Just got home from Freefest. First I just want to say thank you Seth for putting together another great year of FreeFest! I don't think there is a similar event anywhere in the country.
Some brief thoughts:
Traffic was really bad and so was parking. It was probably my fault for not getting there till 230 but I had to park at Howard Community College which was literally a mile walk to Merriweather. They did have shuttle buses though, but my friend and I figured since traffic was bad walking would make more sense.
It was much more crowded this year than last year. I think this was because the lineup was stronger this year so more people actually showed up. Food and bathroom lines were pretty long but doable.
I stayed at the main stage so I only saw Grace Potter, Pattie Smith, and TVOTR. Grace Potter was pretty meh. She wad decent, but way too much shrieking for my taste.
Pattie Smith was really good but made some comments that seemed to piss a lot of people off. I saw one guy flip her off and then storm out of the pavilion. The comments didn't bother me but it always puts the audience in an awkward spot. I loved how she closed on Pissing in a River, People have the power, Because the night and then Horses/ Gloria. Her set ended on such a high note.
TVOTR was also really good and the crowd seemed pretty into it.
I wish I could have caught some of the other stage acts but I didn't want to lose my really good pavilion seat.
On a side note, during TVOTR some guy in the row behind me decided it would be appropriate to pee while sitting in his seat which freaked this poor girl sitting by my friend and I. Fortunately, The Merriweather staff was very quick to throw him out once it was brought to their attention.