Oblio Nashville • Alternative/RockInspired by everyone from Paul Simon to Arcade Fire, this trio makes a huge, engulfing sound full of spacious guitars and passionate vocals that somehow still ma  

Sam Goodwillyoungstown, oh • Indie/ProgressiveSam Goodwill isn’t a guy but a trio that makes creatively shaped Art Pop, folding in elements of slinky, twilight Soul, skittish Funk and subtl  

Uncle Mountainasheville, NC • Indie/Americana/RockThis North Carolina-based quintet is hard to describe with a quick and easy genre tag thanks to having three prominent songwriters that each craf  

This year's MidPoint Music Festival is the biggest yet, reaching the point where it's able to showcase not only the scrappy new groundbreakers and risk-takers. MPMF10 also features artists who gave those newer acts a chance to do be as creative and experimental as they want to be, like singer/songwriter/arranger Van Dyke Parks, long-running Japanese Indie Pop trio Shonen Knife and Tom Tom Club. And wait, there's more!  

MidPoint offers 250 bands on 25 stages in three districts (downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Newport) over three nights — with so much to see and hear, why waste time standing in line to pay cover charges at each club? Festivalgoers in the know pony up for a three-day wristband ($39) and guarantee themselves smooth sailing.  

Metro, Cincinnati’s transit authority, will have three of its newest hybrid buses circulating around Downtown and Over-the-Rhine 9 p.m.-1 a.m. all three nights of MidPoint. The buses will make stops every five minutes at marked locations running north on Main Street, west on Liberty Street, south on Walnut Street and east on Fifth Street. The rides are free for everyone with a three-day MPMF wristband.  

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 build diverse experience while nurturing your Cincinnati pride.  

A major mission of the MidPoint Music Festival is to draw attention to the region's creative community, and 2010 has a new offering: the MidPoint Poster Expo, focusing on contemporary music and event posters, mostly with limited print runs.  

There’s no need to shush anyone at the Main Public Library during the 2010 MidPoint Music Festival. The library, right in the heart of the festival’s downtown action, is hoping to keep MPMF fans busy during the daytime hours with free live music and music-related art shows and documentary films.  

Thursday night is packed with great shows. You, You're Awesome and Eat Sugar both play at the new MPMF venue, The Cincinnati Club on Garfield Place. National rising star Best Coast plays the Topic Design Tent at Grammer's, while legendary singer-songwriter Van Dyke Parks plays the Blue Wisp. And international trio Shonen Knife will be cutting ear drums at the CAC.  

Prepare to be rocked on Friday. Surfer Blood follows the annual secret show at The Cincinnati Club. Local favorites Lions Rampant, The Tillers and Jake Speed & The Freddies play across the city. Caribou headlines the Grammer's tent. And the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir returns to MidPoint after their tragic accident prevented them from appearing last year.  

The MidPoint Music Festival finishes strong on Saturday. Local rhythm setters Koala Fires, Chaselounge, Pomegranates, Culture Queer, Fairmount Girls and The Sundresses will all show up to blow your mind. The Tom Tom Club will be on hand rock out at Grammer's. And Aficionado returns with their squadron of members to show people what 'working together' really means.  

The names of many of the performers for this year's MidPoint Music Festival (coming up Sept. 23-25) have been leaking out gradually over the past few months, but the first official schedule is now available at mpmf.com. The interactive grid allows you to choose Thursday, Friday or Saturday's lineups and scroll across the 26 venues, then click on any performer name to get details.  

Some details about the 2010 MidPoint Music Festival were unveiled April 23 at the Contemporary Arts Center, including confirmations of A Place to Bury Strangers, Richard Buckner, Van Dyke Parks and a handful of other performers. Several national acts were also announced for the MidPoint Indie Summer Series on Fountain Square, starting with Camera Obscura June 4.  

Bands and artists the world over can now register to take part in the 2010 MidPoint Music Festival, a three-day (Sept. 23-25) downtown Cincinnati party that's rapidly becoming a highlight of the region's musical landscape. Be be warned: The final submission deadline is May 15.