Oakland Pop Festival

We need your help to make OPF happen! Do you want to become a partner of this year's festival? Sent us an email at [email protected].

Do you want to help OPF? We're looking for volunteers to help us plan for 2023. If you're interested, drop us a line!

Fortune Teller at

Photos by on IG

Jordan Montgomery at

Photos by on IG

Metacara at

Photos by on IG

F**kyougrizz at

Photos by on IG

Tony From Bowling at

Photos by on IG

Ron Mist at

Photos by on IG

Gaadge at

Photos by on IG

Took some time to reflect... but all we can say is WOW.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who came out, danced, performed, and enjoyed the inaugural Oakland Pop Festival. This festival was for YOU. Thank you for allowing us to bring live music back to Oakland.

Many many more photos coming very soon.

We can't wait for ... until then, ✌✌✌

MERCH AVAILABLE!

Stop by the pavilion at Schenley Plaza to pick up shirts, poster prints, stickers, and more!

Shirts printed by CommonWealth Press

T-MINUS 2 HOURS... let's have a great day!

SET TIMES... we'll see ya tomorrow!

Check these vendors / visual artists in the pavilion at TOMORROW!

An Q&A with Gaadge

Q: Gaadge cross pollinates with several other Pittsburgh-based projects. How does the spirit of collaboration impact Gaadge's songwriting and live show?

A: Mitch Ethan and Andy have been friends since living in Erie together and Barlow has always had a big influence in my (Mitch’s) songwriting. Nick joined after being introduced and it just worked.

Q: Speaking of collaboration, Pittsburgh sound wizard Ryan Hizer played a significant role in the making of Yeah? How did you choose to work with Ryan, and how did his specific taste and approach to production help define the Gaadge sound?

A: Nick was a friend of Hizer’s and suggested he do the mixing/mastering (also done by Trey Curtis) Their work has always been phenomenal and they made the recordings we did at home sound insanely good. He’s the reason it sounds so huge when it does and we’re very happy he helped us out the way he did.

Q: The Yeah? album cover is one of the iconic Pittsburgh album covers of the last few years. Can you explain why it was chosen, it's relationship to the twelve songs, and... does he land the jump?

A: My phone was at 2% battery when my buddy “Lonnie” was biking the alleyway behind our work. I snapped a picture in time and before my phone died decided that it was gonna be the album. It caught the summertime feel of when I was recording everything and just felt right. And of course he landed it, he’s Lonnie effin’ Reynolds.

Catch Gaadge and at Oakland Pop Festival THIS SATURDAY!

An Q&A with Fortune Teller :

Q: Your second album, Collapse, is just as heavy as your debut album but it’s faster and seems more energetic. What inspired the change in pace?

Giovanni: The change honestly came from writing songs and jamming more live, I think that's where the energy comes from

J.J.: The songs on Collapse were around for a long time, we really spent a long time fleshing them out, but we definitely wanted a more concise group of songs, so to pack that into shorter song lengths, ya gotta up the intensity.

Q: You’ve cited Fuzz as an early influence. Like Fuzz, your live performances are so wonderfully loud. How does a 2 piece band generate such an incredible wall of sound?

Giovanni: Many amps. I bought more amps to play with live so itd be louder and would cover up my mistakes more

J.J.: We’re both huge gear nerds, and Fortune Teller is all about the huge hits, so to echo Giovanni’s point, walls of amps make a huge difference. They’re like our 3rd band mate.

Q: You guys have played a number of shows in other cities and other states. How does live music in Pittsburgh compare to other places you’ve played?

Giovanni: Other cities are cool but PGH is home base, all of our friends and family are here so shows can be extra special

J.J.: PGH music has brought us both up over the past 10 years, and I think the blue collar diy attitude of the city has kind of inspired a lot of the music made here and everyone’s work ethic towards music, which is what I love.

Q: The music video for your song Fracture is the perfect visual representation of what it feels like listening to Fortune Teller. How did you pull that off?

Giovanni: We used a green screen and had the madman Grant Charney do his magik

J.J.: That music video was actually super easy on our end, Grant did all the heavy lifting in post. but I love that video bc of how it differs from the much more cinematic and dramatic “Metal Earth” video my brother made with us.

Catch them LIVE in Schenley Plaza THIS SATURDAY!

Joining us at : Gaadge

Gaadge was birthed in Erie, PA in 2014, delivered by Mitch DeLong, who relocated his progeny to Pittsburgh in 2016. Andy Yadeski and Ethan Olivia of Pittsburgh legends Barlow joined the 412 version of the band, and DeLong also added Nick Boston, who writes or co-writes several of the songs on their debut full length, Yeah?

