In a bit of exciting and upsetting news to the fans, Dopapod has officially announced a five-night New Year’s Eve celebration. From Dec. 27-31, the band will stage five shows in Kalamazoo, Mich. and Columbus, Ohio, returning to venues that have served them well over the years. These Midwest appearances mark the end for the long-running, fan-favorite jam band, who announced an indefinite hiatus in June.
In an announcement posted to its social channels, the band wrote, “Ring in the new year with us! This run takes us through some of our favorite places to play and culminates at a place we consider a second home: Woodlands Tavern in Columbus, Ohio.” The Boston-based progressive foursome continued with an allusion to the inevitable, writing, “These nights will be very special and bittersweet, so don’t miss your last chance to celebrate the music and the beginning of a new orbit with us.”
The quartet, composed of guitarist Rob Compa, drummer Neal “Fro” Evans, keyboardist Eli Winderman and bassist Chuck Jones, announced in the summer that 2024 would mark the end of the 16-year project, and they “will no longer be touring, recording, or writing for the foreseeable future” come 2025. After previously disbanding temporarily from 2017 to 2019, the outfit was more explicit in its intentions this time, offering that “the price we have paid mentally, financially, physically and otherwise can no longer be ignored.”…