MidPoint Music Fest: a wrap up

Thousands flocked to Over-The-Rhine (OTR) this weekend to participate in the 11th Midpoint Music Festival, an annual showcase of indie acts from around the country. Taking advantage of this past summer's renovations, Washington Park served as the main stage. With the view of the Cincinnati Music Hall providing the perfect background, the park provided some of the festival's best acts. Other theaters and clubs, such as Emery Theater and The Know Theater, also served as venues. The organizers held nothing back and secured some of the best acts in the country, including indie royalty Andrew Bird and Grizzly Bear. Andrew Bird headlined Washington Park on Thursday night. His alternative folk style, combined with his trademark fiddle and whistling, provided a relaxing soundtrack for the evening. In the middle of his set Andrew Bird and his band went unplugged, playing a nice mix of bluegrass sounding songs including the stellar "Give It Away"
off of his latest album Break It Yourself. His whistling and voice, amplified from the stage, sounded incredible and the crowd walked away satisfied. Friday night headliner Grizzly Bear attracted a large and extremely devoted crowd. They played
many songs off their latest album Shields. Songs such as " Speak in Rounds" and "Yet Again" are sure to become live favorites. The band played a good mix of their old and new songs, with past gems such as "Two Weeks," "While You Wait For The Others" and "Little Brother." The band also showed a good sense of humor: while the bass amp was experiencing problems, the remainder of the band broke out into a slow jam with singer Ed Droste reminiscing about the last time the band played in Cincinnati in 2007, or was it 2008? He couldn't remember. Regardless, Grizzly Bear played a terrific set. Other highlights from the festival included The Dirty Projectors at Emery Theater, Dinosaur Jr. at Grammar's and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, who played just before Grizzly Bear. With such a successful festival this year, one can only
expect the same for next year.