Gaadge embraces the entire spectrum of alternative music from melodic poppy janglers to carpet bombing shoegaze fuzz. Their sound evokes both the sweaters and cig haze of a 1993 MTV Buzz Cut and the dissonant chords and distant yet personal vocals of your favorite indie Pitchfork darlings.

Yeah?, released by Crafted Sounds, received critical acclaim across the blogosphere and drew comparisons to My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, Guided by Voices, and even the Strokes. Their songs may induce you to nod your head, sing along, or catch air off a box jump.

Catch Gaadge and more at OPF THIS SATURDAY!

Tomorrow our own Riley Baker will be on 91.3 WYEP with Joey Spehar talkin all things . Tune in for a preview of this weekend's fest! We'll see you all Saturday.

An Q&A with F**kyougrizz:

Q: You go by f*%kyougrizz, your website has your name uncensored, and sometimes you’re simply Grizz. What do you prefer and what’s the best way for people to find your music?

A: So there’s definitely been misunderstandings surrounding my name. My name is f**kyougrizz (‘f*%kyougrizz’ is the censored version of spelling it) but the “f**kyou” is silent. So f**kyougrizz is pronounced “grizz”. The best way for people to find my music is to go to www.f**kyougrizz.com

Q: You’ve been involved in hip hop for a while now but just recently began releasing music as a solo artist. What’s that transition like?

A: I’ve been involved & working in music since I was 4 years old, so making my first solo effort has been long overdue. This process & experience has been amazing. The love and support I’ve received in my transition to solo artist has been incredible & I’m most excited about what’s to come.

Q: If you could work with another artist from Pittsburgh or elsewhere who would you choose?

A: I’d honestly love to work with a long list of Pittsburgh artists! King Yoshimitsu, Boppapi, JDAAMUSIC, Zay… the list goes on and on. I’d love to work with Sierra Sellers. I’m attempting to facilitate that collaboration with this performance!

Catch F**kyougrizz and many others at Oakland Pop Festival THIS SATURDAY!

An Q&A with Water Trash:

Q: So who is Water Trash? How long have you been playing together?

A: Water Trash is Carter Vannoy (guitar & vocals), Cheyenne Raithel (drums), Ryan Hartman (guitar & vocals), Ryan Killen (keys & vocals), and Victor Tonti (bass). We’ve been playing together under the name Water Trash since 2017 but we’ve all been friends and playing music together since 2012 through the For Those About to Rock Academy in Ambridge, PA.

Q: Sometimes it can seem like guitar music is dying, especially when it comes to the younger generation. What inspired you guys to shred so hard?

A: We communicate regularly with bam Margera and when we are losing steam he is always there to put coals back in our train engine of rock and roll motivation.

Q: You’ve got a new album coming out soon. Can you talk about the writing and recording process and how things have changed in the kinda post/still kinda-COVID world?

A: Like probably most bands, Covid's positive side is that it gave us a lot more time to focus on and get better at the writing, recording, and production process. We were actually writing another album and almost finished it before writing this one and recording most of it in the fall of 2020. Because of occasionally not being able to meet because someone had covid, or trying to put in a significant higher level of effort, as the time went on it became harder to finish it as the creative process can lead to burnout if things go prolonged.

We were also going to not originally mix it ourselves but after spending so much time with the songs we decided that we were the only ones who really heard how they should sound so we (Ryan Killen) mixed it ourselves. We weren't as confident on the masters once the first singles were also done by ourselves so we worked with a dude in Denmark named Fred Miller who mastered the album with ~analogue equipment ~. We are confident that the album sounds a lot better than our previous work and are very excited to get it out there

Catch them at Oakland Pop Festival THIS SATURDAY.

Joining us at : Fortune Teller

Fortune Teller is the duo of Giovanni Orsini and J.J. Young, two Pittsburgh musicians and founders of PGH music multimedia collective Steel City Death Club. The two combine to unleash a storm of fuzzed out, explosive, stoner rock. Formed in 2016, Fortune Teller can be found consistently playing raucous live shows all over Pittsburgh and Morgantown with Giovanni on guitar, J.J. behind the drums, and each one adding vocals.

