The initial 20 national artists booked for this September’s MidPoint Music Festival (coming Sept. 22-24 to various venues in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine) were recently announced and they show the fest is already off to a great start. This year’s event will feature Cut Copy, Deerhoof, Kaki King, Xiu Xiu, Mates of State, The Low Anthem, Viva Voce, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Those Darlins, The Dodos, Toro Y Moi, Gang Gang Dance, Ava Luna, Washed Out, Conspiracy of Owls, Bear Hands, Ivan and Alyosha, Mansions on the Moon, The Giving Tree Band and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
The MidPoint Indie Summer series — free concerts every Friday on Fountain Square all summer long — kicks off with the Electro-heavy You, You’re Awesome/Javelin/Lydia Burrell show June 3. You, You’re Awesome released its debut full-length, Good Point, Whoever Said That, on May 23; visit youyoureawesome.com to download a free version or one of the deluxe editions. That first Indie Summer show is also the first time you can purchase MPMF ’11 wristbands in person at a discounted rate ($39), while they last.
Three more Indie Summer shows have also been announced. On July 15, local Electro/Indie/New Wave crew Eat Sugar is joined on Fountain Square by Kentucky Electronic band The Pass and local Indie Rock newcomers Starfox. July 22’s show features local rockers July For Kings, The Prohibitionists and The Western. And Indie/Punk/Pop hero Ted Leo headlines the July 29 Indie Summer show with trippy L.A. duo Tweak Bird and local up-and-comers Belle Histoire.
As always, be sure to check mpmf.com for the latest info on tickets, bookings (only about 200 or so performers are left to be announced) and all other things MidPoint related.
More Local Notes
• Seventy years ago, a young man named Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in Deluth, Minn. This Friday at the Southgate House in Newport, several local Roots, Folk, Bluegrass and Rock artists will perform the songs of Zimmerman in honor of his 70th birthday, but they’re going to call it “Dylan Fest,” a reference to Zimmerman’s better known alias — Bob Dylan. The celebration (utilizing all three SGH stages) will feature plenty of Dylan covers by artists like Frontier Folk Nebraska, Josh Eagle & Harvest City, The Mudpies, Straw Boss, Hickory Robot, The Dust Feel, Shoot Out the Lights, The Turkeys and many others. Music starts at 8:30 p.m. and the cover charge ($10 for those 21 and up; $13 for those 18-20) will go to Play It Forward, the local organization that helps insurance-less musicians with medical, financial and other issues. (www.southgatehouse.com)
• If you have some money this weekend, you can sample some of the finest dishes Cincy restaurants have to offer at the Taste of Cincinnati. If you don’t have any money, you can still do some sampling — of Cincinnati’s original local music scene. This Saturday-Monday, the fest again features a nice array of local acts mixed in with cover bands and, uh, some guy from Dancing with the Stars. Saturday, you can catch locals like Pomegranates, The Seedy Seeds and The Pinstripes. Sunday’s festivities are capped off by Roots Pop band 500 Miles to Memphis and also feature such bands as Walk the Moon, Buffalo Killers, The Lions Rampant, The Tillers and Giant Wow. Sunday’s Taste lineup includes The Kickaways, Tracy Walker, Kelly Thomas and the Fabulous Pickups and Freekbot, the live Electro Funk project featuring Freekbass and Animal Crackers’ turntable hero, DJ Tobotius. For the full schedule and more info, visit www.tasteofcincinnati.com.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: [email protected]
