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Just saw Earl Greyhound – a great way to kick off day 2 of Virgin Festival Toronto. Day One was astounding….really lived up to its “Rockstravaganza” status. My highlights – Paolo Nutini crooning to the crowd, M.I.A. bringing the audience on-stage for an impromptu celebration, The Arctic Monkeys…because it’s the frigging Arctic Monkeys (!) locals Dragonette and brit faves Enter Shikari. The weather was pretty great too.

I’m the guy who helps to make the festival happen. My “title” is “Director, Virgin Festivals“. What that means is I’m responsible for working with a bunch of folks to choose bands, pick venues and work through all of the logistics of hosting a Virgin Festival.

We did our first one outside London, UK last year in Toronto and one in Vancouver in May. Now we’re back to Toronto for a second go and it’s bigger and better than ever!

63 artists, 3 stages & a DJ tent make this festival brilliant. Plus you can do things like get a massage, haircut or even a tattoo! And the island is so beautiful. A grrr-eat place to really chill out and enjoy some great music. Even the ferry ride here is fun!

It takes us over a year to bring it all together. Finding the right bands & sorting all of the logistics. You have no idea the complexities of getting all of the stuff to the island! We’re setting up for weeks beforehand.

We’ve made the festival green this year – recycling, composting, using biofeuls, and making sure the island is in better shape when we leave than before we came.

Signing off for now…shoot me any questions you may have about the festival thing and I’ll be happy to respond.

Ciao
Andrew.

Posted on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 at 2:50 pm by Unknown and is filed under VFest2007.

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