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1 x 2 [2]Skip Navigation 3 4 • Share on Facebook 5 • Share on SMS 6 • Share on Email 7 8 [3] WUSA9 Home 9 10 Navigation 11 12 • [4] News 13 □ [5] Back 14 □ [6] Local 15 □ [7] DC 16 □ [8] Maryland 17 □ [9] Virginia 18 □ [10] Investigations 19 □ [11] Coronavirus 20 □ [12] Traffic 21 □ [13] Nation/World 22 □ [14] Entertainment 23 □ [15] Near Me 24 □ [16] Environment 25 Latest News Stories 26 □ [17] [a4af3fb1-e] [a4af3fb1-e] 27 28 [18]District Dogs employee fired after allegedly striking and killing 29 dog 30 31 □ [19] [34abfba1-f] [34abfba1-f] 32 33 [20]'If our car isn't safe in a secure garage, what is safe? | Couple 34 says their car was stolen from a secure garage in Navy Yard 35 36 [21] [34abfba1-f] [34abfba1-f] 37 38 [22]Couple says their car was stolen from a secure garage in Navy Yard 39 40 • [23] Weather 41 □ [24] Back 42 □ [25] Forecast 43 □ [26] Radar 44 □ [27] 10-Day 45 □ [28] Hourly 46 □ [29] Closings & Delays 47 □ [30] Traffic & Transportation 48 □ [31] Weather Classroom 49 Latest Weather Stories 50 □ [32] [f456dfa2-6] [f456dfa2-6] 51 52 [33]FORECAST: A cold start then mostly sunny Wednesday 53 54 □ [34] [adf295f6-f] [adf295f6-f] 55 56 [35]Future City Competition: What could the world look like in 100 57 years? 58 59 • [36] Sports 60 • [37] VERIFY 61 • [38] Watch Live 62 [39] 63 • [40] Search 64 Search: [41][ ] Search 65 66 [44] 67 Right Now 68 Washington, DC » 69 36° 70 Clear 71 Washington, DC » 72 [45]Weather [46]Closings 73 74 • [48]Advertise With Us 75 • [49]Get Up DC 76 • [50]Contests 77 • [51]Environment 78 • [52]Washington Commanders 79 • [53]Investigations 80 • [54]Great Day Washington 81 • [55]Capitol Riots 82 • [56]Coronavirus 83 • [57]Equality Matters 84 • [58]Impact 85 • [59]Life 86 • [60]Our Picks 87 • [61]Military 88 • [62]HeartThreads 89 • [63]Food 90 • [64]Consumer 91 • [65]Pets 92 • [66]Get Up Give Back 93 94 Breaking News 95 96 • [68] 97 98 [69]More () » 99 100 It's been 20 years since DC's biggest music festival went quiet 101 102 The HFStival boasted some of the biggest names in rock and was the must-have 103 ticket for the summer. 104 105 Matt Gregory, Ruth Morton, Larry Sindass, Matt Pusatory (WUSA9), Tom Kopania 106 107 [c51c0dec-f] 108 An alternative rock festival held locally from the 1990's through 2006. 109 110 More Videos 111 112 [72] 113 [72dee97b-2] 114 115 Next up in 5 116 117 Example video title will go here for this video 118 119 • [73] 120 [72dee97b-2] 121 122 Next up in 5 123 124 Example video title will go here for this video 125 126 • [74] 127 [] 128 129 • [75] 130 [] 131 132 • [76] 133 [] 134 135 • [77] 136 [] 137 138 Play Video 139 140 Close Video 141 142 [c51c0dec-f] 143 ● 144 145 • [79] 146 147 The Concert Event of the Year 148 149 • [80] 150 151 The Early Years 152 153 The Beginning of the Festival 154 155 • [81] 156 157 Becoming a Destination 158 159 Growing The Fest 160 161 • [82] 162 163 "I'm Living My Rock and Roll Dream" 164 165 RFK Welcomes A Hometown Hero 166 167 • [83] 168 169 Parking Lot Proving Grounds 170 171 Local Acts Get Their Start 172 173 • [84] 174 175 Radio Silence 176 177 The End of HFStival 178 179 ● 180 [86] Facebook 181 Published: 7:29 AM EST February 5, 2024 182 Updated: 1:09 PM EST February 6, 2024 183 184 WASHINGTON 185 186 The Concert Event of the Year: 187 188 Outside, the abandoned Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Jeff Lund, stared past 189 the fence, past the boarded-up windows, and into the past. 190 191 “I used to buy tickets to the [87]HFStival here,” he smiled. “There was like a 192 shanty town of teenagers with tents and sleeping bags camped out all night just 193 to be in line for tickets." 