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HANCOCK -- The 6th annual YOOP! Fest is Sept. 18-19 at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock. The U.P. hardcore and alternative music scenes will mest with musicians from the upper Midwest in a two-day celebration. The festival is sponsored by The Fire Station in Houghton and Kitschy Spirit Records of Calumet.
Chris Jountas, Owner of Kitschy Spirit Records, said the mix of local and regional bands was his goal this year when creating the festival lineup. "What I wanted to do was both platform some of our local bands, some of the Michigan Tech bands ... but I also wanted to mix it with music from the upper Midwest and other bands that I have an appreciation for," he said.
YOOP! Fest has been going strong since 2021 and rose from humble beginnings. Jountas said the first iteration of the festival was incredibly "do-it-yourself.”.
"The first year I did it was in 2021. It was at the skate park in Houghton and it was very just DIY," he said. "We threw some pallets on the ground and made a little stage, then bands came out and played. That was before I had the record store."
Since its inception, YOOP! Fest audience has grown and so has its lineup and scope of bands. Jountas said he wants people to feel welcome, recognized and at home during the festival. "I want to help people give the confidence to unabashedly be themselves," he said. "Creating a space and an event for people to perform and to meet others that are doing that and have done that at different levels of experience is a good thing. I hope it inspires people."
Ticket prices include a $30 day pass to either Friday or Saturday, as well as a $50 weekend pass. Students of all ages can get 20% off ticket prices when they show a valid student I.D. Tickets can be bought at the door, or at Kitschy Spirit Records at 340 6th St., in Calumet.
Schedule
Friday Sept. 18 (doors open at 4 p.m.)
• 5 p.m. Coma Jockey (Houghton)
• 5:45 p.m. The Christmas Subcommittee (Marquette)
• 6:30 p.m. Scourn (Milwaukee)
• 7:15 p.m. Plowshares (Milwaukee)
• 8 p.m. Star Jelly (Milwaukee)
• 8:45 p.m. Wilt (Houghton)
• 9 p.m. Full Strength (Houghton)
• 10:15 p.m. The God Eaters (Marquette)
• 11 p.m. The Crosses (Milwaukee)
Saturday Sept. 19 (Doors open at noon)
• 1 p.m. Tollways (Houghton)
• 1:45 p.m. Bashford (Madison)
• 2:30 p.m. Gore Area II (Milwaukee)
• 3:15 p.m. Tom Grrrl (Madison)
• 4 p.m. Dead Familiars (Madison)
• 4:45 p.m. Gills (Minneapolis)
• 5:30 p.m. Isle Royale Mining Co. (Houghton)
• 6:15 p.m. Cate Merkin (Negaunee)
• 7 p.m. Null Neuma (Marquette)
• 7:45 p.m. Lunar Moth (Madison)
• 8:30 p.m. Orchid Club (Minneapolis)
• 9:15 p.m. Dirt Magnet (Duluth)
• 10 p.m. Bimbo (Marquette)
• 10:45 p.m. Graham Hunt (Madison)