NE PopFest 2006 Band FAQ

As mentioned on the NE PopFest home page, it is difficult to define just what "pop" is. The organizers would like to use a fairly general, but not too general, definition. Essentially, it will be the subjective opinion of the organizers to decide on a case by case basis. If in doubt, it doesn't hurt to apply, as there is no application fee.

If any of the band members is a current resident of New England (which includes Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine), the band qualifies. There may be special cases that allow other bands to qualify, but they must be clearly explained to us.

The band application period for NE PopFest 2006 has ended. We expect to begin taking applications for NE PopFest 2007 in late May or early June 2007.

The organizers are allowing ourselves about a month from the application deadline to review all the materials and decide upon the festival program, and you will be notified soon after that. We hope to have a festival schedule in late July or, more likely, early August.

You were allowed to withdraw your application any time up until the application deadline, after that agreeing to play if accepted. As the application deadline has now passed and we are in the process of considering the applications, we expect you to honor that commitment just as you would any other scheduled gig. There will only be about a month between the end of the application period and the acceptance announcements in which you will be committed to play without knowing if you are accepted to the festival. We apologize for this inconvenience, but it is necessary.

Yes. The 2-week rule means that if you are accepted to play the festival, you must not play any other shows in the Boston area within 2 weeks of the festival. (If you have a question about whether a location qualifies as "the Boston area," please ask. Providence and Worcester are not considered the Boston area.)

While it would be nice to guarantee all bands lots of money, unfortunately this is not the case. Given that there will be 6 bands per night (probably more, counting the Pub Stage) and that The Abbey is a relatively intimate club (holding about 125 people), there can't be a huge amount of money for everyone. But I try to pay the bands as much as I can without personally losing too much money.

Last year I took out of the door significantly less than my expenses, and in 2004 I took nothing out for my expenses. Feel free to contact people in bands that previously played NE PopFest to see that I am very fair about this.

And don't forget that you get to sell your merchandise.

If you are in it primarily for the money, NE PopFest 2006 may not be for you. In addition, being a musician may not be for you.

There are number of reasons for this. First, assuming an average of 4 members per band (it may be more), this would be at least an additional 48 tickets per day that could not be sold, which means significantly less money for the bands (do the math). Since many band members may not want to attend the other days, this arrangement allows more tickets to be sold, generating more money for the bands as well as having more people in the club during the sets. (You wouldn't want fewer people to hear you because some band members who played other days didn't come but still take up tickets, would you?) Remember, even though attending another day will cost you $5/day, you get free beer. (Note: Musicians who are in two bands that play the festival will get in free two days, even if both bands play the same day. Musicians in three or more bands that play the festival will get in free all days.)

Unfortunately not. Given that there are 18 (or more) bands, allowing guest lists would reduce the paid admissions too much. If a band member wants to tell someone they are on the guest list, that can be done if the band member prepays the admission for that person.