The popular indie dream rock band Real Estate will be playing a free happy hour show at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, on the MidPoint Midway Stage at MidPoint Music Festival.

This is the first time the Brooklyn-based band has performed live in Cincinnati.

“They were a band that we knew was doing really big things this year,” Alex Breyer, public relations manager for MPMF, said. “When we knew they were coming this way we jumped on it.”

The free show is being financed by Procter & Gamble, who are also sponsoring the other acts that will be playing for free on the MidPoint Midway Stage.

According to Breyer, this is the first time that the festival has considered Real Estate for its lineup.

“We consider different bands every year,” Breyer said.

MidPoint strives to brand its festival as a “tastemakers” event, hoping to book talented bands before they make their big break.

“The festival is known for music discovery,” said Breyer. “We have a history of booking acts that are not the most well-known, but are emerging talent.”

According to an interview with Still in Rock, Real Estate formed in 2008 in Ridgewood, New Jersey, a commuter town of New York City. Their 2009 self-titled LP was met with considerable hype and favorable reviews from the Boston Globe and Pitchfork Media.

With the release of “Atlas”, their third and most recent album, MidPoint took notice.

“The reason why Real Estate is important is they put out a kick-ass album this year,”  Breyer said. “There was an extreme amount of buzz around their album ‘Atlas’.”

“Atlas” has also been featured on many prominent year-end lists, including “Spin”, “Stereogum”, “Time” and “Pitchfork”.

Real Estate is the latest in a long line of free shows that MidPoint has offered at the festival.

“We always have tried to have some aspect of it that is free if we can do it,” Breyer said.

Breyer said that he hopes people will take advantage of the free Real Estate show and other free live acts on the public stage.

“This is a really good opportunity for people who have never been to MidPoint Music Festival,” Breyer said. “There are a lot of people that might be tourists in town, staying for a convention or coming for the Reds, they might see the free stage and decide to check out the rest.”

Before the festival, MidPoint has also been sponsoring free concerts as part of their Indie Summer Series program at Fountain Square. Featured bands this summer included Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and psychodots.

Weekend passes for MidPoint Music Festival are still available for $79 with single day and venue passes available at a discounted rate.