Inaugural edition
Free Press Summer Fest 2009
2009-08-08 to 2009-08-09 at Eleanor Tinsley Park, Houston. 6 performers are recorded from the sources listed at the foot of this page.
Dates
2009-08-08 – 2009-08-09
Days
2
Venue
Eleanor Tinsley Park
Performers recorded
6
Record
What happened
- Organised by the staff of Free Press Houston across two stages, noon to 10pm each day, with a portion of proceeds directed to Project Row Houses.
- Advance entry was advertised at $7 per day.
- Houston promoter Pegstar Concerts booked the first year and became a partner in the second.
Bill
Lineup
Reproduced as published. Lists are present in the page source whether or not they are expanded.
Top of the bill: Broken Social Scene, Of Montreal, Explosions in the Sky, The Sword, What Made Milwaukee Famous, The Octopus Project.
Announced performers6 listed
The announcement described more than forty national and local performers across two stages; only the acts it named as headliners are recorded here. B L A C K I E and Cop Warmth are added from same-week reporting on the event itself.
- Broken Social Scene
- Of Montreal
- Explosions in the Sky
- The Sword
- What Made Milwaukee Famous
- The Octopus Project
Measurement
Attendance and economics
Each figure keeps the measure and the party that produced it. Unlike measures are not merged.
| Reported total attendance | Up to 30,000 across the weekend Houston Press estimate in same-week coverage · source A contemporaneous press estimate of total bodies, not a ticketing figure. |
|---|
| Advertised ticket price | $7 per day, advance Free Press Houston announcement · source |
|---|
Reception
How it was covered at the time
Houston Press
Same-week coverage treated the inaugural weekend as unexpectedly large for a first-year event run by an alternative monthly, while noting heat and infrastructure strain. source
People
Documented roles for this edition
Provenance
Sources
01 · Free Press Houston · Organiser-published
Free Press Summer Fest announcement
Used for: 2009 dates, venue, performer count, announced acts, beneficiary
02 · Houston Press · Independent reporting
Free Press Summer Fest: the aftermath
Used for: Inaugural edition, organiser role, contemporaneous reception
03 · Houston Press · Independent reporting
Free Press Summer Fest crowd report
Used for: Reported total attendance estimate for the inaugural edition
04 · Houston Press · Independent reporting
Girl's death leads to revelation of FPSF ownership change
Used for: Sale of the majority interest to C3 Media effective December 18, 2015; C3's ownership by Live Nation; 2016 relocation to NRG Park; founding partners
05 · Houstonia · Independent reporting
Free Press Summer Fest is over. In Bloom is next.
Used for: 2017 weather cancellation and the succession of the festival by In Bloom
06 · Houstonia · Independent reporting
Used for: Retrospective accounting of attendance, sale price, production cost, repeated NRG Park relocations and the collapse of the businesses
Cite this reference
- Plain
- Live Index, "Free Press Summer Fest 2009", Live Index, August 24, 2026, https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2009
- APA
- Live Index (2026, August 24). Free Press Summer Fest 2009 [Reference guide]. Live Index. https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2009
- Chicago
- Live Index. "Free Press Summer Fest 2009." Live Index, August 24, 2026. https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2009.
- BibTeX
- @online{projects-free-press-summer-fest-2009-2026, author = {{Live Index}}, title = {Free Press Summer Fest 2009}, organization = {Live Index}, date = {2026-08-24}, url = {https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2009} }