194 195 “You had the whole school year to get excited about it,” he said with memories 196 swimming around him. 197 198 It was the concert event of the year in the DMV. A summer show that brought the 199 world’s biggest music acts to D.C. 200 201 “We had the [88]Foo Fighters, we had [89]The Ramones, we had [90]Tony Bennett,” 202 former WHFS music director and DJ Bob Waugh said. 203 204 Waugh is one of the men behind the HFStival. For years, he spearheaded the 205 logistics of it. He convinced hundreds of artists to make D.C. their summer 206 music destination. 207 208 “In radio you work in a bubble, so the idea of going out and doing something 209 that was a live event was an opportunity we all savored,” he said. 210 211 The Early Years: The Beginning of the Festival 212 213 In the early 1990s Bob started work at the popular DMV rock station 99.1 WHFS. 214 He had followed WHFS program director Robert Benjamin to the station. 215 216 When the two arrived, WHFS already had a summer concert that went on in 217 Northern Virginia. 218 219 “It was something we were interested in growing,” Waugh said. “That started 220 when we moved it to the Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in 1992.” 221 222 Waugh credits Benjamin with coming up with changing the name of the summer 223 concert to The HFStival. After the success of the 1992 show, both men felt it 224 was time to try a bigger venue. 225 226 Waugh said someone suggested they take the show to RFK Stadium. The problem 227 would be selling out the sports stadium. Waugh said they knew they needed a 228 headliner for the show. They got one in INXS. 229 230 In 1993, WHFS hosted its first HFStival at RFK Stadium. The list of artists had 231 grown, but with INXS anchoring the show, it sold out. 232 233 Becoming a Destination: Growing The Fest 234 235 Waugh said from there, it was off to the races. He and Benjamin built contacts 236 across the music industry. Those contacts created relationships. Over time they 237 were able to convince bands to make a yearly stop at RFK. 238 239 “It got to a point where bands were planning their summer tours around the 240 HFStival,” Waugh said. “They knew they wanted to be in D.C. around Memorial 241 Day.” 242 243 “Remember when Green Day set their drum kit on fire?” former WHFS DJ Gina Crash 244 mused from a Towson recording studio. 245 246 I’ve gotten her and another WHFS alumnus, Rob Timm, together for the interview. 247 248 Crash and Timm sat together for a few minutes and the stories started to flow. 249 They picked up like the 1990s had never ended. 250 251 “That was the year we put everybody up at the Watergate and Adam Duritz of 252 Counting Crows was upset that there was a grand piano in the suite that we got 253 for him,” Timm laughed. He demanded the piano be removed.” 254 255 Both had a front-row seat to the madness of the summer concert. 256 257 “I just remember doing interviews backstage, like talking to Scott Weiland from 258 Stone Temple Pilots and trying to prop him up on the couch because he was 259 falling,” Crash smiled. 260 261 "I'm Living My Rock and Roll Dream": RFK Welcomes A Hometown Hero 262 263 Every summer the DMV got a days-long taste of the music that shaped the 1990s. 264 No genre was safe from rock to hip-hop. In fact, for one night in 1995, even 265 jazz singer Tony Bennett graced the RFK stage. 266 267 “In 1996, Courtney Love and Tony Bennett shared a dressing room because we had 268 run out of space backstage and they were separated by just a curtain,” Waugh 269 said. 270 271 “Courtney Love being Courtney Love, decided it might be fun to open that 272 curtain and lift her shirt and flash Tony Bennett, which I happened to witness 273 in real time. Tony Bennett was not impressed. I think he'd seen it all at that 274 point.” 275 276 The HFStival grew through the 90s. The crowds increased every year and 277 eventually it gave native son, Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, their first 278 stadium show welcome. 