By Kyle Brown
Edited by Erica McNatt
Four Chord Music Festival celebrated its 10th birthday this past weekend. While that may not seem very long, the festival is also independently run. This year, the festival was not only two months earlier than last year, but the location changed from Wild Things Park to Carrie Furnace. Nothing could have prepared us for the events that took place.
Mallory Run began the day with a set that was quite honestly the largest crowd I’ve seen to start the festival in a long, long time. Throughout the set, the four-piece band thanked Rishi Bahl and the entire staff for a job well done, saying how all good things usually come to an end, but Four Chord just keeps getting better and better. With the temps in the mid 90s, no breeze, and no cloud coverage, Mallory Run made sure to check in on the crowd from time to time, making sure they remained hydrated.
408, who was not originally on the docket, replaced KOYO after the band couldn’t make it for Saturday’s set. 408 also played at the Pre-Four Chord festivities on Friday night. From the very first song, the band got the crowd hopping. Jumping, spinning, and moving around the stage, the band did not disappoint. Playing new and old songs, 408 made each person an honorary “Floridian,” as the heat and humidity was reminiscent of the state’s weather. One thing I loved was how the band brought up their merch person to sing the last few lyrics of the last song.
Cliffdiver came up next. This was the band’s first time performing at Four Chord. Hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, the seven-piece band showed a lot of energy and stage presence. One of my favorite parts of the entire set was when it came time to tune, the lead singer made jokes. Keeping the crowd entertained with the heat just seemed very easy. As the set went on, the crowd got bigger and louder.
Action/Adventure, a band based out of Chicago, came onto the stage and played a more relaxed set. That, however, didn’t mean the energy level wasn’t there. The vocals and instrumental aspects made for a set you couldn’t take your eyes off of. The band’s mission is to make everyone feel included in the pop-punk scene. Playing a heavier style of pop punk, they fit right in with the day one bands. What is really amazing about this band is that they all grew up listening to the very bands they were sharing the stage with (Senses Fail, Four Year Strong, and The Story So Far) during the festival. Dreams can come true if you put in the effort.
Driveways, from Boston, received a huge ovation and immediately went into congratulating Four Chord on the 10-year anniversary. At this point, you could see the amount of people begin to flow into the venue, making it a bit more difficult to walk around. Fist bumps, headbanging, and moshing began to ramp up as well. The band seemed pleasantly shocked by this as well, making a comment about how many people were there at that time of day. The set ended by having the crowd sing the last verse of the song, which I thought was a nice touch by the band.
Eternal Boy made their appearance next. Four Chord’s own Rishi Bahl is the band’s lead singer. The set featured mass chaos with staff members running around with water guns, beach balls, and more on stage. Staff members also had flamingo blowups around them, as part these were part of of this year’s theme. It was at this point that I and other yearly fest goers realized how special this fest was this year. It was one of the biggest crowds Eternal Boy has had for the festival. It wouldn’t be an Eternal Boy Four Chord set without Rishi cracking jokes and singing a little Taylor Swift. The band announced that their latest album will drop in July, and they will also be going on tour with Bowling for Soup.
Militarie Gun took the stage next. Hailing from L.A., the band is actually quite new, having formed in 2020. They brought an electric set that was made for the moshers. This, however, did make it a bit difficult for the lead singer to sing, as he made comments about how it was affecting his voice. The band released their debut album, Life Under the Gun, on June 23, 2023, through Loma Vista Recordings and played a number of songs from that album.
As the baking sun began to set, Microwave took the Monster Energy Stage. Concert goers were able to finally feel some relief from the sun because the stage provided shade for people to stand in. Based out of Atlanta, the band recently put out an album called Let’s Start Degeneracy. While the moshing continued, the crowd surfing took a bit of a back seat, giving security a much needed rest. Microwave’s set provided a nice dynamic of both hard-hitting songs with heavy guitar riffs and also some songs that gave a sense of calmness to an event that was anything but calm. It was a set any emo/punk rock fan would enjoy.
