After a one-year absence in 2008, the MidPoint Music Festival has brought back the daytime "music conference," with useful panels and discussions about a range of topics of interest to all types of independent musicians. All panels are Saturday afternoon, so pace yourself Friday night — the first two are at the Garfield Suites Hotel, MPMF.09 headquarters, and the final one takes place at the Contemporary Arts Center.  

Works of "Classic Rock" often inspire legions of young bandlings that hang on their idols' every note. Take The Rosewood Thieves, for example. The New York quintet — folksy, funky and richly educated in Rock classics — manages to wield a rare sonic power to channel the essence of what made music from the '60s and '70s resonate without any semblance of kitsch or irony.   

The down-home, Appalachian-inspired trio from Boston's Berklee College of Music represent the best attributes of Bluegrass-fusion and Americana: strings, delightfully lilting vocals and the ability to make Country music not sound especially Country. Annie Lynch, the guitar-wielding songstress and frontwoman, grew up on Cape Cod and feasted primarily on Folk artists like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan.  

Mica Levi (better know as the British-born dance-hall favorite Micachu) isn't experimental, captivating, moving nor otherwise. She's awesome. The 22-year-old musician, songwriter and producer has, in little time, amassed a hit record ('Jewellery') and a commissioned orchestral piece with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She's also a burgeoning international Pop icon.  

Yusef Quotah draws bunnies and monsters, box-headed characters that obscure the the faces of he and his band partner Kevin Bayer in all photos, putting emphasis on the music rather than looks. Accidentally discovered, the bunny drawings have become signature band artwork, part of the package. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, in 2000 Quotah came to the University of Cincinnati to study design at DAAP. Currently, he focuses on animation ... and electronic music with Bayer.  

For Chairlift, the experimental-tinged, ethereal Folk Pop trio that will be rocking the "Topic Design Tent" at Grammer's Saturday as part of MidPoint Music Festival, it's been a fast rise upward. Just four years ago, Chairlift — then a collection of undergraduates at University of Colorado at Boulder — was playing at a garage party for singer/synth player Caroline Polacheck's art class. As students displayed their classwork along the walls, they debuted new songs.  

Erika Wennerstrom's stuff might be jammed into an apartment in Austin, Texas, but Cincinnati will always be home for her and The Heartless Bastards. It's been nearly two years since she dismantled the original Bastards after her personal break-up with bassist Mike Lamping and relocated to Texas. "I think it was a good move for me to leave town for a bit," Wennerstrom says from her Austin digs.  

Blue that you missed this year's Lite Brite Film Test (which typically took over the Southgate House for a weekend five years running)? Well, never fear: The always-crafty visual extravaganza is back, this time in conjunction with the three-day MidPoint Music Festival.  

Yusef Quotah draws bunnies and monsters, box-headed characters that obscure the the faces of he and his band partner Kevin Bayer in all photos, putting emphasis on the music rather than looks. Accidentally discovered, the bunny drawings have become signature band artwork, part of the package. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, in 2000 Quotah came to the University of Cincinnati to study design at DAAP. Currently, he focuses on animation ... and electronic music with Bayer.  

Volunteers are the face, muscle and might that propel the MidPoint Music Festival forward each year. Participating as a volunteer is a great way to get behind the scenes at MidPoint, meet new people, discover new music, score a new T-shirt and enjoy a diverse experience while nurturing your Cincinnati pride.