Lawsuits, eviction, and stranded fans: everything you need to know about the Philly Pops saga

Few groups have ever unleashed the kind of drama in the cultural community that the Philly Pops has. Even in the Great Recession and COVID eras, organizational casualties were rare, and it’s been rarer still for arts groups to take their disputes public and lob lawsuits against one another.

Now, in the span of a few months, the Pops has announced its own impending demise, then a hoped-for rescue; become the plaintiff in one lawsuit and the defendant in another; left the livelihood of many of the city’s musicians hanging in the balance; and set one-time Pops fans fuming.

» READ MORE: At a time like this, Philly Pops lawsuits aren’t a good look for the city

Here are the major events so far in the ongoing Pops saga.

Oct. 11: The Pops acknowledges that it is in talks with the Uptown Theater to restore the old hall on North Broad Street and bring many of the Pops’ activities, including its education program, to that part of North Philadelphia. The plan aimed to keep full-orchestra concerts in Verizon Hall and move the Pops’ small-ensemble jazz presentations to the Uptown.

Nov. 16: Citing soft subscriptions and debt, Pops president Frank Giordano announces that the Pops will shut down at the end of the 2022-23 season. “This will make Philadelphia a less vibrant city than we have been for decades,” said Patricia Wilson Aden, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

Dec. 3: Ticket sales are strong for the Pops’ Christmas concerts, with audiences breaking out into chants of “save the Pops” at some of the concerts. Conductor David Charles Abell announces that the Christmas show will return next year in 2023 under the banner of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc.

Dec. 13: Pops musicians, who have been working without a contract since the start of the season, authorize a strike.

Dec. 23: Musicians and management reach a tentative agreement on a new two-year contract.

Jan. 4: In part because of strong Christmas ticket sales, the Pops reverses its decision to shut down. It announces a “Save the Pops” campaign that aims by fall to raise $1 million in philanthropic support in addition to the $1 million it would normally be raising to pay off debt, meet financial obligations, and to fund future operations.

Jan. 20: In a simmering dispute over back rents and other fees, the Pops is evicted from Verizon Hall by its landlord, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. The Pops announces it will move its February concerts to the Met Philadelphia, only to pull the concerts two weeks later with no explanation.

Feb. 28: The Pops announces that president Frank Giordano has resigned, replaced by Karen Corbin, previously the Pops’ chief operating officer, who becomes president and CEO. Board chair Joseph Del Raso is replaced by Rollo Dilworth, the Philadelphia choral conductor and Temple University professor and vice dean.

March 17: After attempts to secure payment for players for broadcasts of the Pops’ Christmas program, the musicians’ union files a breach-of-contract lawsuit demanding compensation. The Pops is now on the union’s “International Unfair List,” which means union members are prohibited from performing with the group. Pops management announces that the March concerts won’t happen. Corbin reveals that the $2 million “Save the Pops” campaign raised a little over $100,000 in its first couple of weeks “and has been generally quiet” since.

March 26: Longtime Philly Pops fans asking for refunds and other information express frustration and disappointment with the Pops’ lack of communication. “Right now they are making it harder for me to be a fan of the Pops, not easier,” said one.

April 13: Encore Series Inc., the Pops’ parent company, files an antitrust lawsuit against the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. citing the eviction and alleging that POKC is trying to put the Pops out of business. The Pops suspends the rest of its 2022-23 season.

July 6: After sitting idle for months without performances, the No Name Pops, made up of former musicians of the Philly Pops, announces that it will perform two full-orchestra concerts — a free one on South Street and another ticketed performance at the Kimmel Center.

July 6: The Philly Pops’ founding music director, Peter Nero, dies at age 89. “Words cannot describe the joy he brought to Philadelphia and the world,” said former musicians of the Pops.

July 26: The Pops appears in federal court asking for an immediate order forcing the Kimmel Center to readmit it to Verizon Hall, where it hoped to perform again in the 2023-24 season. The judge declines to do so.

Aug. 7: With the Pops in limbo and performances still on hiatus, the Kimmel Center announces that it will produce and present nine concerts in December with the No Name Pops in Verizon Hall, replacing the Philly Pops’ longtime holiday tradition.