As the crowd waited for Four Year Strong to take the stage, some members near me began to play a game with the rocks. It caught my attention as a group of maybe 10 people made a circle and found a decently sized rock to kick around. The objective was simple: get it out of the human circle. It was fun to watch the smiles and laughter of people who did not know one another come together and create a bit of fun and entertainment. Something I always took from this fest was just that. It doesn’t matter where you come from because this festival is all inclusive. No one should ever feel like they don’t belong. Making new friends and having fun is all part of the experience.
Once Four Year Strong did come out, all hell broke loose. I found myself trapped inside the mosh pit, struggling to get out. For what felt like eternity, I was being pushed and ran into trying to find an exit, all while protecting my camera gear. Finally, after tripping, they all kind of stopped, helped me back up, and let me escape. Song after song, Four Year Strong brought the punk-rock vibes to Four Chord. Crowd surfing had a surge again, and the dust it kicked up made it pretty difficult to see the stage after a bit.
State Champs, no stranger to Four Chord, came out to play next. Their set was almost immediately stopped by the band after a band member called out for a “medical emergency.” As the band directed the crowd as to what to do, they thanked everyone for getting quiet and letting on-scene medical personnel take over and get that person to safety. Moshing and crowd surfing began again once the all clear was given. State Champs are not currently touring but agreed to come to Four Chord for a one-off show because of how much fun the fest is for them. Echoing what many in the crowd were saying, it felt like Warped Tour. That, to me, is very high praise. Warped Tour was something special, and having a crowd mentioning that feeling, including a band who played that tour eight times, goes a long way in showing how great this fest truly is. State Champs will have a new album coming out later in the year, so be on the lookout for new music soon!
The last band to play Smartpunk Stage on day one was Senses Fail. After playing a couple songs and talking to the crowd for a few minutes, lead singer Buddy Nielsen asked for the “weirdest” people to make a circle pit. What he meant was the ones who will go crazy in the pit and not take it easy. The band itself was wild and crazy. Cartwheels, jumping, spinning, and other on-stage entertainment went on besides playing music. It was a lot of fun to just watch each band member have fun in their own way. They really enjoyed their time on stage. One of the best moments of their set came as a conversation about my home state, New Jersey. Buddy is from Jersey, and it goes without saying, Jersey people have an attitude. Which brought on his moto for the set: “The sky is blue, I am from New Jersey, f*^k you!” In all honesty, that embraces our attitude in one sentence. It truly was one of my favorite sets of the day. Entertainment level, song choices, and how the band behaved towards the crowd were all top notch.
The Story So Far came out as the second to last band for the day. “Let’s get a circle pit going” were the first words out of Parker Cannon’s mouth. As if the crowd was in a trance, they followed the order and dust flew. The band just released a new album on June 21, 2024. Rhe crowd went nuts when asked, “How about that new album, huh?!” Cannon kept the crowd engaged with each song, asking for clapping or more circle pits, even asking the crowd to sing as loud as they could. The band seemed like they wanted the crowd involved with the set just as much as they were.
Ending the night was the much-anticipated A Day To Remember. With a set that included risers, smoke machines, and a fun light setup, the first four songs went on with almost no hiccups. I say almost because a generator went out right as song four was ending. After a couple of minutes, everything was good as new, however, and everyone was glad to see the band come back onto stage and continue playing. A set that was slated for 90 minutes went on practically nonstop. Lead singer Jeremy McKinnon made his singing chops well known as he effortlessly went from a normal singing voice to growls and screaming. The band’s constant movement on the stage gave every fan in attendance a good view.
As day one came to a close, the anticipation only grew for what day two would hold. Rain was in the forecast, and that was concerning. The venue did not have many options to seek shelter before getting drenched. But it also would relieve the dust issue, so I was all for it as long as it wasn’t a lot. Day two featured Taylor Acorn, Patent Pending, Something Corporate, and The All-American Rejects. It was sure to be a good day of music. Check back soon for the review for day two!
Pittsburgh Music Magazine 