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Territorial Dispatch

‘Put Me in A Box’

Jan 28, 2025 10:50AM ● By Shamaya Sutton

Luke Poppinga during his first on-air radio interview at 93Q Radio in Marysville on Jan. 11. Photo by Shamaya Sutton


YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - On Jan. 4, a young blonde-haired singer followed by a posse of cameramen was spotted along the Plumas Street corridor of Yuba City. His name is Luke Poppinga, better known among his followers as “Luke Popp,” an independent pop music artist who’s ready to share his music with the world

“We were filming a music video that day for my newest song ‘Put Me in a Box,’” said Poppinga. “It had been a little while since I’d gone to Plumas Street, but all the new murals made it the perfect location.”

While a few teasers have already circulated, the full rendition of ‘Put Me in a Box’ will be dropped onto streaming platforms and social media on Jan. 31. Its sound was loosely inspired by both Weezer and a new wave of pop-punk artists such as Olivia Rodrigo.

“It's kind of a song about rediscovering yourself after a bad relationship,” said Poppinga.

Looking outside the box, it's easy to find some of Poppinga’s other tunes such as “Laid Back Love” and “Summer Girl.” These songs are already available online, the latter of which was a collaboration with both Poppinga’s father and Chris August - an American Contemporary Christian musician based in Nashville.

“We actually got to meet him through Adventure Church,” said Poppinga. “Then my dad and I flew out to his studio, and it was just an amazing time.”

If Poppinga’s name sounds familiar, it should. His family has a long-standing musical reputation within the Yuba-Sutter community starting with his father, Jeff Poppinga. Jeff Poppinga currently serves as the Worship Pastor at Adventure Church of Yuba City and also works as the Director of Music for both the Franklin School District and Sutter Union High School. He is married to Starr Poppinga and together they’ve had four children: Noah, Luke, Kyle, and Kaylee. The former has also hit it big in the local musical world and abroad.

Kaylee Poppinga (now Kaylee Everson), professionally known as Kaylee Starr, has had her musical journey well documented by the local papers since her emergence on the county fair scene around 2012. She has since gone on to release a full-length album entitled “Shine,” as well as other singles.

“I grew up in a musical family and have always been surrounded by music,” said Poppinga. “I have a total rockstar sister and dad, my brother plays guitar too.”


Luke Poppinga, center, and his crew during the filming of “Put Me in a Box” on Plumas Street in Yuba City on Jan.4. Photo courtesy of Luke Poppinga


A recent sound engineering graduate of Azusa Pacific University, Luke Poppinga is ready to step up his musical career and is actively looking for performative opportunities. He currently works for Hip Entertainment who will be playing at the Hard Rock in Sacramento for the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce’s 39th annual Gala.

“We play all types of different things,” said Poppinga. “I was stressed about learning all the dance moves at first, but it’s always a fun time and has made me a better performing artist.”

As an artist, Poppinga feels the vocal lessons he was required to take in college worked to refine and elevate his range. This type of control is especially useful when trying to impersonate voices such as Frank Sinatra, Kermit the Frog, and The Weekend, all of which he can do successfully.

“Going to vocal lessons I expanded my range and confidence in singing higher and discovered more colors to access in my voice,” said Poppinga. “Sometimes you'll get words of advice from a vocal coach that seem so bizarre but it's all about getting your head in the right place.”

As a producer, Poppinga looks forward to being able to create the “sounds in his” head and share them more effectively with the community. To learn more about Luke Poppinga, or to sample some of his music, visit distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lukepopp/put-me-in-a-box.