All good things must come to an end, they say. After nearly 14 years of organizing the Athens Popfest, founder Mike Turner announced this morning that the beloved festival has finally folded. “It was fun, now it’s done,” he wrote, and left a simple sketch of a tombstone on the event’s Facebook page.

Anyone who attended the Popfest in the past will surely mourn the loss. The festival started in 2004 as just a glorified block party for like-minded friends before the college kids invaded town again; even when Turner took a five-year break after 2011, the rebooted fest remained a gathering point for pals from across the country. All the action at Popfest happened on one stage at a time, and it was all indoors—Little Kings in the afternoon, and the Georgia Theatre in the evening—so full-pass attendees could form tight bonds with both the bands and each other over the festival’s four days.

And of course, we’ll miss the music, too. In the past three years alone, a vast array of big names graced the bill, like ESG, His Name is Alive, Man or Astro-man?, Superchunk, The Mummies, Guided By Voices, and Deerhoof. But unlike certain corporate-sponsored sprawls round here, Turner also balanced the killer touring bands with plenty of local talent, from homegrown legends like Pylon Reenactment Society, Elf Power, and Apples in Stereo to rising stars like Linqua Franqa, Eureka California, Tunabunny, Saline, and Lambda Celsius. Popfest also showcased upcoming bands from across the country—and even beyond—that hadn’t quite cracked the festival circuit yet. So even if attendees only came in to see one or two bands, most walked away stunned by someone they never heard of before.

While Turner gave no reason for the Popfest’s demise, it’s not hard to fathom why he decided to pull the plug. A festival of any size demands intense planning, but the organizing for the next year’s Popfest began almost as soon as the curtains fell for the last one. Still, Turner may yet have another trick up his sleeve for uniting bands and fans together. Until then, music lovers can at least hold on to the memories and the friends they met in Athens.

More Info
Web: athenspopfest.com
Facebook: @athenspopfest
Instagram: @athenspopfest
Twitter: @AthensPopFest