Merge Records will host a five-day festival from July 22 through 26 to celebrate it's 20th anniversary.

They've yet to announce the lineup or venues. But judging from X and XV, it should be sick.

http://music.mync.com/2009/01/merge-announces-five-day-20th-anniversary-music-festival/

1/8/2009 4:33:14 PM

holy fuck....

1/8/2009 5:08:40 PM

Exactly my response upon receiving the press release.

My hands were shaking writing it up.

1/8/2009 5:12:42 PM

awesome

1/8/2009 5:38:02 PM

This isn't helping my indecision about buying SCORE!

1/8/2009 5:43:07 PM

No kidding.

My mind's telling me "no." But my body, my body's telling me "yes."

1/8/2009 5:50:51 PM

The problem is that the cost is all up front. After spending on presents, another $200 chunk looks bad to my wallet. However, I know if I got a bill for $14.28 with my CD every month I wouldn't complain in the slightest. The charity factor makes the price tag easier to swallow, but still.

1/8/2009 6:02:54 PM

For those who are completely lost; Merge is releasing a subscription boxset of nothing but pure awesomeness.

The bummer ... it's $199.

http://www.mergerecords.com/score/

1/8/2009 6:09:25 PM

i am going to try and make it possible to ask for my birthday present a few months early....

1/8/2009 7:22:52 PM

Merge revealed some details
http://music.mync.com/2009/04/xx-merge-details-e-merge/

4/3/2009 2:41:43 PM

I'm sorry, but I love many of those bands dearly and I think it's hard to justify paying $150 for that.

I would love to see Spoon, The Broken West, and the potential of seeing Arcade Fire and Camera Obscura is awesome.... but, $150?

fuck that, especially when I've seen all of them individually for a combined amount less than $150, and those shows included other great acts as opening bands (the National, for example, opening for Arcade Fire)

Unless they want to bring some bigger off label names or drop the price, I may have to pass. Hopefully the tickets to individual shows won't be too hard to come by, but I'm not betting on that either.

[Edited on April 3, 2009 at 3:02 PM. Reason : .]

4/3/2009 3:00:06 PM

there will be more than 25 bands.

So you can expect more to be named in the coming weeks.

4/3/2009 3:05:37 PM

yes, but look at who Merge has on their label... who are they going to add to get me excited enough to pay $150 unless they go off-label for a really big act?

All the big draws have already been listed apart from Arcade Fire, Camera Obscura, She & Him (even though M.Ward is already listed) and a few others.

I hope they have some bigger surprises in store to get myself and others excited.

4/3/2009 3:14:26 PM

this would only be worth $150 dollars if Neutral Milk Hotel plays

4/3/2009 4:28:31 PM

good call

i hope they announce more acts

can't $150 get you a coachella ticket or something?

4/3/2009 4:29:33 PM

Quote :

"this would only be worth $150 dollars if Neutral Milk Hotel plays"

4/3/2009 5:03:44 PM

i may just do this as a potential last hurrah for me in the area. who knows where i'll be when i get a job post-grad school.

4/3/2009 5:22:06 PM

$150???

no.

love Arcade Fire, Camera Obscura. NMH eats my arse, and She & Him is an absolute bore, even though i am in love with Zooey. I like maybe 4 other bands.

[Edited on April 3, 2009 at 6:50 PM. Reason : asdfasdfsdfasa]

4/3/2009 6:48:51 PM

Quote :

"NMH eats my arse, and She & Him is an absolute bore"

As my friend Kin would say, "Did you bump yo head?"

4/3/2009 7:12:39 PM

Camera Obscura is a past artist now. But they will be at the Cradle June 20 ... so I doubt they'll head back this way a month later.

4/3/2009 7:13:17 PM

^^
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xibp5_busta-rhymes-gimme-some-more_music

4/3/2009 7:20:00 PM

also i checked for tickets for the five-day pass thing yesterday afternoon and they were already sold out

oh well.