Their latest album, Collapse, is forty minutes of fast paced psychedelic garage rock that’ll get your heart rate climbing. After a year and change of no live music, Fortune Teller is back to thrilling crowds with maximum sound and energy. Catch them at Oakland Pop Festival, as well as at Thunderbird Cafe on April 22nd and at Smokey’s Tavern on May 21st as part of Millvale Music Fest.

Catch them on the OPF stage THIS SATURDAY!

An Q&A with Jordan Montgomery:

Q: You not only champion Black artists, you also champion local Pittsburgh artists. Because of that, how important is it for you to have a hand in an Oakland music renaissance?

A: Oakland is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. Thousands of college students, tourists, and residents venture up and down Forbes, Fifth Ave, and every side street in between. I hope this festival exposes the college students to the incredible talent that the city has to offer. I’m excited to share with the other amazing artists on this lineup.

Q: You’ve collaborated with another Oakland Pop Festival artist, Sierra Sellers. Is there another layer of chemistry you have with a fellow Pittsburgh artist? If so, how does that assist the creative process?

A: I’m big on relationships. I like having that connection with an artist before we collaborate. I think it makes the collaboration easier and more meaningful. Plus I’m a fan of many of the artists I collaborate with which motivates me even more.

Q: Please answer these prompts with one album:
Album you would most like to have a guest verse on:
This is a tough question, but I’d go with an early Jay-Z album. He’s my all-time favorite artist.
Album that most inspired your career:
It Was Written by Nas. If I Ruled The World made me want to start writing raps.
Album you wish you had made:
Brothers by The Black Keys. If I ever ventured into rock, I’d love to make an album like that. It’s one of my all-time favorites.
Album you think will be remembered more fondly in 20 years than it is now:
Silk Sonic. I feel the album lost momentum after it was first announced but it’s so good. There’s some timeless music on that project.

Catch Jordan at Oakland Pop Festival THIS SATURDAY!

Joining us at : f*%kyougrizz

Hip hop has been part of life for f*%kyougrizz for as long as he can remember. Listening to his cool, confident style, it should come as no surprise that he’s been performing since he was 4 years old. Born and raised in Hazelwood, f*%kyougrizz is making a name for himself within the Pittsburgh music scene. He was recently featured as WYEP’s artist of the week.

f*%kyougrizz has been releasing a track every month this year as part of a collection titled “if*%kingloveyou.” Every song showcases his smooth, innovative wordplay over sharp melodic beats. Check out his music at f**kyougrizz.com and come see him live at Oakland Pop Festival as well as Allegheny City Brewing June 3rd.

Catch f*%kyougrizz on the OPF stage THIS SATURDAY!

An Q&A with Ron Mist:

Q: Conceptually, this is a thirteen track exploration of a deceptively complex question, "what is dancing?". A study of how various individuals in your life define it and how your audience responds. Dance as a form of language and also as an outlet for the listener to connect music with movement and discover their own expressions. You even sampled Bill T. Jones, an iconic voice in modern dance since the 80's, in “And The Verdict Is…”. By creating this album, what have you learned about people’s different relationships to dance?

A: I've learned that dance is one of those connecting factors of humanity that we almost all have in common but with which we almost all have a unique relationship. It's also an ever-changing relationship, morphing with different contexts, and thus it's this lifelong learning experience where we learn new things about ourselves and learn from others' expressions.

Q. You've been an event DJ for going on a decade now and this seems to be the root of what inspired you to try to help your audience better understand and access dance as a medium of expression. Can you give us a favorite memory or experience that impacted your work today?

A: One time, I was DJing my good friend's wedding, and his dad requested "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash. I had never played that jam at an event before, but I was super stoked so I threw it on rather quickly. He was going really hard to it, and I looked over at my friend to see his jaw wide open. I walked over to him and he was like, "I've never seen my dad dance before." I'm hoping that my songs can become a "Rock the Casbah" for some future otherwise rather reserved dads.

Q: I am curious to hear more about your overall musical influence as these mixes are quite eclectic. "Jeremiah" is one of the tracks I keep coming back to and I get some Dan Deacon vibes there in particular, with a smidgen of The Postal Service sprinkled in. Who are a few of your favorite musicians that you've drawn inspiration from?

A: The main inspiration for making the album was Disclosure's "Settle" but in the end I don't think that necessarily influenced the sound as much as some others. The bulk of the album was finished up in 2020, when I was heavily into Four Tet's newer work, Caribou, and Kelly Lee Owens. What I learned from these three is that a good dance track doesn't need to have drastic change to keep energy. If you put a lot of effort into making a spicy loop, you can entrance the listener with some slight modulation over time and really create a temporary new world in doing so.

