Strip District Music Fest

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Strip District venues

January 17
Noon – 2 a.m.

Music festivals are not just for summer anymore and the Strip District is not only about food. 80 bands, 14 hours and 11 venues (and counting!) will make for one very rocking January day (and night) in the Strip District.

The debut of this multi-venue winter festival aims to generate neighborhood excitement throughout the Strip and to promote a wider awareness of Pittsburgh’s vibrant art and music community—at a slow time of  year for cultural events.

Showcasing both the recent growth and resurgence taking place throughout Pittsburgh’s vibrant Strip, as well as connecting music fans with new venues and emerging musicians, the fest—which hopes to become an annual event—boasts 14 hours of live local music from noon to 2 a.m., in both traditional and non-traditional concert venues along Penn Avenue and Smallman Street. Featuring a wide range of musical genres, styles and sounds, performers include everyone from Cello Fury and Ferdinand the Bull, to Beauty Slap and The Red Western.

While enjoying live music from a varied lineup of acts, festival-goers can also explore the centrally located nabe and can check out participating venues such as Altar Bar, 21st Street Coffee, Thin Man Sandwich Shop, Beerhive, Penn Avenue Fish Company, Wigle Whiskey, 26th Street Market & Cafe, Framezilla, Pittsburgh Winery, Static and more. Included are both 21+ and all-ages venues.

All of that rock makes for a serious appetite, so fuel up at the event’s food trucks, including Lomito, Saucy Mamas Italian Food & Catering and Southside Barbeque Company. In addition to the music, the festival will also feature a selection of handmade goods curated by Second Shift Crafters, with vendors setting up shop at various venues around the Strip.

Added bonus? With a unique twist on concert admission fees, the festival is adopting a donation-based, pay-what you-want online system. Get all of the latest updates about bands, venues and schedules—which are added daily—via the festival’s Facebook page and website. For an audio preview, check out the festival’s artist playlist on SoundCloud.

Jennifer has worked at the Mattress Factory, Brooklyn Museum of Art and Dahesh Museum of Art and is co-author of Pittsburgh Signs Project: 250 Signs of Western Pennsylvania. She also is co-coordinator of Handmade Arcade. Musically, she is in a band called The Garment District and is a founding member of Brooklyn's The Ladybug Transistor.