Lost at the festival, where could they be?
At any ole place where the wi-fi is free.

It's true, our favorite part of the summer is the avalanche of festival possibilities. There's little better in the world than dozens of your new favorite bands playing one after the other on a sunny day in an exotic locale. This edition of the Imaginary Mixtape we share tracks from some of the cutest bands playing the Athens Popfest {August 10-14 in Athens, GA} and take a consoling look back at the amazing Indietracks festival line up {takes place each year at the end of July in the UK - fingers crossed next year we can make the trip?}. But, we start off the podcast looking at some awesome August events in Seattle. Get ready to mark up your calendars!

You can listen to a stream or download the MP3 version of the podcast on the imaginary bandcamp page. Bandcamp prohibits tracks longer than 25 minutes {I think it's some regulation against jam bands?}, so the podcast is split into three sections for those that like to listen via the bandcamp stream.

PART 1: Preview of some Seattle shows and events in August

PART 2: Athens Popfest preview

PART 3: Looking back at the UK festival, Indietracks

 

If you are the type that likes to listen to podcasts in itunes, download the .m4a file here {one single file with fancy chapters even!} and then open it in your itunes {Thanks to Jigsaw Records for hosting it!}.

Tracklisting: Imaginary Mixtape - August 2010:

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Today is like Christmas morning for indie pop nerds. Today, I am giddy as hell because THE ATHENS POPFEST LINEUP HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED! I've compared Athens Popfest before to indie pop summer camp, but basically, it's the best week out of the year for anyone who loves indie pop. And this year, I think they've really done it with the lineup:

The Wedding Present, Mission of Burma, Apples In Stereo, Go Sailor, Circulatory System, Oh-OK (early Athens greatness), Joe Jack Talcum (Dead Milkmen), Nana Grizol, BOAT, Cars Can Be Blue, Poison Control Center, Gold-Bears, Dream Diary, Eux Autres, Afternoon Naps, World Atlas, Your Heart Breaks and more. Complete lineup after the jump. Commence freaking out and immediately buying plane tickets now. Check out complete band bios here.

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{Robert Schneider from the Apples In Stereo from Athens Popfest 2008}

We here at TIG have been crushing out over Athens Popfest for years. I've been every year since 2006 and Liz went in 2005 and 2007. It's pretty much always the best week of the year, fusing together amazing indie pop, delicious food (seriously, Athens has the best!), and wonderful community. I look forward to the lineup announcement all year long, and the wonderful popfest folks have given us just a taste of what's to come, featuring some of my current favorite bands and lots of TIG favorites (and as always, some newbies I'm so excited to hear)!

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After quite a bit of hmm-ing and hah-ing, I've finally come up with my favorite albums of 2009, listed in sort of numerical order, or at least that's how I feel today, including local favorites BOAT, Visqueen, and indie pop hearthrobs The Pains of Being Pure at Heart!

{photo by hot avocados photography}

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at Athens Popfest

Athens Popfest is like summer camp for indie pop and rock nerds.

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