We’re having a heat wave — a musical heat wave — or so it would seem, as the 45th season at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia comes to a close. The entire summer has been full of three-digit temperature days and three-band nights. In fact the only heat index registering hotter than the summer days of 2011 were the concert nights at Merriweather Post.
Ranging from the youth-oriented pop diva Katy Perry to the ageless Bob Dylan, Merriweather continued to expand its schedule with an assortment of traditional and new entertainers. This year was most notably highlighted by the appearances of the Black Eyed Peas, fresh off their European tour, explosive West London folk-rock quartet Mumford and Sons and rapper Wiz Khalifa. Sandwiched between these shows were returning fan favorites Sugarland, Phish, O.A.R. and the legendary Steely Dan.
But the summer of 2011 may best be remembered as the year of the festival. The season opened on May 1 with the Strokes performing at the Sweetlife Festival, an annual celebration presented by Sweetgreen. This was followed by the wildly popular M3 Festival, which expanded into a two-day event this year with 16 bands on the roster.
The Capital Jazz Fest returned for three days with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Boney James and Natalie Cole, and in July the festival most anticipated by the young fans, Vans Warped, returned with more than 85 bands on seven stages. These day-long events provided great diversion from the record-breaking heat of midsummer.
Fans for Fans
One of the cooler surprises of the season, however, was the long awaited arrival of Animal Collective on the Merriweather stage. The band, which named its hugely successful 2009 album “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” had not played the venue before, but was welcomed with open arms by hard core fans and newbies alike.
Looking onstage at a Merriweather Post Pavilion concert.
But it wasn’t just the excellent entertainment that brought comfort to the guests this summer. In perhaps the best-timed improvement in Merriweather history, I.M.P., operator of Merriweather since 2004, installed four overhead fans on the pavilion ceiling. With 20 24-foot blades, they keep the air circulating despite the blistering heat outside. Additionally, I.M.P. upgraded all monitors to high definition video screens which fine tune all close-up shots of the stage for the guests on the lawn.
Merriweather also furthered its “green” campaign by recycling the copious amounts of aluminum cans and plastic bottles collected from the pavilion and lawn after each show. Merriweather continues to look for ideas to make it a more environmentally friendly venue and this was another large step in that direction.
E-Blasts & Paratweets
Also new to Merriweather this year was the Gatecrashers program, where e-blasts were sent out to concert ticketholders offering them early entry before each show. The offer included food and beverage specials, games and ticket upgrades. In addition, those who chose to do so could pick their spot on the lawn before gates were opened to the public.
The venue continued to expand its social media with the addition of paratweeting. While waiting for their favorite bands to perform, concertgoers can now tweet to a given address and may find their comments scrolling at the bottom of the jumbo video screens. And any guest having fan conduct or venue issues during a show can still receive assistance by texting concerns to the venue’s customer service department.
Merriweather also added a customer service center for all concertgoers during the shows. Attendees who want to find out where they can get the best pizza
or margarita, where the nearest restrooms are located or who is playing next week can visit the Customer Concierge Office. Service personnel will do their best to find answers to any questions; a Lost and Found is located in this office, as well.
Wrap-Up With a Bang
And one of the highlights to the season, and to the East Coast, is the Virgin Mobile FreeFest, which will return to Merriweather once again on Saturday, Sept. 10, for its third year in Columbia. It will host more than 20 acts, including the Black Keys, Cee Lo Green, TV on the Radio and Patti Smith. The festival will include the popular Dance Forest Stage, along with vendors promoting their causes and selling their wares. As in the previous two years, the event will be free and will contribute to local charities.
Also in September, the HFStival returns with the Avett Brothers and Gin Blossoms among the headliners. The rest of the month is filled with the likes of Fleet Foxes, Jason Mraz with Colbie Caillat, Wilco and Ray LaMontagne. The Merriweather concert season closes the year on a festival note, just as it started, with the highly anticipated Sunday in the Country returning on Oct. 16 with headliners Josh Turner, Band Perry and Joe Nichols.
With another season coming to an end, I.M.P. exhibits once again that it can more than keep up with any heat wave nature sends its way. Seth Hurwitz, chairman of the Bethesda-based company, said his company continues to make the concert experience at Merriweather
Post “unforgettable by bringing the very best in entertainment to the stage and the very best in comfort and fun to its guests.”
