Athens Popfest: The Plimsouls / Haybaby / Eureka California / Love Tractor (13 Aug 2016)

August 13



Saturday August 13 marked the final day of Athens Popfest 2016. That day brought a very pleasant surprise, as The Plimsouls– a band not in the original Popfest lineup- rocked out with as much raw power and emotion as they did back in 1981 when their first album was released. Many of us Gen Xers were blown away by our good fortune, singing along to songs from our youth. A lot of the younger folks who asked “Who are the Plimsouls?” before the show became instant fans once they heard these L.A. legends play.

Haybaby at Georgia Theatre (13 Aug 2016)

One of the absolute best up-and-coming bands to play Popfest this year is Haybaby. As their Popfest bio states: “Haybaby was born in 2011, feet first and with a full set of teeth.” This proved to be more than accurate as the Brooklyn trio belted out their loud, hard, emotion-wrenching sludge pop. It’s easy to see that singer/guitarist Leslie Hong puts her whole self into these songs, and she can most definitely pull you in as well.



Haybaby recently released a five song EP called Blood Harvest on Tiny Engines.

Eureka California at Georgia Theatre (13 Aug 2016)

Eureka California (from Athens) played with such gusto and glee that you would have thought they were the headlining band. It really doesn’t get any more mind-blowing than this duo’s performance on Saturday night. As they played their own rendition of Guided by Voices‘ Game of pricks, that was the moment when things just seemed to fall into place, and the sting of missing Daniel Johnston just melted away for awhile (Johnston had missed his outbound flight due to inclement weather impeding airport access in his area and regrettably had to cancel his Popfest appearance).

Love Tractor at Georgia Theatre (13 Aug 2016) photo: Keith Maxwell

Love Tractor, a band that helped start the Athens music scene in the 80s, ended up being the main attraction at this year’s Popfest. The Georgia Theatre was packed, members of R.E.M. and Pylon were in attendance, and people were dancing all over the place.



Athens Popfest 2016 was one for the history books. Daniel Johnston was dearly missed, but we hope he can reschedule a trip to Athens soon. In the meantime, this festival, organized by Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, left a lot of good people with a lot of good memories.