Saturday, one of the more anticipated bands performing at this year’s MidPoint Music Festival, Okkervil River, jump back on the road for several weeks of dates around North America, picking up the tour for its latest album, the Jagjaguwar Records release I Am Very Far. Before they get to Cincinnati (the third-last tour stop), the band plays West Coast dates with The Decemberists, several other festivals and shows around the Midwest/South with buzzing Indie duo Wye Oak. As the Indie group begins its road to MPMF ’11, a new 7-inch and free MP3 have been issued. Click the arrow above to listen to “Your Past Life As a Blast” (free download here), recently issued as a 7-inch vinyl single. Below is a video clip from IntoTheWoods.tv featuring a live performance of Okkervil outtake “I Guess We Lost.”

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At first blush, a pro tennis tournament named for a financial corporation and a music festival all about indie music and culture might seem like awkward bedfellows — not quite “oil and water,” but more “banana and helicopter.” But last year, organizers of the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament — featuring top players from around the world and matches viewed by a global audience — and the MidPoint Music Festival joined forces to make the combination a “chocolate and peanut butter” teaming that would make Reese’s proud. The cross-promotional efforts were designed to spread the good word of Cincinnati’s biggest music festival (coming up Sept. 22-24) to music lovers who might be unaware it exists. This year, the partnership seems more solidified, with a designated MidPoint Stage providing tennis fans with acoustic sets by MidPoint-approved local, original artists consistently throughout the tournament.

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An avalanche of information about this year’s MidPoint Music Festival reveals the event’s growth and focus entering its 10th year. The full schedule of performances — from an eclectic assemblage of artists that includes Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T. Jones, rising Australian Indie Dance champs Cut Copy and clever Pop duo Mates of State — is available now at mpmf.com. Many of the popular features from recent MPMFs are returning Sept. 22-24, but there are plenty of brand new ones being introduced, all designed to make the MidPoint experience even better.

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One of this year's MidPoint Music Festival participants, Brooklyn Indie rockers Bear Hands, have released a new music video for the song "High Society." The group (in town for MidPoint Sept. 24, with the venue TBA) is still out promoting its debut album, Burning Bush Supper Club, which came out last fall. Check the clip (and more info on the video) below. And don't forget — MPMF three-day tickets are available now at mpmf.com and, while they last, on Fountain Square every Friday during the MidPoint Indie Summer concerts.

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Music Tonight: Lots of strong shows this evening to help usher in the weekend. Tonight’s free MidPoint Indie Summer concert on Fountain Square is headlined by one of Cincinnati’s best bands, Electro rockers Eat Sugar. Get a taste of the sweetness below in the band’s most recent music video (directed by ES drummer Greg Poneris) for the song “Clap Your Hands.” Solid local newcomers Starfox and Louisville Electronic Pop crew The Pass get things started.

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Invitations to the performers chosen from online music submissions are set to begin rolling out soon, but today, the first artists coming to Cincy for this September’s MidPoint Music Festival were announced. Below are the initial 20 national artists booked for the fest, which runs Sept. 22-24 in various venues in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine, as well as a few more acts for the MidPoint Indie Summer series on Fountain Square.

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Any musical act interested in performing at this September's 10th anniversary installment of the big MidPoint Music Festival has just a few days left to turn in submissions for consideration if they haven't already. The official deadline is this coming Monday night (May 16) at 11:59 p.m. Miss it and miss out.

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Bands and solo performers interested in being considered for a performance slot at this year’s MidPoint Music Festival will have a chance to do so at a discounted rate this Thursday. If you can get your entry in sometime within Thursday’s 24 hours, MidPoint and Sonicbids are offering a one-time return to the cheaper “early-bird” fees available briefly when submissions opened. Instead of the usual $25, registration will be only $15.

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This week’s CityBeat features the announcement of the first several weeks’ worth of headliners for PNC’s MidPoint Indie Summer Series. The free, every-Friday concert series on Fountain Square again features an interesting array of out-of-town artists and Cincinnati music’s finest. The concerts begin June 3 with local Electronica duo You, You’re Awesome headlining a typically eclectic night of provocative sounds. It’s good prep for 2011’s MidPoint Music Festival this fall. The Indie Summer kick-off is your first chance to get MidPoint ’11 tickets — MPMFers can buy three-day passes at a discounted rate while they last at the events this summer.

Below, take a look/listen to the performers announced so far.

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Though it feels like we're just getting over the glorious musical hangover caused by the 2010 edition of the MidPoint Music Festival, today marks the beginning of MPMF's 2011 cycle. Starting today, artists interested in performing at this year's MidPoint can begin submitting press kits.

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