The indie scene is back in Cincinnati again!

Students and music fans alike will flock to Cincinnati Sept. 25-27 for the 14th annual MidPoint Music Festival as 150 bands will take 14 different stages.

The annual festival will bring out some of the best indie rock and alternative bands in the region.

The festival will kick off with a free show by band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. at Washington Park. Along with the show, there will be an Indie Craft Village presented by P&G with craft beer available along with an exhibition and sale of handmade arts and crafts from regional artists. The show welcomes all ages, but some venues do not.

MidPoint spans from Arnold’s Bar & Grill to Taft Theater to Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. The site for MidPoint Music Festival lists events which are 18 and up, 21 and up and all ages. Different cover prices are also listed.

Senior electronic media broadcasting student Kelly Klein went last year for one night and said that she really enjoyed it.

“I won a ticket through The Northerner,” Klein said. “It’s a cool music festival we have in Cincinnati.”

Klein said that she wanted to go all through high school, but everything she wanted to see was in the 21 and up venues. Klein doesn’t plan to go all three days this year, but would probably check out the band Sylvan Esso.

If someone wanted to go for three days, the prices are $89 for a weekend pass and a day pass is $40 advance. For individual shows, there is a cover charge for each venue. For the Washington Park shows only, the cost is $25 advance and $30 the day of the show. It’s recommended to pay advance to get a better deal.

This year, three bands are playing that have NKU ties: The Orchards, Sweet and the Sweet Sweets and JSPH. The bands play Saturday and Sunday.

WNKU also has a hand in the event this year featuring a members tent, the tent is open to WNKU members who donate to WNKU’s station.  

“We have partnered with CityBeat to present the festival,” WNKU General Manager Sean O’Malley said. “We have put together a members tent in Washington Park for our members.”

Members of WNKU will be able to visit the tent for food, drinks and a chance to meet some of the bands that will swing by the tent.

According to O’Malley, this is the most WNKU has been involved with the festival and supporting the bands.

“WNKU’s mission is to discover music,” O’Malley said. “And that’s what MidPoint is about.”

Local bands at the festival will gain exposure because of the crowds that come in for nationally known bands. Bigger names will be at the festival this year like Heartless Bastards, Iron and Wine and Purity Ring.

NKU alum and local band member of Along the Shore, Kyle Rhodes acknowledges the importance of the festival.

“Cincinnati is a town that has a great music scene. You can go to a show every night and see something worth seeing,” Rhodes said. “MidPoint is bringing national acts into the mix to make this a fun weekend. With shows all over Cincinnati from The Drinkery to Washington Park, I guarantee there’s a band out there for everyone.”