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New Starfest music festival aims to bring Lil Wayne, Bridgette Tatum and 50-plus TBA artists to Plano

Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with new details.

A new music festival coming to Dallas-Fort Worth seems insistent on using the element of surprise.

Starfest, as it's called, is scheduled to take place at the Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve in Plano on Sept. 8-9 -- as in, five weeks from the day it announced the first act.

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On Aug. 4, the festival announced a not-so-small rapper by the name of Lil Wayne would perform. The following week, Starfest added hip-hop's Flo Rida and DJ duo the Artful Dodger. Since then, singer-songwriter Bridgette Tatum and Dallas-based duo French 75 have been added to the lineup on its website.

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Several other artists, such as country musician Hunter Hayes and DJ Carnage, were previously listed on Starfest's website. However, they have since been removed, adding to the confusion about what the festival has to offer and bolstering its local reputation as famous for all the wrong reasons.

More headliners are expected to be announced throughout the month. Starfest originally planned to release one act per day via radio stations KLIF-FM (93.3), KSCS-FM (96.3) and Sportsradio 1310/96.7 FM The Ticket; however, organizers changed course after questions arose about the festival's viability, according to the Dallas Observer. Performing artists are also expected to be posted online.

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According to the website, Starfest is billed as a "pop-up concert" that will "set the stage for an annual event." The event certainly popped up on us -- Friday was the first we'd heard about it.

The timing was "extremely intentional," says co-founder David Taylor. "We didn't want this to be your typical concert. We want you to go, 'Holy moly, this is crazy!'"

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Another quirk: Even though Starfest expects to host about 60 bands across two stages, it doesn't anticipate announcing its full lineup until the day of the event. Can we say the word "crazy" yet?

Taylor is also planning what he calls three pop-up restaurant concepts where festivalgoers can buy "more craft-type food, not junk food like you get at the State Fair."

One will be a whiskey and barbecue joint, another will focus on margaritas and fajitas, and the last will serve vodka-based drinks alongside American food. 

There will also be carnival rides, including a Ferris wheel, onsite, he says.

A note on the site suggests Starfest expects to have a five-year run. This is not, however, the Suburbia Music Festival replacement that Plano was working on several years ago with KHYI-FM (95.3) The Range, confirmed Michelle Hawkins, arts, culture and heritage manager for the City of Plano.

"It's a new group that came to us several months ago looking to put this festival on," Hawkins tells GuideLive. "It's not partnership with the city, except we're there for the services."

Taylor, who has owned Dallas bars such as the Ivy Lounge and Dirty Dave's, began hosting local events through a crowd-funding company he started called Crudefunders. When he was approached about Starfest, it felt like a natural fit. His partners are Shamar Willis, Bill Pletch and Michael Warden.

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"What North Texas needs is something like ACL," says Taylor, adding some of the to-be-announced acts come from London, Atlanta and Nashville. "We wanted to make it really unique and different so all the demographics can have something to go see."

A Craigslist ad soliciting volunteers says the "inaugural event is expected to draw more than 20,000 attendees per day and will include performances from premier music artists such as Imagine Dragons, 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, Steve Aoki, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett and many more." It's worth noting that rapper 2 Chainz, who was supposed to play Dallas on Aug. 5, will be on tour in Ohio and Maryland the dates of the festival.

None of the artists in the list above are confirmed except for Lil Wayne, for now.

Tickets, which are now on sale, cost $85 for single-day general admission or $140 for two-day general admission. Prices increase if you want to be admitted to sections 100, 200 or 300; though a map of the venue's layout is not available on the website. VIP tickets, which include access to a premium viewing area, cooling fans and a full service bar, range $400 each for a single-day to $675 for a two-day. There's also the VIP Galaxy option, which can cost up to $1,250 for additional perks like lunch and dinner onsite.