279 280 “I’m living my rock and roll dream,” Grohl shouted to the crowd in 1997. “I 281 grew up in Springfield, Virginia!” 282 283 “It was very much a homecoming and I think Dave had the time of his life,” Rob 284 Timm said. “In fact, I know that he did.” 285 286 Parking Lot Proving Grounds: Local Acts Get Their Start 287 288 But the festival was more than the inside of the stadium. In the parking lots, 289 different political and social causes set up shop. Vendors sold the wares of 290 the decade. The radio station set up smaller stages for lesser known and local 291 bands. 292 293 Those stages turned into proving grounds for future artists. 294 295 In the mid-'90s, Annapolis native Jimi Haha and his band Jimmie’s Chicken Shack 296 tore it up on the local stage. But when Jimi looked back at RFK he said 297 something he didn’t expect. 298 299 “All the ramps in the side of the stadium were packed with people watching us 300 play, it was intense,” he laughed. “I guess Art Alexakis of Everclear had told 301 everyone to check us out. 302 303 Later that year, the band would sign a major label record deal. The next year, 304 they played inside RFK as their album took off. 305 306 That was the other story of the HFStival, how it propelled local bands into the 307 national spotlight. The local bands in turn would pull others up behind them. 308 309 “We were huge Jimmie’s Chicken Shack fans,” Jeff Lund said. “This is really 310 nerdy, but they had this record label ‘Fowl Records’ and at the HFStival they 311 started a Fowl Records stage. That’s where I saw Good Charlotte for the first 312 time.” 313 314 That’s right. Waldorf, Mayland’s own Good Charlotte played on the local stage 315 Jimi Haha sponsored after he made it big. Small music world. The brothers 316 behind Good Charlotte, Benji and Joel Madden also had their songs played for 317 the first time over WHFS airwaves. Within a few years the band was touring the 318 world and playing on MTV. 319 320 But it all started in a parking lot at RFK stadium. 321 322 From 1993 to 2004 the HFStivals roared on. Each summer more fans came and more 323 bands signed on. But in 2005 the radio station underwent a cataclysmic change. 324 325 Radio Silence: The End of HFStival 326 327 “I had a a lot of concerns about what was happening to the station as I was 328 leaving,” Bob Waugh said. 329 330 In January of 2005, those fears became realized. 331 332 “I remember starting my car and it was set to HFS and there was just Latin 333 music playing,” Jeff Lund said. 334 335 “I was like maybe there is something wrong?” 336 337 It was a sudden and unannounced format change. In one day, the station went 338 from alternative rock to Latin music 99.1 El Zol. Not long after- HFStivals 339 stopped as well. 340 341 “They tried, but it was a mere shadow of its former self. A festival in name 342 only at that point,” Waugh said. 343 344 In the 20 years since RFK hosted the last HFStival. The DJs have moved on and 345 the fans have moved on. Soon RFK will be completely torn down. 346 347 Through the fence of the abandoned RFK stadium, Jimi Haha dreams of a new 348 future. 349 350 “Yeah, I get nostalgic, but tearing a building down doesn’t tear down the 351 memories or the experiences there,” he smiled. “Hopefully they’ll build 352 something badass.” 353 354 Haha broke into a smile and let out his signature chuckle. 355 356 “Then we can do more fun things in that venue.” 357 358 RELATED: [91]This Virginia music teacher just won a Grammy 359 360 RELATED: [92]List of nominees and winners for the 66th Grammy Awards 361 362 Do you have a news tip on this story or any other story? We want to hear from 363 you. 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