No Name Pops is gifted ‘Philly Pops’ name by family of Peter Nero

The No Name Pops will take on “The Philly Pops” name sometime next year. Six months after raising the idea publicly, the No Name Pops announced Thursday that it has been gifted the trademark to the name by the family of conductor Peter Nero.

There’s no firm date on when the name change would take effect, but the group hopes the switch will happen by July.

In addition, the fledgling group that organized after the demise of the original Philly Pops said it had acquired scores, recordings, and memorabilia that belonged to Nero, who directed the Philly Pops from its founding in 1979 until 2013.

The name Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was a “household name in Philadelphia,” said Jedd Nero, Peter Nero’s son, in April when the idea was announced, “and the name means a lot for Philadelphia as it did to him, and we would love to see that carry on, for this to be his memory.”

No Name Pops was begun in 2023 to fill the void left by the Philly Pops, which suspended concerts after being evicted from the Kimmel Center in January 2023. The new group, largely made up of former Philly Pops players, has made honoring the memory of Nero a major part of its identity. The legendary pianist and conductor died in 2023 at age 89.

Musicians from the No Name Pops perform in various smaller configurations, but the next full-ensemble performance is Nov. 16 at the Kimmel’s Marian Anderson Hall.

The items being transferred from the Nero estate number in the hundreds, said No Name Pops executive director Matthew Koveal, and include original manuscripts and sheet music. Among the pieces are Nero’s own musical arrangements, which Koveal said the group aims to perform in future concerts.

“That was part of the agreement with the Nero family,” said Koveal, “that we would continue to uphold the legacy of Peter Nero. So we would certainly be incorporating some of his arrangements, some of the things people remember about Peter.”