Joining us at : Water Trash

Water Trash are a five-piece psych rock band from Pittsburgh featuring Carter on guitar and vocals, Cheyenne on drums, Ryan H. on guitar and vocals, Ryan K. on keys and vocals, and Victor on bass. The five friends met at For Those About to Rock Academy in Ambridge in 2012 and have been playing together ever since, officially forming Water Trash in 2017.

Part punk, part psych, part new wave, all awesome, Water Trash have been honing their sound through three full lengths and several singles and EPs. The band will release their new album The Trash is Always Greener on April 30th. They will celebrate the release that night with a show at Mr. Smalls Theater alongside friends Melt, Natural Rat, and Silver Car Crash.

Catch them on the OPF stage THIS SATURDAY!

An Q&A with Tony From Bowling:

Q: As one of the few non-Pittsburgh artists at OPF, tell us a little about yourselves. Who are you and why do you rock so hard?

A: We are tony from bowling, psych rock band from Morgantown, WV. Glad to hear you think we rock hard, we’re just trying to make good songs and put on a good show. rock n roll

Q: As a life-long Pennsylvanian, I don’t know much about Morgantown. Just your affinity for college sports and burning couches. Tell us a little about your local music scene.

A: Our local scene is great, we have a lot of great artist friends who are always down to collaborate and get weird. 123 Pleasant Street rocks, they’ve done so much for us over the years. They’re the best.

Q: Who is Tony? Aside from being “from bowling,” is he any good at it? What’s his scoring average?

A: Well, we’re Tony I suppose. But you are too. He’s not good or bad really, he just is. If he had an average (he doesn’t) it would be just that, “average.” He takes pride in himself alone, no comparisons, no rules, no masters. You get it, we’re all him. He’s us. I’m you.

An Q&A with Metacara:

Q: OPF will be your first show back from the pandemic, right? How have things changed in terms of your creative process in the last couple years?
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​​A: Yes it will! We back outside!! During the pandemic, we shifted energy from stage performances to video production, remixes, covers and reaching out to the lofi music community on a more global scale. We now have an entirely new skill set, network and perspective compared to the several years prior when we saw ourselves in a bit of a “record-release-perform” tunnel vision mode. We feel so fulfilled and grateful to bring our new perspective to the stage for the festival.
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​Q: One of the goals of OPF is to help revitalize a once vibrant Oakland music scene. What are your favorite Oakland music memories?
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A: ​​Recording our first EP, “Stone Love” in a tiny apartment on Oakland Avenue. We can teleport back if we close our eyes – setting up a $200 condenser mic in Kyla’s closet, several grease-stained Campus Deli bags on the desk, an old MacBook on it’s last leg, various herbs and incenses burning. It was magic. We actually went back and listened to that EP recently, and you can hear the floors creaking in some of Kyla’s vocal takes. A legendary Oakland house, immortalized through music ​🙏​
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Q: I’ve always been impressed by your ability to exist as a cool ass band while also being a strong and thriving couple. It’s rare to see that work! So rare that I don’t even have a good musical comparison for it! So what’s it like to be The Captain and Tennille with good taste?
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​​A: Thank you so much for the kind words. Metacara is essentially an element of our relationship – it exists within our connection and our love. It’s something that we have to communicate about, challenge and nurture. We were actually platonic music partners before we were a couple, so maybe having that foundation helps too. We both live for music – it’s not even a choice!

We're ONE WEEK AWAY from . We can't wait to see everybody!

Joining us at : Jordan Montgomery

Jordan is a hip hop artist, founder and CEO of Driving While Black records, and the Regional Marketing Coordinator for Live Nation Pittsburgh.

Jordan’s rap career exploded with his critically acclaimed 2016 release, Driving While Black. It was around this time that Jordan decided to use that phrase as the name of his record label to uplift Black artists and make that phrase one of self-empowerment.

Jordan’s most recent solo release is Thank You 4 Ur Purchase But We R Not For $ale, which follows his stellar releases Dark Horse and Driving While Black. Recently, Driving While Black records released Back in Business, which features all label mates along with Big Jerm in a post-production role.

Jordan is described as socially conscious, with the unique ability to channel the best of (early) Kanye West, Jay-Z and Cam’Ron. Jordan is not only mindful of the struggles that Black people face today, he has the ability to introduce these issues in his music in a thoughtful and conversation-provoking manner.

Catch Jordan and many others at Oakland Pop Festival April 23rd in Schenley Plaza!