Step Into the Time Machine That Is Popopolis
After a seven-year abscence, Popopolis is returning to Cincinnati. The music festival was created in 1998 by Jay Hopper and Mike Breen of Rockets to Mars, who got the idea from San Francisco’s International Pop Overthrow Festival. Breen states that “If you present something as more than just a concert with a bunch of bands, tie it all together with SOMETHING, people are more inclinded to come for some reason.”
The music festival featured many of the best melody-makers in the local and regional music scenes like the Simpletons, Promenade, Clabbergirl, Saving Ray, Giant Judys (featuring Benjamin Davis of Bad Veins), The Tigerlilies and the Fairmount Girls, as well as a couple of bigger headliners like Nada Surf and Superdrag. The last event took place at the Southgate House in 2002.
Popopolis typically served as a benefit show, with proceeds going to LINKS (Lonely Instruments for Needy Kids), as well as a number of homeless shelters. Breen notes that “Some of the performers this year are donating their performance fee to LINKS, but it’s not a benefit, per se.”
The creation of the MidPoint Music Festival actually stems from Popopolis and MidPoint founders Bill Donabedian and Sean Rhiney. Donabedian decided to bring Popopolis back this year, and he’s assembled a cast basically consisiting of a “who’s who” in the Cincinnati music scene, both past and present. Former WOXY DJ, Matt Sledge, will be returning this year as the MC.
Friday serves as “reunion night” with bands and artists such as Throneberry, Mike Landis of Promenade, Rockets to Mars, Messerly and Ewing, Clabbergirl (featuring Rhiney), Bri Love of Swarthy and Saving Ray. Saturday will feature the next crop of local bands looking to be the next big thing like Bad Veins, Dan Mecher of The Turnbull AC’s, Pomegranates, Jason Snell of The Chocolate Horse, Wussy, The Seedy Seeds and State Song.
It’s now October and this may be one of the last musical events of the year on Fountain Square. The weather’s calling for chilly winds and rain, so don’t forget your jackets and hoodies!
Here’s the schedule:
Friday, October 2
7 pm Saving Ray (feat. Kevin Nolan) MAIN STAGE
7:40 Bri Love (of Swarthy) ACOUSTIC STAGE
8 pm Clabbergirl (feat. Sean Rhiney) MAIN STAGE
8:40 Messerly & Ewing ACOUSTIC STAGE
9 pm Rockets to Mars (feat. Mike Breen) MAIN STAGE
9:40 Mike Landis (of Promenade) ACOUSTIC STAGE
10 pm Throneberry (feat. Jason Arbenz) MAIN STAGE
Saturday, October 3
7 pm State Song MAIN STAGE
7:40 The Seedy Seeds ACOUSTIC STAGE
8 pm Wussy MAIN STAGE
8:40 Jason Snell (of The Chocolate Horse) ACOUSTIC STAGE
9 pm Pomegranates MAIN STAGE
9:40 Dan Mecher (of The Turnbull AC’s) ACOUSTIC STAGE
10 pm Bad Veins MAIN STAGE