With Philly Pops’ future uncertain, Kimmel Center to produce new Christmas show

The Kimmel Center is taking over what had been the most popular — and lucrative — part of the Philly Pops’ business. With the future of the Pops uncertain, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center (POKC) Inc. will produce and present its own pops Christmas show in Verizon Hall this year, the arts center announced Monday.

The show’s title uses the Philly part of the Pops’ name — it’s called “A Very Philly Christmas” — as well as musicians from the Pops, but the players are being hired by POKC through their new independent organization: the No Name Pops.

“We’re excited to be collaborating with the Kimmel Center on these important concerts,” said Jonathan Fink, a No Name Pops board member, adding that “anytime the musicians are working, that’s a good thing.”

Details of the 90-minute, intermissionless show are not yet available, but POKC said all nine performances, running from Dec. 1 to Dec. 23, will be led by Enrico Lopez-Yañez, the Nashville Symphony principal pops conductor who was on the podium for last season’s Philadelphia Orchestra/Pink Martini show.

The holiday concerts will feature “a conductor renowned for his showmanship and flair,” POKC said in a statement, with the No Name Pops “made up of some of Philadelphia’s most beloved musicians.”

A Philly Pops spokesperson declined to comment on the new POKC Christmas vehicle. The group is currently assessing next steps after a July 26 court hearing at which a federal judge declined the Pops’ motion to force POKC to immediately readmit it to Verizon Hall.

The Philadelphia Orchestra this year will also present, as usual, its own Christmastime offerings: Handel’s Messiah, a Christmas family concert, and “The Glorious Sound of Christmas.”

Philly Pops audiences were told at last year’s Christmas concerts that even though the Pops in November had announced it would fold at the end of the 2022-23 season, the Christmas show would continue in 2023 with the same musicians on the same stage under the Kimmel banner. But after strong ticket sales for the annual Christmas show, the Pops in January reversed its decision to fold and announced a “save the Pops” campaign.

Shortly afterward, the Pops was evicted by POKC, and the Pops filed an antitrust lawsuit against its longtime landlord. In March, the union for the Pops musicians sued the group for nonpayment for broadcasts of the Christmas show, and the musicians formed their own independent group — the No Name Pops.

Two other No Name Pops concerts have been announced: a free one at Second and South Streets on Sept. 9, and a ticketed one in Verizon Hall Oct. 28.

For the freelancers who made up the Philly Pops, the return of Christmas concerts represents “a huge chunk of work,” said Fink. Many saw their livelihoods dry up during the pandemic, and the Pops’ hiatus in the second half of last season removed another major source of income.

“We have the finest freelance musicians in the area, and it has been really rough the last three years,” he said. “I think it benefits the entire community when you have a healthy freelance scene. We’re just excited to be on the Kimmel Center stage this holiday season.”

Tickets for “A Very Philly Christmas” are on sale at kimmelcenter.org and 215-893-1999.