Don’t Bury HFStival Just Yet

Although Washington, D.C.’s prominent WHFS-FM has switched formats from alt-rock to Spanish, it was premature to say the radio station’s massive festival has gone away.

It is possible the HFStival will continue on. However, last year’s fest promoter, I.M.P.‘s Seth Hurwitz, stressed to Pollstar that talks with Infinity Broadcasting about hosting the concert this year are tentative and speculative. Basically, everybody involved is poking the idea with a stick.

“We’re looking at venues and (the station’s) Lisa Warden is looking at what kind of program she can put together, but neither of those are anywhere near done,” Hurwitz said. “They’re just in the formative stage.”

The profitable annual summer concert marathon at RFK Stadium was a cornerstone of the iconic WHFS, and a revenue source for the otherwise financially struggling station. Infinity spokeswoman Karen Mateo told the Washington Post that, “for all intents and purposes, yes, we plan to continue. … We’re working on it.”

After the format changed at WHFS, some of the station’s DJs reportedly reappeared during the weekend on Infinity’s Live 105.7 out of Baltimore. Meanwhile, www.whfs.com – which streams the station’s original format – was recently launched with the help of America Online.

The Baltimore station cannot be heard clearly in the Washington area, the Post said, and Mateo agreed the new Spanish music station (now with the call letters WZLL), could not effectively promote the concert. But Infinity is considering using another one of its D.C.-area stations to promote the event.