A Hop, Skip and a Jump Around Town for the First POGO Fest

Through the hustle and bustle of the city nightlife, the first EVER POGO Fest stood its ground as a multi-venue music festival, showcasing the best in Utah music and hosting a night that the public will never forget. Photo courtesy of Adam Borgione

Concert

Now, what kind of live music would festival-goers see? Just 21 of the gnarliest, rawest bands and performers from the underground. Photo courtesy of Adam Borgione

On a rather stacked Saturday with the Utah Arts Festival at its peak and the Salt Lake City Pride Bar Crawl about to begin its trek, one event is hopping above the crowd. Through the hustle and bustle of the city nightlife, the first EVER POGO Fest stood its ground as a multi-venue music festival, showcasing the best in Utah music and hosting a night that the public will never forget.

The festival took over a strip of downtown like a militarized prefecture, stationing itself in the tightest bars and clubs with live performances: SLC Pub, The DLC at Quarters, International Bar and an outside stage on Exchange Place presented by The Blocks. For those who wanted to take a break from the summer heat, patrons could take advantage of the free listening spaces Bobby Junior’s Bar and Diabolical Records, or even check out the live sets brought by DJs from KRCL and KUAA at The Green Room. Now, what kind of live music would festival-goers see? Just 21 of the gnarliest, rawest bands and performers from the underground. The futuristic synthwaves of Runestomper, the thrashing hardcore stylings of Nadezhda, the indie duality of PinkTooth and many more!

The sights and sounds of POGO Fest explored the possibility of putting on blocks of live performances with a do-it-yourself mindset. However, at its core, POGO Fest was made with worthy bands and a shit ton of gaffer tape — it was held together by the community. To the bands, the bar owners and of course the organizers Julianna Raho and Nathan Mcquivey, here’s to a “hopping” first year! Hope to see all you bouncing around next year!