Halloween weekend is about six weeks away, and artists Mac Miller and Big Gigantic have been selected to headline this year’s Freakfest on Oct. 27.
Other bands that will be featured at the event include Nobody Beats the Drum, Prof, Roster McCabe, Kids These Days, Gentlemen Hall, Kyle & Keem, OYE!, A.N.T. and The Lately, according to a statement from Frank Productions. The statement said all three stages will be occupied by national touring acts.
“We spent a lot more money on talent, and it happens to fall on the same day as homecoming so there’s going to be more people in town,” Frank Productions Promotions Manager Charlie Goldstone said. “We’re expecting [the crowd] to be larger this year.”
Tickets will be available starting this Friday either online or from several businesses on State Street and the University Bookstore, Goldstone said. He added the businesses that sell tickets will have multicolored posters in their windows about the event and do not charge a service fee for tickets.
Goldstone said tickets are $8 in advance or $12 if purchased the day of the event. The statement said tickets will be available from business outlets until Oct. 26 and gates to Freakfest will open at 7:00 p.m.
According to Goldstone, VIP tickets are newly offered this year for $35 and are only available online or at the coliseum box office.
He said VIP ticket-holders can watch the bands without going early and waiting in line because they will have dedicated areas at both main stages, the Capitol stage and the Gilman Street stage, set aside for them. He added those areas include private bathrooms and complementary beverages.
According to the statement, the city’s “largest costume contest” will be held at the Ticketmaster stage at 11 p.m. It said scouts will give out a “golden ticket” to people with the best costumes on State Street in advance.
Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said even though MPD will staff the event, there have not been any significant police-related incidents for years.
“This has been something officers in recent years have enjoyed policing,” DeSpain said.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the University of Wisconsin Police Department has not been involved in Freakfest in the past few years because they could not devote the resources to it. He said he does not believe UWPD will be on State Street during the event this year because the event has been tame for many years.
He added UWPD will be dedicating its resources elsewhere because the UW Badger’s homecoming football game against Michigan State takes place the same day as Freakfest at 2:30 p.m.
Verveer said the average attendance at Freakfest recently has been 35,000 people. He added since Freakfest got re-structured years ago due to violence and vandalism, the event has been a lot safer, but has not gotten as much student attendance as he wishes.
“All of us that have been involved with the planning are confident everything will go well,” Verveer said. “One of my main concerns is that it’s not as popular with UW students as Halloween formerly was.”
