Legendary music event HFStival is returning to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 21 after a 13-year absence: long ago enough for Gen Z to have no idea what it is and recent enough for Gen X like this reporter to say “HELL, YEAH!”
WHFS was the first and longest-running progressive rock station, with call signs for three FM stations that played in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets beginning in 1961. They were the first in D.C. to play bands like REM, Pixies, The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, and many more.
WHFS is the subject of a documentary film called “Feast Your Ears: The Story of WHFS 102.3.” It won Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF). The feature-length film covers the station’s lifespan over the decades, describing it as “a keystone, and center point, for the music and culture of the era.”
The HFStival began in 1990, featuring the hottest artists of the time and selling out quickly every year, with musicians like The Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, No Doubt, Beck, and more drawing huge crowds.
The Washington Nationals and concert promoter I.M.P. are reviving HFStival to feed the renewed appetite for acts of that era. The festival will take place at Nationals Park, and is billed as “One Day, One Stage.”
Featured acts will include The Postal Service performing “Give Up” and Death Cab For Cutie performing “Transatlanticism.” Billing also includes Bush, Jimmy Eat World, Violent Femmes, Tonic, and more.
“Quintessential HFStival acts have been doing an unprecedented business, selling more tickets than they ever came close to back in the day, so it all made sense to bring back the HFStival,” said Seth Hurwitz, owner of I.M.P., the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, and The Atlantis and operator of Merriweather Post Pavilion and Lincoln Theatre.
So that all fans have an equal chance to buy tickets, HFStival will use a lottery system, which is open now through 11:59 p.m., Sunday, June 16. Entrants into the lottery will be alerted by June 21 if their ticket order will be fulfilled.
“We used this lottery system when we opened The Atlantis with 44 ‘underplay’ shows, and everyone appreciated that they had the same chance at scoring tickets,” Hurwitz said. “It’s a fan-friendly system for what’ll be a high-demand festival. This will be a show for everyone who went to HFStival in decades past and those who weren’t around to be a part of the scene.”
To register for the lottery, click this link.
