Waiting for band announcements before buying tickets

I know it feels like the band's breaking up, but I guess nothing gold can stay.

We'll always have one another, and this forum.

I think our whole crew bought early bird. Including a recruited newbie.

As a whole our crew thought maybe the headliners this year weren't the ones we would pick, we still had a lot of great music and a great time.

I still haven't bought for L5 yet. I'm thinking I may just buy one for worf rat . Because no matter how I slice it, the dates just aren't ok for me to get any time off work. It's too far away for me to do the "I'll meet you there for Friday night and Saturday" thing that I did at Peach this year. It kills me to walk away from Lockn'. But it's just not realistic for me in August.

Our core 4 are onboard and ticketed for L5.

We have sworn we would go for VIP the past 2 years and have not, not again for L5. The extra cost just isnt worth it to me. I am hoping the 'Lumni camping will be closer and something unique but I am prepared to be disappointed.

Our core 4 is in plus we've booked our hotel for Wed. night. Last year by early April it was difficult to find a room in the Staunton/Waynesboro area. This is the only festival of any size we attend, so unless the music offered goes in an extremely different direction we'll look forward to getting together at The Farm. Besides, this is my chance to get to out of the hills.

Only due to distance, are we in the Wait For Announcement boat. To make that nightmare (but BEAUTIFUL) drive again, it's got to be for bands we love. If flying were an option, I'd have bought tickets the moment we could, because it was one of the best times of my life.

I'm surprised to find myself in this position, but I have not pulled the trigger on 'Lumni tix and likely won't. Last year I bought my ticket the instant they went on sale, and don't regret it as I had an awesome time at Lockn' '16. But to be honest, if I had waited to see the line-ups for Lockn' and other festivals, I would have ended up at Peach this year.

As discussed in another thread somewhere on this forum, there are just so many festivals going on now and it just makes sense to throw my money at the one that's going to give me the most bands I want to see.

Last year Lockn' raised all their prices but didn't raise the quality of the festival from previous years, at least in my opinion. So after raising prices again this year, they're going to have to prove to me it's worth it before they get my money.

Although line-up aside, my wife and I are now talking about going to Europe with the kids next September, so if that ends up being the case, then Lockn' won't be happening for me.

We'll see. It is a long way. Great fest, though.

Stout, I agree; the Lockn' "brand" is Grateful Dead and similar jams, with older acts prominent. Phish was a one-time thing. Some say last year's line-up may have cost the brand some valuable momentum. That raises the possibility of going heavy on the Dead theme (which includes WSP and SCI).

I'm not saying I think it's a "one-time thing" persay, I just don't think they'd go way off the reservation like that 2 years in a row. Not unless those bands couldn't or didn't want to play it.

I definitely agree.  I just think that the "future" will manifest itself more in the relatively smaller bands like your Twiddle, or whoever next year's Vulpeck is.  Or even someone like Umphrey's.  It just seems like all of this past year's headliners are pretty much unlikely to be back this year as well.  If none of Phish, Ween, and MMJ are there this year then that really opens the headliner situation up.