- Details
-
Published on Monday, 23 April 2012 08:34
WLUP-FM/The Loop may have put the new Rock Girl search
on hold for a few months, but they are bringing back another Loop tradition:
Loopfest. The new Loopfest 2012 lineup and details was announced today by morning host Pete McMurray. The Loopfest concert will be held on July 13th and will feature three famed Classic Rock artists.
Unlike in years past, where Loopfest was a harder rocking event, this year's Loopfest is a bit quieter, leaning more toward classic rock, much like the station itself changed last year from a harder rocking sound to a more straight-forward classic rock format.
On the bill for Loopfest 2012 are 70's Country Rockers Lynyrd Synyrd, rock vocalist Paul Rodgers (voice of Free, Bad Company, Firm, Queen, more), and 80's nu-rockers Loverboy. This is one concert where yelling
"Free Bird!!" at the stage is actually acceptable behavior.
Loopfest 2012 will take place on the evening of July 13th at Toyota Park (7000 S. Harlem Avenue, Bridgeview, IL). Ticket prices range from $75 for the small general admission pit area right in front of the stage, to seats as cheap as only $5. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, April 27th at 10:00am.
Those who belong to the station's online club, the Loyal Loopers, will be able to purchase tickets at a 50% discount (meaning some seats could be as cheap as $2.50) during a 48 hour pre-sale period, which begins tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24th at 10:00am, and runs until Thursday, April 26th at 10:00pm.
The Loopfest concert is being sub-billed as "A Show of Force." That is due to it also being a salute to U.S. men & women in uniform. For those who are currently serving in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or are currently working for (or retired from) the police department, fire department, or as an Emergency Medical Technician (E.M.T.), WLUP-FM will cut the price of tickets in half for the next month or while tickets last (whichever comes first).
Tickets can also be won from the radio station, as The Loop is giving away tickets every 15 minutes today. Listen to call in at the designated times. Other contests & giveaways are planned for the coming weeks.
More details on Loopfest 2012 can be found at a special webpage, found
HERE.
This marks the first Loopfest concert since the summer of 2009. The last Loopfest attempted was a mega-artist line-up in the
summer of 2010 -- an all-day affair with ten hard rocking artists. However, about three weeks after tickets went on sale, the concert fell apart and
was cancelled. Tickets were refunded, disappointing many who had hoped to see the only U.S. concert appearance by 70's rock superstars U.F.O. of that year. No official reason was given for the abrupt cancellation of the event other than the usual "circumstances beyond our control" reason. The reason was not due to a lack of ticket sales, a headliner dropping out, or a major advertiser pulling their sponsorship. WLUP-FM officials would not say more than that. Insiders at the station put the blame firmly at the station's then-management team for ineptly bungling the behind-the-scenes preparations for the show. Management promised to have a bigger & better Loopfest in 2011, which never came about. The following year, the radio station was sold by Emmis Communications to Merlin Media, LLC (although as part of the deal, Emmis retains a 20% ownership stake in the station). With new ownership and new management in place, the annual Loopfest concert is now being brought back.
Sponsors for this year's Loopfest concert include Taco Bell and WFLD-TV/Fox Chicago.
