Bostonist + Lockhart = <3

You have EdgeFest right up on the horizon and then that tiny little show on the Esplanade next month. This has got to be a crazy time for you. How are you holding up?

The season really does culminate with this, even though it began back in May. With EdgeFest, we have some of our most difficult to assemble concerts and right after that we go right into the Fourth of July, when people get, in many respects, their one view of the Pops.

Right now I'm calling you from my precious four days of vacation. But I'll make up for it next week. Starting on Friday, it will involve lots of rehearsals with the Cowboy Junkies for the opening of EdgeFest. I've got some learning to do on material for that and I'm frequently in touch with my staff about July 4 preparations.

About EdgeFest - you tried to bring this to the Pops years ago. What was the initial response from potential collaborating artists then and, now that you have a few under your belt, has that response changed?

]I like to do the "I told you so thing" from way back. Very early on in my time, a couple of years in, I started thinking about how to make the Pops not just this great iconic institution, but really relevant as a listening experience, to appeal to a group that we don't usually attract. It can play for everyone.

All [collaborating artists] know each other, the managers and people. Guster's people, I'm still in touch with them, I keep saying, "When are we going to do it again?" Obviously we didn't just go to everybody - we went to people who we thought would be into this kind of thing. Most of the bands, they're very eclectic, intellectual, heady sort of groups. They are the kind of people who say that this is going to be a collaborative challenge. There's a lot of curiosity and excitement about this sort of thing.

One who comes to mind is Ben Folds. He folds himself into the orchestra, he doesn't just have a band up there with him. He had a lot of input and that was what I would hope it would be.

Speaking of Opening Night...the Brawl at the Hall. We were there, a lot of other folks were there...what was going through your mind when you're conducting "Gigi" and you realize something's going on in the second balcony?

I've gotten over my being annoyed at what is the most interesting thing about the Pops. It's a live performance situation. I do 130-odd performances a year and in live situations, things happen. I've had people die in concerts. You gauge how big a problem it is. Sometimes you'll only hear partly what is going on and you wonder "What was that? What could it be?" Sometimes you'll have a couple having a fight or there's a problem, which you really don't want to call attention to.
When it goes on a little longer, it's pretty much distracted everyone, so you wait until order has been restored.

What was the response after the fact? Did people ask you about it constantly?

It got a little tiresome. Most wanted to know my inside impression of it. I said, "There's footage! They had a much better angle of it than I did."

July 4. John Mellencamp will join in the festivities. How did that come about and what do you think Mellencamp brings to the holiday?

I think the general way it works for Fourth of July is that there are a lot of different constituencies - CBS and the like - so there are lists that are passed around. "These are the people we're happy with." John's been on the list for a few years now, because I think it's very heartland. Rock to the core, red white and blue, we've been listening to him for 25 years. Between all these things, when they said, "Are you interested in John Mellencamp?" we said yes. It wasn't long before you knew, actually.

Oh, come on, you can tell us the truth. Wasn't it so the evening could be billed as "Keith and the Cougar?"

Laughs That's an interesting theory. Maybe I should drop a name and use a symbol. "The Artist Formerly Known as Keith Lockhart."

We'd recommend a treble clef.

Hahahahaha

You took to YouTube this year for POPSearch. How has that effort panned out, in your opinion?

It's been a learning experience for us. We haven't used that sort of thing - wildfire type of marketing - so it's all new stuff for us, not how we traditionally do things. What has been really gratifying is that we wanted to turn it into a national competition. It's always been billed as such, but when auditions are at Symphony Hall, it really makes it more of a regional competition. And it created more buzz after it happened. There were about 100,000 votes cast for the different rounds on YouTube and on the BSO.org site. That's immensely gratifying, from-the-ground sort of marketing that we'd like to be doing more of.

There is the innovation that you've put into place over the years and then there's the tradition of the Pops. Have you ever looked at a program and wanted to say, "Hey, much love to 'Stars and Stripes Forever,' but it's been done to death, let's axe it and go for something like 'Free Bird' instead?"

Laughs There was a year I tried to disperse it. But we got so angry letters from regular patrons that we had to put it back. I'm glad people love it and think of it as our signature piece. That in itself makes it worth it.

When you're away from the Pops - on vacation, say - what do you want to listen to? What is Keith Lockhart music?

Hardly anything. I really come up here because it's quiet. I don't listen to music for fun often. On occasion, good singer-songwriters, old classic rock that I grew up with, maybe some jazz, but I don't like to listen to music for fun. Somebody once said, "I doubt the people who play golf for a living play in their free time." Music for other people is something that takes them to a different environment, away from another thing. For me, it's the exact opposite.

Image of the affable good sport Keith Lockhart from Amazon.com, EdgeFest begins at 8 p.m. tonight at Symphony Hall. Information on the festival, ticketing and the Pops schedule available at the BSO website.