Traverse City Record-Eagle

Arts & Entertainment

Cherry Festival music

Grand Funk Railroad and Pop Evil are among six acts performing at the National Cherry Festival’s Bay Side Music Stage at the Open Space. Gates open nightly at 6 p.m., with music at 8 p.m. A $15 V-Pass is good for all shows, which also are individually priced.

  • The Bihlman Brothers & Friends play Saturday, July 7.
  • Pop Evil, Finding Clyde and Wayland perform Sunday, July 8.
  • Joe Diffie and Jerrod Niemann perform Wednesday, July 11.
  • Blue Oyster Cult performs Thursday, July 12.
  • Grand Funk Railroad and Dick Wagner perform Friday, July 13.
  • Here Come the Mummies perform Saturday, July 14, and includes the festival finale fireworks.

For more information or tickets, go to www.cherryfestival.org.

Related Photos

  • Pop Evil bassist Matt DiRito performs at a 2009 show at Ground Zero in Traverse City. Record-Eagle/James Cook

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July 6, 2012

Pop Evil plans surprises for Cherry Fest

By JAMES COOK jcook@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Hard rock hasn't been a part of the National Cherry Festival since the music moved from the fairgrounds to the Open Space, but that's about to change.

Michigan natives Pop Evil will be one of the early acts at this year's festival, playing their high-octane brand of pounding rock music to the Bay Side Music Stage on Sunday, July 8.

"We started out playing covers years ago at places like Union Street Station and the Holiday Inn," Pop Evil front man Leigh Kakaty said. "We've always wanted to play that festival."

Years later, the band has six singles that hit pushed into the top 30 on the U.S. mainstream rock charts, including four top-10 hits. They're best known for "100 in a 55," "Monster That You Made," "Last Man Standing" and "Boss's Daughter."

"We're looking to get the highest level of entertainment and variety," said Cherry Festival executive director Trevor Tkach.

Pop Evil's appearance is a highlight of the music presence at this year's Cherry Festival, drawing from a more diverse array of acts, such as Here Come the Mummies as well as classic rockers Blue Oyster Cult and Grand Funk Railroad, country star Joe Diffie and blues rock outfit the Bihlman Brothers.

"We're 'Generations of Fun," and we're trying something different," Tkach said. "It is going to appeal to a different crowd, and you want to reach out to more people. It's something we want to incorporate to offer new opportunities."

And Pop Evil fits that bill, after hard rock has been absent from the festival for about a decade.

"They've got a tremendous following," Tkach said. "These guys have a look and a name that doesn't appeal to everybody, but they are talented musicians."

While an open day in their busy touring schedule made it convenient, the band's Michigan roots made the fit an even better one.

"It's great to have a Michigan band be the first one," Kakaty said of brinding hard rock back to the Cherry Festival.

And it'll be an all-Michigan lineup that also features in-state acts Wayland (named after their hometown) and Finding Clyde (Essexville).

"All three of us have a song in the top 100 right now, so I'm excited," Kakaty said.

Kakaty also said he hopes to bring some other special guests to appear only at this show.

"We have a couple of great surprises we're trying to keep on the down low, if I can pull them off," Kakaty said. "It's going to be a night to remember. "¦ We've got a lot of cool things we're going to do regardless. This is something that is only going to happen in Traverse City if I can pull it off. I have to work around my celebrity friends' schedules."

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