Falling on the last day of summer, who wouldn’t want to spend it at Merriweather Post Pavilion… for free?

At this year’s Virgin Mobile Free Fest, there was a stage that would interest each festival goers music palette. Between the West Stage, the Main Pavilion, and the Dance Forest, there was never a dull moment on September 21.

Composed of a sea of 50,000 music fanatics and groupies, Free Fest was a day worth remembering. Not only a music festival, many other fun activities were accessible to all attendees. Between the stages, concert-goers passed the Samsung Fun House, the Stadium of the Self and multiple vendors with plenty of interesting items to take home. Let’s not forget the Ferris Wheel of Fortune that provided the best view of the west stage.

Some stunning individuals artists like Sky Ferreria and Ernest Greene of Washed Out took the stages early in the day projecting unique sounds into the air and getting music lovers hyped for the day.

Following Sky Ferreira on the west stage was fairly new group Chvrches (yes the v is meant to be there), not to be mistaken for Churches. Then herds of people came heading over to see the fresh and young duo of Icona Pop. The crowd lit up with life while they sang along to “I Don’t Care”.

Then the west stage got a bit of a taste of some dance electronic music from Kaskade. This is when the rain started to pour on attendees. But waiting it out in their ponchos, well known Robin Thicke drew a crowd of screaming fanatic girls to the area. “Blurred Lines” brought the audience dancing uncontrollably in their ponchos. Closing up the west stage for the night was Pretty Lights, and yes the lights shining off of the stage were literally…pretty.

At the main pavilion stage, if you were lucky a seat inside the pavilion could have been found. But plan on staying there the whole day if you wanted to keep your spot.

After the first few bands, the rain came, but it didn’t keep everyone from coming to see the formerly popular MGMT during their Free Fest debut. The Avett Brothers brought a dance party to the lawn on the pavilion with their upbeat new folk tunes. And closing up the pavilion for the night was headliner, Vampire Weekend, who were the talk of the whole day.

Junior Zoe Bickert said the highlight of her day at Free Fest was the Avett Brothers.

“Knowing every word to every song a band performs and feeling absolutely free and at peace in that moment is indescribable. Totally blissful. I think I danced more than I had in my entire life that day,” said Bickert.

The lineup this year was filled with DJs who would fill the Dance Forest with sick beats all day and night. Tucked back in the woods, surrounded by a canopy of billowing trees, this was the perfect place for any raver looking for a nonstop party. Ghost Beach and Washed out brought their mellow electronics into the forest to start off the day. Following them Manufactured Superstars, Congorock, and TJR didn’t stop to take a breath. One DJ after the other made the Dance Forest a never-ending dance party.
More popular DJ, Gareth Emery brought his unique blend of house, trance and electro to the crazy crowd. The crowd loved the music, especially after the sun had set. And to close the dance forest for the night was young french DJ, Madeon. This 19-year-old made the crowd dance like no other. As the rain poured down, it sparkled in the lights that were shooting into the sky sending “oohs” and “ahhs” from each raver.
At the end of the night, the 50,000 tired and muddy festival goers left with memories to last a while. Now, all who had a great time are already looking forward to snagging their free tickets for next year’s Free Fest.