Wow, could it be that another year has come and gone? Seems like just yesterday we jumped in headfirst and pulled off the unthinkable: a three-day, 90-band music festival with only three months’ planning.

This year we tried to do things differently—the right way. We put almost a year’s worth of effort into pulling v. 2.0 together. We listened to way, way more bands. We invited a few artists (go ahead; you can call them headliners: The Graduate, The French Kicks, Headlights, Never Say Never, William Fitzsimmons, Absentstar, The Photo Atlas, Kid You’ll Move Mountains, Chase Pagan). We brought back the industry panels, but moved ’em to Saturday afternoon—networking at its finest. We expanded into the interactive realm (we hear blogging’s all the rage these days), adding 14 more panels and up-to-the-minute coverage.

But back to the bands. Again this year, we’re proud to feature a healthy serving of St. Louis talent; over 40 of this year’s 99 bands hail from the metropolitan area. We’re pleased to offer the best of our local scene: King Thief, Go Van Gogh, Greenwheel, Fundamental Elements, Nite Owl, Earthworms, One Lone Car, Tell Tale Heart, LucaBrasi Northside’s Sweet Revenge, Alvin Jett & Phat noiZ Band, ThreeSixtySmile, Jesse Irwin plus 30 more.

This year we’ve returned to all our old haunts in the Delmar Loop—Cicero’s (venue mainstage and a singer-songwriter stage out front), both rooms at Blueberry Hill, Vintage Vinyl, Market in the Loop and our outdoor stage on Leland Avenue, plus The Delmar. And we’re making it easier for you to buy wristbands at outlets up and down the Loop, including: Cicero’s, Subterranean Books, The Delmar, Screenz, Vintage Vinyl and many others, or online. Wristbands are good for all three days of the festival—99 bands in all—and cost just $15. Anyone with a calculator will tell you that’s just 15 cents per band…a steal.