but the lineup was even better. Despite a massive entry line on Saturday, a good time was still had. Seeing Snoop Dogg was a bucket list item for sure. Sunday was even better. It was a relief to see no line. Willie Nelson talk-singed his whole set, but he's old so I'll be easy on him. Avett Brothers rocked more than I expected and seeing the crowd at Pretty Lights was simply amazing. Quite a spectacle. I wish Snoop Dogg would have been at dark. read more