Ted Leo, Daniel Johnston headline Athens Popfest

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records has small plans for its ever-growing Athens, Ga. Popfest, which plays out this week in ways somewhat less twee-heavy than its name and location might imply. Pushing off (“Kicking” sounds a bit harsh in this instance) gently tonight at a free show in a pizza place, Popfest continues through Saturday with headliners Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Circulatory System and Daniel Johnston.

“Daniel Johnston is someone we’d wanted for a while,” says HHBTM founder and Popfest coordinator Mike Turner. “But it was also like, ‘Yeah that’ll never happen’ - kind of like going ‘Oh, I’d like to have Brian Wilson play. This seems possible’”

Despite the event’s recent success in recruiting relatively popular acts (last year, Deerhoof headlined), Turner stresses that he doesn’t want Popfest to grow beyond the capacity of its hometown’s famous 40 Watt Club.

“I hate outdoor festivals,” he says. “Mainly I just want to see it stay very community based with the bands knowing each other, and hopefully keep some of the same people coming back each year like summer camp more than a festival.”

The camp analogy works well: in previous years, Popfest has seen kazoo duets, coordinated dancing (to Kinks covers) and that one overenthusiastic guy with a guitar who always tries to get (hipster) kids to smile (Keith John Adams). Turner even said he hopes the future brings arts and crafts (Maybe each band could make hand turkeys).

“It really feels more like hanging out with four or five hundred of your friends,” says Kay Stanton of Casper and the Cookies, who have been practicing Johnston’s songs in preparation of serving as his backup band. It’s a familial alternative to the sprawling music marathons with multiple stages across congested Metropolitan terrains. No two acts play at once, making the best moments harder to miss -- like Stanton's favorite, the time Patrick Fleming from Poison Control Center “imitated Babe Ruth by swinging his guitar and connecting with Devin's hipbone.”

“Each year those times that give me chills, or make me smile ear to ear seem to increase with every show,” says Turner, who began HHBTM eight years ago as a compilation CD commemorating the birthday of his now-defunct Bees Knees zine. The label’s acts include M Coast, Keith John Adams and Elekibass (who recently toured with Athenians Of Montreal).

Check below for a full schedule of events.

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