In Philly, the pops musicians are doing it for themselves
A new pops orchestra organized by former Philly Pops players is making its Kimmel debut. But make no mistake, this isn't the Pops of yore.
Pops music in Philly is back. But not the Philly Pops.
Well, yes, the Philly Pops musicians are back, playing two upcoming concerts at the Kimmel Center. But don’t mix them up with the group that’s been trying since April to litigate its way back onto the stage. That’s the Philly Pops, operated by Encore Series, Inc., which hasn’t put on a pops concert in months.
Confused?
It’s actually pretty simple, says Jonathan Fink, a cellist in the musician-organized group whose two concerts on Oct. 28 mark the 52-piece ensemble’s Kimmel debut under new management and a new name — the No Name Pops.
“We started this group because they stopped,” he said, referring to the Philly Pops. “They stopped hiring us for concerts and we said, ‘OK, we’re going to do it.’”
A brief catch-up for those who haven’t been following the pops saga closely. In November, citing poor ticket sales and some debt, the Philly Pops announced that the organization would shut down at the end of the 2022-23 season. In January, the group reversed course and said it would mount a save-the-pops fundraising campaign. Later that month the Pops was evicted from the Kimmel Center in a dispute over back rents and other fees, and, rather than paying its obligations, the group left its own musicians and ticket holders in the lurch.
The Pops is now enmeshed in two lawsuits — one seeking its return to the Kimmel, and another filed by the musicians’ union over broadcast fees players are owed for the last Christmas show.
It was soon after the Pops’ November announcement of its demise that the musicians began discussing starting their own group, Fink says.
“A group of us got together and said that’s going to leave a big gap in programming and the working lives of about 65 musicians,” he recalled.
They named a board, filed with the IRS to form their own nonprofit organization, and are planning to pay for the enterprise with a mix of ticket revenue, donations, and corporate sponsorships. The group has been playing in smaller configurations for months, and now, in these Kimmel concerts, will appear in its full-orchestra version for a program with conductor Herb Smith of Motown and Philly Sound tunes (“Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and “Love Train”). Retired broadcaster Jim Gardner is host.
Despite the current difficulties of the Philly Pops, Fink says he’s confident that there’s an appetite for what they’re programming and a business model that works.
“I think that model has proven to be successful; it was for 45 years,” he said of the Philly Pops. “Pops music is a moneymaker for most orchestras. As to why ESI couldn’t make that work, I’m not part of that organization, I have not seen their books, their fundraising goals, what they were trying to do. I can tell you as a professional musician working in the pops genre since the ‘90s, pops pays, always has.”
The upcoming concerts will be one test of audience demand, and then in December the No Name Pops has been engaged by the Kimmel to take over the Christmas show slots left vacant by the Philly Pops. After that, “we have other shows we are in the process of planning.”
And so, a pops orchestra in Philadelphia lives. It’s a year now since the Philly Pops announced it would be shutting down, Fink points out, “and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, creating something new out of nothing.”
The No Name Pops performs Oct. 28 at 3 and 8 p.m. in Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Streets. With conductor Herb Smith and vocalists Chester Gregory, Brik Liam, and Ashley Jayy. Tickets are $41-$111. nonamepops.org, 215-893-1999.