Virgin Mobile Free Festival 2010

Thanks to a contest sponsored by the Maryland Department of Tourism and the 9:30 Club, I had the privilege of winning 2 VIP tickets to Saturday's Virgin Mobile Free Fest. The package included VIP treatment in the Pavilion and West Stage, some free 'swag', and a Backstage Tour. We had a blast as this was my first time at the Festival. Since I didn't attend the first one a couple years ago at the racetrack, I've not been able to score pre-sale tickets (and regular tickets sell out rapidly).

This is the best venue to 'people watch', although any festival or event that is FREE will bring out the craziest of people. While all the bands were awesome, I enjoyed my backstage tour, and my meet-up with Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation (my favorite band by the way). He was super nice, and I got a chance to take a couple photos, and chat with him a bit.

Another highlight was getting in the front near the stage during the Thievery and Ludacris show. Both were phenomenal. I will hold my tongue on what I thought of MIA (hey, it's FREE!). I was sad to miss LCD Soundsystem, but I heard they killed it during their closing performance.

All in all, I hope I can score tickets next year. Thanks again to MD Dept of Tourism and 9:30 Club. You made my week! Below are a few photos I snapped of the festivities.