Houston, Texas
Free Press Summer Fest 2012
2012-06-02 to 2012-06-03 at Eleanor Tinsley Park, Houston. 80 performers are recorded from the sources listed at the foot of this page.
Dates
2012-06-02 – 2012-06-03
Days
2
Venue
Eleanor Tinsley Park
Performers recorded
80
Record
What happened
- The producers commissioned an economic impact analysis of this edition from the University of Houston; it remains the most detailed public measurement of the festival.
Bill
Lineup
Reproduced as published. Lists are present in the page source whether or not they are expanded.
Top of the bill: The Avett Brothers, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Afrojack, Primus, The Flaming Lips.
Announced lineup80 listed
- The Avett Brothers
- Snoop Dogg
- Willie Nelson
- Afrojack
- Primus
- The Flaming Lips (performing Dark Side of the Moon)
- Descendents
- Major Lazer
- Young the Giant
- Portugal. The Man
- Z-Ro
- Morris Day and The Time
- Best Coast
- Wavves
- Diplo
- Two Door Cinema Club
- Shabazz Palaces
- STRFKR
- Danny Brown
- Jeff the Brotherhood
- Wallpaper
- Turquoise Jeep
- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
- Maps and Atlases
- Fatal Flying Guilloteens
- Valient Thorr
- Big Freedia
- Touche Amore
- Ume
- Quintron & Ms. Pussycat
- Ancient Wisdom
- Robert Ellis
- Girl In a Coma
- What Made Milwaukee Famous
- Electric Touch
- Quiet Corral
- Ponderosa
- Quintino
- Shermanology
- Bad Veins
- Fat Tony
- MC Buda Love
- Grandfather Child
- The Riff Tiffs
- Venemous Maximus
- Papermoons
- The Tontons
- The Freakouts
- Wild Moccasins
- Featherface
- Glasnost
- Suraj K
- Harts of Oak
- Second Lovers
- The Sour Notes
- Journey Agents
- Suite 709
- CeePlus Bad Knives
- Square and Compass
- DJ Ebonix
- A SEA ES
- Brains for Dinner
- Tyagaraja
- Espantapajaros
- Love Horse
- Sideshow Tramps
- Ashes of Babylon
- Small Sounds
- Last Place You Look
- Electric Primadonnas
- Roky Moon and BOLT!
- Eastern Sea
- Limb
- The Watermarks
- Quiet Company
- Eyes Burn Electric
- Zlam Dunk
- Caddywhompus
- Zorche
- Dry The River
Measurement
Attendance and economics
Each figure keeps the measure and the party that produced it. Unlike measures are not merged.
| Attendance figure used in study | 81,000 Total attendance figure used in the University of Houston impact analysis, as reported by the Houston Press · source This is the attendance input to the study, not a separately audited gate count. |
|---|---|
| Paid attendance | Nearly 100,000 paying guests Houstonia retrospective, 2019 · source A later account that does not agree with the 81,000 figure used in the 2012 study. Both are recorded; neither is adjusted to fit the other. |
| Estimated total local output | Approximately $14 million University of Houston analysis commissioned by the festival's producers · source Estimated total output added to the local economy; the study attributed more than 25 percent of attendance to out-of-town visitors. |
|---|---|
| Full-time-equivalent jobs | 104 full-time-equivalent jobs University of Houston analysis · source |
| Labor income | $5.4 million University of Houston analysis · source |
| Value-added income | $8.2 million University of Houston analysis · source |
Reception
How it was covered at the time
Houston Press
Reporting on the study noted that the top ten affected industries accounted for only about $7.5 million of the $14 million total, and set the result against a much larger Austin City Limits estimate. source
Visual archive
1 sourced images, films and galleries from 2012
Grouped by what each item documents. Creator, source archive and year accompany every item; publisher galleries are linked rather than reproduced.
Venue (1)
Historical images and films are reproduced or embedded here for documentary and reference purposes, with the original creator and source archive named on every item. Where a source permits linking rather than copying, its photography is linked and cited instead of reproduced. No image on this page is generated, reconstructed or stock. Where the source archive names no photographer, that is stated rather than a credit inferred.
Provenance
Sources
01 · Houston Press · Independent reporting
Free Press Summer Fest 2012 lineup
Used for: 2012 dates, venue and full announced lineup
02 · Houston Press · Independent reporting
Inside that $14 million Summer Fest economic study
Used for: University of Houston impact study: output, jobs, labor income, value-added income, study attendance
03 · Houstonia · Independent reporting
Used for: Retrospective accounting of attendance, sale price, production cost, repeated NRG Park relocations and the collapse of the businesses
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
Cite this reference
- Plain
- Live Index, "Free Press Summer Fest 2012", Live Index, August 24, 2026, https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2012
- APA
- Live Index (2026, August 24). Free Press Summer Fest 2012 [Reference guide]. Live Index. https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2012
- Chicago
- Live Index. "Free Press Summer Fest 2012." Live Index, August 24, 2026. https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2012.
- BibTeX
- @online{projects-free-press-summer-fest-2012-2026, author = {{Live Index}}, title = {Free Press Summer Fest 2012}, organization = {Live Index}, date = {2026-08-24}, url = {https://liveindex.io/projects/free-press-summer-fest/2012} }