Hip In Detroit's Guide to Dirt Fest 2016

Twenty years ago the Dalton brothers hosted the first Dirt Fest in a small park about a hour and a half north of the City of Detroit. They booked a small lineup of local acts, designed a flyer, and papered the area to get the word out. Back then you had to work really hard to let people know there was a new festival coming to town. There was no such thing as Facebook invites or the internet! Dirt Fest is a grassroots home grown festival that has evolved into a force to be reckoned with. In fact, it has finally outgrown its second home at the Birch Run Expo Center and for the first time this year it will move to a new home at The Crofoot Festival Grounds in Pontiac, Michigan.

A few weeks ago we had Dirt Fest co-creator Matt Dalton on our new podcast (alongside Mike Moore of Ironclad Tattoo Co./PRTY Crew) and we had a chance to chat with him about the history of the festival as well as what to expect this year. You can listen to that here to get an in depth look at Dirt Fest past, present, and future! We cannot wait for this Saturday, so without further ado, here is everything you need to know about Dirt Fest 2016.

Doors for this year fest will open at 11:30 a.m. this Saturday for VIP ticket holders and 12 p.m. for general admission tickets. All ages are welcome to attend Dirt Fest and children under the age of 6 are free. General admission tickets will be available at the door the day of the show for $45 a piece. Their will be two options for parking during the show and both will require you to have cash on hand to pay for them. So, make sure you bring at least a $20 with you to ensure safe and secure parking. You can either park next to the festival in the unused spaces that the stages aren't taking up or a block over in the hospital parking structure located at 50 N Perry St, Pontiac, MI 48342. Once you are at the festival you will not be able to leave and come back in. But, they have found a few ways to ensure that you are comfortable throughout the day. The Crofoot Ballroom will be open all day if you need to get out of the sun. Their restrooms will be open, they will have a small cafe open to purchase food and drinks at, and they have a merch drop off station for patrons that want to purchase something, but don't want to have to carry it around all day!

There will be four stages and two autograph stations at this year's show. The first band takes the stage at 12:10 this Saturday and the first autograph tent opens at 1:15. This year's lineup and set times are as follows:

OMEGA MAIN STAGE

12:45-SEA OF TREACHERY

1:20-IT LIES WITHIN

1:55-BEYOND THRESHOLD

2:35-SOIL

3:15-FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS

3:55-WALLS OF JERICHO

4:35-WILSON

5:15-BURY YOUR DEAD

5:55-BORN OF OSIRIS

6:40-ATTILA

7:35-HATEBREED

8:30-ASKING ALEXANDRIA

9:30-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

TASTELESS THREADS STAGE

12:10-NOVA BLAST

12:50-OUR DYING DAY

1:30-HYPORIUM

2:10-ECCLESIAST

2:50-AS WE DIVIDE

3:30-THE CONVALESCENCE

4:10-BELOW THE TIDE

4:50-MYTHS & LEGENDS

5:30-AFTER THE MINOR

6:10-DYSTOPIAN I

6:50-FIVE HUNDREDTH YEAR

7:3DEATH OF THE PARTY

8:10-AS DARKNESS FALLS

8:50-REDBURN

NATIONAL ROCK REVIEW STAGE

12:10-PORTALS

12:50-IRA HILL

1:30-PARALANDRA

2:10-6 PRONG PAW

2:50-DEVOLVER

3:30-KILBURY UNIT

4:10-HARLOW

4:50-I SET MY FRIENDS ON FIRE

5:30-SYDETRAKT

6:10-SAINT RIDLEY

6:50-DEVERAUX

7:30-THE ALPHA COMPLEX

8:10-HEARTSICK

8:50-PSYCHOSTICK

CROFOOT BALLROOM STAGE

12:50-WRVTH

1:30-TITANS IN TIME

2:10-RAVEN BLACK

2:50-FIRST TO SIN

3:30-THE GREATER GOOD

4:10-THE MIRAGE THEORY

4:50-ASSUME NOTHING

5:30-LAWLESS

6:10-BAREKNUCKLE BULLSEYE

6:50-THE REALM BETWEEN

7:30-CROSSING RUBICON

8:10-CONCRETE ANGELS

8:50-WESTFIELD MASSACRE

INKADDICT MEET & GREET TENT

1:15-WALLS OF JERICHO

2:00-FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS

3:30-WESTFIELD MASSACRE

4:45-ASKING ALEXANDRIA

6:00-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

7:15-BORN OF OSIRIS

TASTELESS THREADS MEET & GREET TENT

1:15-SOIL

2:30-I SET MY FRIENDS ON FIRE

3:10-IT LIES WITHIN

4:00-SEA OF TREACHERY

4:45-ATTILA

6:00-PSYCHOSTICK

7:00-BURY YOUR DEAD

TASTELESS THREADS MEET & GREET TENT

1:15-SOIL

2:30-I SET MY FRIENDS ON FIRE

3:10-IT LIES WITHIN

4:00-SEA OF TREACHERY

4:45-ATTILA

6:00-PSYCHOSTICK

7:00-BURY YOUR DEAD

Please make sure that you do not try to bring any of the following items as they will not be allowed through the gates: 

Cans or bottles of ANY kind

Outside food or beverage
Firearms, knives or weapons of ANY kind
Drugs or drug paraphernalia
Bare feet
Tents, umbrellas and chairs
Spikes, chains and karabiners
Fireworks and explosives
Illegal and controlled substances
Unapproved vending or promotional items
Coolers, thermoses and glass containers
Bicycles & scooters
Large bags
Signs, flags & banners
Sticks, rods & poles
Laser pointers
Airhorns & bullhorns
Aerosol cans, pepper spray & mace
Video & audio recording equipment
Pets (service animals trained to assist an individual with a disability are allowed)

Items that are allowed:

Personal music players
Cell phones & chargers
keys (no chains or large quantities of keys or metal)
Ponchos, raingear & hats
Towels & small blankets
Sunscreen & sunglasses
Small purse, bag or backpack
Disposable lighters (leave your Zippo in the glove box!)
Earplugs
Photo Cameras (video cameras are not permitted)

The Crofoot Festival Grounds are located at 1 S. Saginaw Street, Pontiac, MI 48342.  See you Saturday!

~S