The New England Pop Music Festival

The New England Pop Music Festival (a/k/a New England PopFest, a/k/a NE PopFest) is a music festival celebrating and showcasing the pop music of New England musicians.

A message from the founder and organizer:

After three successful years of The New England Pop Music Festival -- 2004, 2005 and 2006 -- I decided to take 2007 off, planning to resume in 2008. Unfortunately, The Abbey Lounge, who was happy to host us for those three years, was experiencing economic difficulties and was unable to accommodate us (and, sadly, has since closed its doors).

Finding a good replacement venue proved rather challenging, and I was unable to find one for 2008. My attitude about NE PopFest has always been that if I can't do it right, I'd rather not do it, and I'm very picky about venues. The primary consideration is that it has to be a club with good sound, which eliminates many of the clubs in the Boston area. It also has to be about the right size, have a good "feel" to it, and not be anywhere near Fenway Park if there is a Red Sox home game that weekend.

As a result of two consecutive years without NE PopFest, at this time I consider it to be finished as an annual festival. This does not mean it will never happen again or that there won't be an occasional show under the NE PopFest name, but it means that it shouldn't be expected to happen on a regular basis.

I am very proud of the festivals that ran. From a musical perspective, they were unqualified successes, bringing together some of the best pop musicians in New England, all of whom were paid for performing. Band connections were made, bands that previously hadn't played in the Boston area played here, people became fans of bands they had not previously heard of, and just about everybody had a great time.

I thank all the artists for performing, everyone who came to hear them, The Abbey for hosting the festivals, those who assisted me in organizing the festivals, and Sam Adams and The Phoenix for being sponsors.

Roy Rubinstein

Past performers include Dave Aaronoff & The Details, The Phil Aiken Army, Corin Ashley, Auto Interiors, Bleu, The Buckners, Bart Caruso Band, The Cyanide Valentine, The Crybabies, Casey Desmond, Allen Devine Group, Din, The Doom Buggies, Dragsville USA, The Fawns, Mike Gent, Girl On Top, Hank Crane, Heavy Stud, Max Heinegg and The Nervous, The Hero Cycle, Rosie Huntress, Illustrious Day, International Pen Pal, The Paula Kelley Orchestra, Robin Lane, Logan 5 & The Runners, The Luxury, Ray Mason Band, Melt, Mercy James Gang, Mollycoddle, The Montgomerys, Muck and The Mires, my own worst enemy, Polyethylene, pome, Brett Rosenberg, The Rudds, Scamper, The Shods, The Silver Lining, Sool, Static of the Gods, The StereoBirds, Temper, Jen Tobey, The Shellye Valauskas Experience, Eric Waxwood, and Welcome.

You can find out about the previous NE PopFests, including photographs and links to band websites, by clicking on the posters below. And don't forget to listen to our theme song.

What is Pop Music?

Good question! :-)

There is, of course, no simple answer to this question. What is considered pop music varies greatly depending on the year (or possibly time of day), the place, and the person answering the question.

The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (original 1983 edition) says

"Pop is the melodic side of rock -- the legacy of show tunes and popular songs of the prerock era. Pop's standards of what makes a well-constructed song still apply to much of rock, which strives for memorable tunes and clear sentiments; the tension between pop virtues (such as sophisticated chord structures and unusual melodic twists), and incantatory, formulaic blues elements animates much of the best rock, like that of the Beatles."

Not bad. But perhaps not complete enough (and over 20 years old, though more current descriptions are not necessarily better). Pop includes "power pop" and "pop/rock," but is not limited to those. Most music described as "Beatlesque" is considered pop. Pop music can be based on any number of styles, including folk, country, punk, blues, reggae, garage rock, as well as many others. That doesn't mean that everything in those categories are pop, but some things are. It can rock hard or not at all, though having a melody (often with hooks) is generally a necessary component.

But what it basically comes down to, adapting Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's words regarding pornography, is "I know it when I hear it."

You can check out NE PopFest 2006, NE PopFest 2005 and NE PopFest 2004 by clicking these links or the posters below.

Copyright © 2004-2008 Roy S. Rubinstein. All rights reserved.
The New England Pop Music Festival theme song Copyright © 2006 Robin Lane/Roy Rubinstein. All rights reserved.
"The New England Pop Music Festival", "NE PopFest", "Random Rogue", and the nepop logo are trademarks and may not be used without permission.
Web site designed and maintained by Roy S. Rubinstein (click for email address).