Oasis To Play Oxegen Festival?

The first tickets for next year's Oxegen festival went on general sale yesterday morning, causing the thoughts of music fans to briefly wander from the cold winter weather to the-- hopefully -- sun drenched fields of Punchestown next summer.

And the indications were that fans wouldn't be put off by the prospect of a repeat of this year's washout, because the 'early bird' tickets for the now three-day event were reported to selling well.

"We expected it to sell out straight away but it didn't," a ticket seller in the Stephen's Green Shopping centre told the Irish Independent. "But they have been selling consistently throughout the day."

The 'early bird' tickets are being sold at last year's prices of €197.50 plus booking fee for a limited time.

Fans registered on the Oxegen website had the chance to buy their tickets as part of an internet only pre-sale from midnight last Tuesday to seven yesterday morning.

The first act for the Kildare festival has already been announced with the Kings of Leon, who played two dates in Dublin's RDS this week, voted by Oxegen fans as the band they most wanted to see in an online poll.

Promoters MCD say the band was immediately booked in response to the demand. "This is the first time ever the fans have selected a line-up for a festival," MCD's Justin Green said.

"The Kings of Leon topped the poll of the most requested act that the fans wanted to see. We're giving more choice to the fans."

Fans will also be able to choose which campsite they want to buy tickets for -- something MCD says increases choice for fans.

The full line-up for the festival will not be announced until February but early speculation has thrown up names like the Verve, Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, REM, Massive Attack, Orson and the Foo Fighters.

Source: www.independent.ie

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