Northside Music Festival returns to rock this weekend

The Northside Music Festival has become a mainstay of local music lovers’ summer calendars after just two years. Now in its third year, the festival boasts around 100 musical acts over three days, in the Deutschtown neighborhood of the North Side.

Festival organizer Ben Soltesz also helped to organize the former Deutschtown Music Festival and went solo in 2023, debuting the Northside Music Festival with about 75 acts.

“I live nearby in the Spring Hill neighborhood,” he said. “All the neighbors in the surrounding community enjoyed it and loved the festival. They wanted it to keep going.”

The Eagleburger Band has been playing since the festival’s inception, and played the Deutschtown Music Festival as well. David Passmore, who organizes, founded and plays snare drum in the band, said that they’ve always had a great time.

“It’s nice because we’re a different kind of format, it’s easy for us to be a part of it,” he said.

The band plays street brass music with up to 20 different members, along with performers including a baton twirler and a dancer who does a fire eating routine. They’ll be playing Friday at 7:50 p.m. on the street at the corner of Foreland and James.

“This is a really great gig for us. It’s one of my favorites for sure,” Passmore said. “And Friday evenings are so wonderful. You can be out there at dusk and and there’s just a ton of people around. People on Friday night are eager to be in the mix with a lot of music.”

One of the hallmarks of the new festival is that they strive to pay the performers a reasonable wage for their time, up to about $300.

“The other events, when you have that many bands, you kind of wait and see what happens at the end, what you have left to pay people, and then pay that to the bands.”

Instead, Soltesz guarantees payment for the acts. “The people who play really do seem to appreciate that approach,” he said.

The festival includes several outdoor stages, as well as music at venues including Fat Cat, Allegheny City Brewing, The Government Center and Allegheny Elks Lodge #339.

“We’re within a very close, tight footprint. You’re really able to just walk to everything and get from one venue to the other if you want,” Soltesz said.

He and his close band of volunteers strive to find a diverse lineup for the festival and venues where they can play. Sometimes, they have to improvise — for example, this year will feature a set by local heavy metal band Greywalker in a friend’s front yard.

Brian Howe, vocalist of Greywalker, is excited for the opportunity to play a new and creative venue.

“It’s not by any means a traditional area for a band to play at all, let alone a band like us,” he said. “I have to build some things out of wood to put our drums on. It’s a little bit silly, but it’ll be worth it.”

Greywalker will play at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

In order to run the show and pay the bands, the Northside Music Festival relies on sponsorships and drink sales. Many of the venues have bars, and there are two outdoor beer gardens — at the main stage on Foreland and at the intersection of James and Foreland streets. A $5 wristband is required to purchase drinks from the two stands.

There will also be a variety of food trucks at the festival all weekend, including Cilantro & Ajo, Pgh Crepes LLC and Waffle Burger.

This year, Sheetz is sponsoring a “Shtage” — a name that Soltesz said came from WDVE’s Randy Baumann.

Sets will kick off at 5 p.m. Friday, and if you’re up for a late night, make sure to head to Fat Cat at 520 E. Ohio St., where a variety of local DJs will be spinning from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Music will resume at noon on Saturday, with acts playing throughout the day at 11 different venues and stages. Near the Highmark/AHN stage in Allegheny Commons Park, families can enjoy activities.

“We have an inflatable bounce house, a face painter, Manchester Craftsman’s Guild is coming to do an art project for free, the local YMCA is going to be doing tie-dyes. The park is really nice on Saturday because it’s shaded,” Soltez said. “I try to keep it to nothing too crazy music-wise on those stages.”

The festival’s final day will continue a tradition with Gospel Sunday, presented by Allegheny Center Alliance Church. This day full of music, worship and prayer has proven incredibly popular in previous years, and Soltesz was happy to continue the tradition. An early session will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and an evening session will restart at 5 p.m. and end at 8 p.m.

The festival also has an app that attendees can download.

“It’s provided by a local coding school called the Academy. … You can build your own schedule. It also has information about every band and a link to their music. Check it out ahead of time and you can figure out what you’re doing,” Soltesz said.

Passmore plans to be a part of the festival even after The Eagleburger Band’s Friday night set. “I’ll probably come back down and check things out on Saturday. My kids live on the North Side and they usually come down, they’re in their 20s. They really have a good time at the festival.”

For a full schedule of bands, information on parking and festival maps, visit norhtsidemusicfestival.com.