Bled Fest is preparing the initial lineup announcement for its eighth annual festival. It will be taking place on Saturday, May 26th at the Hartland Performing Arts Center in Howell, MI. The 2011 festival included Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, La Dispute, The Chariot, I Am The Avalanche, and Eisley, among many others, so get excited for this year’s lineup announcement! Check out a full press release from Fusion Shows and Bled Fest below by clicking “Read More.”

For a fifth year, Michigan concert promoter Fusion Shows is excited to present Bled Fest, to take place on Saturday, May 26, 2012 at the Hartland Performing Arts Center in Howell, Michigan.  The festival is in its eighth year overall, growing significantly from its humble beginnings, a basement show/pool party for 30 of Bled founder Ben Staub’s closest friends in rural Hartland in 2005.  

2011’s version of Bled Fest was by far the biggest yet.  The explosive lineup was fronted by a who’s who of some of the world’s hardest touring acts, including Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, La Dispute, The Chariot, I Am The Avalanche, and Eisley.  Nearly 2800 people packed into a former high school, a very strange, intimate place for an all-ages music festival.  As shown in the video below, the main stage area (the high-school cafeteria of Bled Fest buyer Nate Dorough) is an intense, alternative show space, as DIY as it gets with crowds of this size.  

The Chariot - “Back To Back” live at Bled Fest 2011 - http://vimeo.com/24465275 (credit: Derek Street)

Throughout the old school building, six very different stages are set up, including floor stages, a beautiful auditorium featuring folk and indie music, and Nate’s former geometry classroom, made to simulate the house show atmosphere inside the festival.  

Bled Fest begins to announce their lineup each year starting February 1st with “Free Ticket February”.  Through the Bled Fest Facebook and Twitter accounts, fun hints are given as to the announced band for the day, with the first to guess the correct band winning a free ticket for the event.  This continues each day through February, with the remaining confirmed lineup announced on March 1, with tickets going on sale to the public that day!

Tickets are fee-free at FusionShows.com.  No service fees ever.  No corporate sponsors pulling strings.  No charge for parking.  No price gouging on food.  Just 60+ bands on 6 stages, in a climate-controlled, all-ages, DIY atmosphere, including today’s best touring bands and a who’s who of Michigan’s hottest local acts!

Follow Bled Fest’s social networking sites starting on February 1 for your chance to win free tickets by playing the guessing game!  

www.bledfest.com
www.facebook.com/bledfest
www.twitter.com/bledfest