Nigel Clark (1), Wooden Ships, James Rea, The Fischers, Outsider (2)

International Pop Overthrow (or IPO, as it has affectionately become known) is a pop music festival which has been held for the past ten years in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto, as well as in Liverpool. Each International Pop Overthrow features between 100-180 of the best pop bands from around the world. It's purpose is two-fold: one aim is to give every worthy band who'd like to play their music in a festival atmosphere the chance to do so, and the other is to bring pop music the attention it so richly deserves. See www.internationalpopoverthrow.com for full listings and further information.