4/9/2009 3:14:44 PM

Quote :

"http://www.wral.com/merge-celebrates-25-years-with-a-25k/13469142/"

3/14/2014 3:33:02 PM

The new band that's playing the finish line show, Vertical Scratchers, totally rules. Features John Schmersal from Brainiac/Enon.

There's going to be a Merge XXV festival, too.

3/14/2014 3:59:12 PM

Wye Oak
The Clientele
Destroyer
Caribou
Lambchop (performing Nixon)
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Rock*A*Teens
Ex Hex
Bob Mould

http://www.mergerecords.com/merge-25-festival-first-round-of-bands-on-sale-date-announced

nice, but $195?

3/19/2014 8:02:01 PM

I'll bet $195 Arcade Fire and Magnetic Fields will be added to that, among others.

3/19/2014 8:05:56 PM

Sounds like a lot of fun but damn that's Hopscotch VIP prices...

3/19/2014 8:11:04 PM

they're going to have to branch outside merge to justify that price

3/19/2014 8:55:43 PM

Tickets to see Arcade Fire from the vantage point of these shows are $80+.

Magnetic Fields don't tour.

Like I said, if those two are on the shows, plus the other people who get added, it'll justify the price.

3/19/2014 9:09:25 PM

i'm pretty psyched caribou will be there. their set at moogfest 2010 was one of the best shows i've ever been to. i'll get a single day for that i'm sure.

[Edited on March 19, 2014 at 10:06 PM. Reason : .]

3/19/2014 10:05:32 PM

so what's the latest on this? i heard superchunk will be there too.

3/25/2014 12:55:18 PM

hahaha

that's a bit of a given

3/25/2014 12:57:26 PM

well yeah, but they weren't in the list above. i assume mountain goats too? what about king khan? redd kross?

3/25/2014 1:05:52 PM

they are announcing bands in waves

it's safe to assume that a majority of active Merge bands will be playing it

3/25/2014 1:13:19 PM

am I the only one that's a bit doubtful Arcade Fire will play this? most of their albums barely even list Merge on any of the packaging. I know that's not a fool proof indicator, but I can see them not making it a priority.

and I almost feel bad for anyone that has to see Magnetic Fields these days. one of the worst shows I've ever seen.

3/25/2014 1:17:29 PM

i could see it not happening, but they skipped merge xx and they've got open dates that whole week

3/25/2014 2:53:31 PM

^^ doesn't everyone barely list their label on the packaging? isn't it generally just a small logo on the back or something?

3/25/2014 6:25:35 PM

It varies wildly. Up until recently, for example, Sacred Bones essentially mandated a giant label logo on the front of every album (they've since switched to a much smaller standard front indicator).

The only Arcade Fire record to have any Merge marking other than the catalog number on the spine is Funeral, and even then it's a stylized mark that fits with the album art, not the actual Merge logo.

3/25/2014 7:02:45 PM

the one on the bottom right corner of the inside of the right gatefold on reflektor looks like the regular merge logo

3/25/2014 7:15:26 PM

I'm just going on outers here (because I don't have any open copies in front of me). If you're looking at the sealed product, there are no standard Merge logos on any of them.

3/25/2014 7:19:44 PM

not an album, but there's actually a merge logo on the front of the reflektors single

3/25/2014 7:23:46 PM

wow the friday tickets already sold out. was thinking about buying that day for wye oak & the mountain goats.

3/27/2014 11:32:14 AM

Where's the best place to find info on schedules and tickets?

(i assume somebody will respond with a sarcastic quip, but i quickly looked and couldn't find a website with straight-forward info)

4/1/2014 11:24:29 AM

http://www.mergerecords.com/merge-25

4/1/2014 3:33:50 PM

thanks. looks like Friday is the only day sold-out so far.

[Edited on April 1, 2014 at 4:16 PM. Reason : and the 4-day pass]

4/1/2014 4:14:20 PM