Poppfest concert celebrates life of musician killed in crash
MERTHYR Tydfil showed its caring community side when thousands of people turned out to celebrate the life of Lewis Popp.
Lewis, an aspiring musician, was just 23 when he died after being hit by a car on the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road last month.
Poppfest – a music festival named in his honour was put together within 10 days to raise money for Lewis’ family, with more than £5,000 believed to have been raised in total.
The event was organised by Merthyr band Pretty Vicious, who were good friends of Lewis, and Redstone Entertainment, the organisers of the Merthyr Rising Festival, as a fitting tribute to the youngster who was a staunch advocate of the local music scene and a talented musician.
More than 20 bands came together at Cyfarthfa Castle on Saturday to raise funds to help pay for Lewis’ funeral as well as provide for his mother, who suffers with an ongoing medical condition, with a fund to help her cope with a daunting future without her son.
From noon until 10pm the grounds of Cyfarthfa Castle reverberated to the sounds of some of the best new artists in Wales including Florence Black, Tracy Island, Al Moses, Trampolene and headliners Pretty Vicious, who dedicated a cover of Oasis’ Live Forever to their friend.
Brad Griffiths, frontman of Pretty Vicious, paid tribute to the Merthyr community for uniting to celebrate Lewis’ life.
“Merthyr Tydfil know how to come together in a time of need and support one of their own,” he said