After steadily increasing attendance by 15,000 each year since inception and hosting alumni such as Girl Talk, Yeasayer, and Sharon Jones, this year’s Free Press Summer Fest promises to be the biggest and best yet, with eight stages and an onslaught of excellent bands. Headliners for the 2012 festival include a diverse array of artists like The Flaming Lips, Snoop Dogg, Avett Brothers, Best Coast, and Willie Nelson. FPSF has always made sure to rep their roots with Houston bands, and this year is no exception with bands like Papermoons and festival favorite Grandfather Child on the bill. Nearby Austin also got several nods of approval by way of The Sour Notes (another FPSF veteran), Quiet Company and The Eastern Sea.
The festival is unique among others as it takes place in a highly urbanized area of Houston, and the festival has previously donated portions of proceeds to funds aimed at maintaining impoverished areas of the city. FPSF has always been a grassroots festival, born out of the hard work of Free Press Houston and Pegstar.net, rather than a larger more established entity. Art has always been a centerpiece of the festival, and 2012 will see more participating artists and interactive exhibits than ever before.
Tickets are still available for the festival, and we suggest grabbing yours now, RIGHT HERE, and heading to Houston this weekend!
You can listen to music by most of the participating artists on the FPSF website, but here are a few mp3s by a range of artists from those you almost certainly know to a few that you may not.
