Pitchfork

Forget press releases: Sir Richard Branson, lord of the Virgin empire, took a personal approach to delivering news when he rappelled from a helicopter over the Toronto waterfront last Friday. His message to the media? Virgin's hugely popular British rock fest, the V Festival, will drop into Toronto's Island Park on September 9-10.

There are over 40 bands on the Toronto roster, including the Flaming Lips, Massive Attack, Gnarls Barkley, the Raconteurs, Wolfmother, Phoenix, the Hidden Cameras, the Dears, Jose Gonzales, Starsailor, Alexisonfire, Zero 7, Eagles of Death Metal, Thrice, 2ManyDJs, K'Naan, and Sam Roberts Band. The fest aims to draw 50,000 concertgoers, which just might happen, considering the British V Festival sold out in a mere three hours.

The V festival will make its U.S. debut at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course on September 23. (Alas, Branson didn't do any rappelling into Bodymore.) Gnarls Barkley and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are the only acts confirmed for that one so far, with the full lineup to be revealed July 10.

Apparently, these North American extensions of the V Festival are only the beginning. Virgin hopes to hold fests in Vancouver and Montreal next year.