By Kyle Brown
Edited by Erica McNatt
In typical Four Chord fashion, the festival was split between two different days. Day one was dedicated to hard and heavy music, and day two is the less heavy and more pop punk-ish music. This allows fans to either attend one or the other depending on the style they like, or both if you so choose.
Day two opened with Old Neon. “Welcome to the dust bowl” was announced to the crowd by the band, and that name for day one carried throughout the rest of the day. The high energy, five-piece band played some songs off their latest album released last year, which included my personal favorite, “Jumpstart.” Much like me, the crowd loved it live. Rain began to fall, and the crowd rushed for ponchos and rain gear. Just as quickly as it began, however, it ended. Old Neon was really fun to watch and really nice to listen to. The energy they brought made for a great opening set. Old Neon has been at Four Chord a few times now, and they get better and better every time.
Fellow Pittsburgh Music Magazine photographer Megan McGinnis is the band’s photographer and content creator, so be sure to find her and the band on socials and give them a like/follow!
Don’t Panic entertained the Four Chord crowd for the second time in the band’s history after Old Neon. Rain began again, and members of the five-piece band made jokes as they tuned their instruments. Don’t Panic was a lot of fun to watch with fun guitar riffs and really catchy songs. The band was able to tell stories about meeting Rishi Bahl a while back and thanked him for the opportunity to come back. Don’t Panic had the crowd sing with them for a part of their last song, singing the “whoa oh, whoa oh, whoa oh oh oh oh” parts of the song.
My partner in crime during the festival, Stephanie Cincinnati, who helped me with the Pittsburgh Music Magazine Instagram takeover, is this band’s photographer as well. Be sure to check out Stephanie’s socials for photos and keep up with her!
Goalkeeper took the Monster Energy stage next. You knew it was going to be a great set when the band’s drummer,Cody, had a lot of energy getting the crowd going before the set. The three-piece band had a technical difficulty after a few songs, so Cody again came to the microphone and spoke a few lines to the crowd. Once the issue was fixed, a small circle mosh began. One thing I didn’t realize until that set was that the band has only missed two Four Chords in the festival’s history. Between more tuning, Goalkeeper joked about the rain holding off for their set and that they were thankful for everyone who came out early to support them and the other bands. A new, unreleased song was played to the crowd, and it went over great. Goalkeeper stayed in the same spots the entire set, which wasn’t a bad thing. It allowed the crowd an easy set to watch and enjoy. They let their music do the talking, to which I personally loved.
House Parties was my discovery of the fest. I absolutely loved their set. It became evident that they were very reminiscent of the band Paramore. The way they danced, talked to the crowd, their overall stage presence, and how they sang their songs were like Paramore, even down to the hair color of the lead singer, Chaney Elaine. While singing a cover of Demi Lovato’s “Heart Attack,” the crowd went nuts over Eliane’s high notes as she hit them with ease. The three-piece band is made up of Elaine (vocals), Spencer Trinidad (guitar), and Wesley K. Jones (drums). The band definitely made a great impression, as it was evident that they were easily becoming a crowd favorite. If you enjoy Paramore, you will like them.
Elaine asked for a circle pit for their song “Mid-Life Crisis,” and the crowd went nuts with it. When the set ended, I told a few people that that was the set Four Chord day two needed to get going.
People R Ugly kept the same energy as House Parties, as they began immediately after. I found the set to be very easy to follow and bob your head to, with songs that featured clever guitar riffs and drum beats. The band played a cover that they called “the best song ever written.” That song came out to be “Seven Things” by Miley Cyrus. Or Hannah Montana, if you want to call her that still. Playing up-beat, faster songs and slower, melodic songs made for a fun set to watch.
Keep flying, a Four Chord staple, took the stage next. It’s not a proper Four Chord without them. The six-piece band includes a trombone and saxophone alone with the guitars and drums. Every member plays an instrument while on stage, which makes for a ton of energy with spinning, jumping, hand signals, and more.
After a long break of no circle pits, Keep Flying got one going, a rather large one at that. The last two songs were about perseverance. The band said, “Even with sacrifice and loss, don’t throw in the towel. Get up and keep going. When you turn the page, it’s nice and clean for you to pen it how you want.” Just as some said the day before, the bands were saying how this fest really feels like a Warped Tour.
The band later commented on social media, “Yesterday may have been one of the best sets we’ve played with the most love sent back our way. You clapped. You swayed. You circle pit. You crowd surfed. You sang every word…..When you started singing along to 198 Broadway before the song started, before Henry asked you to join us with the horns, our entire band got goosebumps. We smiled at each other, cups overflowing, knowing in our hearts that this is exactly where we are supposed to be and that’s powerful healing energy.”
Patent Pending is also a staple band for this fest. If there was one band I was stoked to see, this was it. During soundcheck, lead vocalist Robert Ragosta entertained the crowd by having them recite back “let’s go sound check,” then clap 3x and repeat. Almost like a sporting event cheer. He then had the crowd chant, “Good job sound guys!” once the soundcheck was complete. Being a band who always plays at the fest, they had a really good-sized crowd. Ragosta is always really good with the crowd, cracking jokes and having a blast. The wind picked up and the sky got darker, but no one seemed to care. Patent Pending was on stage. That is all that mattered. One thing I love about the band is how they are with the photographers in the pit. They are showmen and know how to get creative. Three kids crowd surfed during the first three songs, so Ragosta had them join him, bringing them onto the stage for a song. With microphone issues, Ragosta joked with the crowd and continued on like nothing happened. The always-energetic frontman jumped like Mario during the Song “Hey Mario,” and he acted out things during other songs. Always a crowd favorite, Ragosta would jump into the crowd and surf them for a bit before security got him back to the stage.
Hunny definitely had some big shoes to fill after Patent Pending, but the three-piece band managed to keep the energy going and not miss a beat. Though they were pretty stationary, the band brought it with hard drums, heavy guitar riffs, and lyrics that were made for headbanging. Each member’s stage presence was fun to watch, and the vocals were spot on. I had never heard of this band before this festival, but I will say their lyrics are very raw and have a very real meaning to the band and the fans.
Taylor Acorn came out with a bang on stage. A huge ovation came over Carrie Furnace as she ran onto the stage waving to the crowd. Acorn, who was actually in attendance two years ago as a fan, made sure to thank everyone at Four Chord, as she was living a dream, playing at one of the fests she enjoyed attending as a fan.
The three-piece band looked super happy to be on the stage, enjoying the moment and knowing how special it truly was. Acorn was actually one of the artists I looked forward to seeing, especially hearing her song “Coma” live. The song features Cassadee Pope, but Taylor did a superb job tackling the vocals alone.
The one thing I noticed immediately was how much energy she had, jumping and dancing along the entire stage, using every inch of it. I also noticed I wasn’t the only one excited for her, as it was this set that a lot of people starting to show up. Acorn was able to go from singing ballads to punk rock in an instant, and it left many of us engaged and wanting more when the set ended.
Reliant K. Is there anything more I need to say? A band who played in four Warped Tours, and in 2013, they played three dates on that tour. They are in every sense an elder emo band. A piano made an appearance in this set, which was the first one of the fest this year. Many fans of the band were in attendance, clapping and singing along like there was no one watching. Dark, ominous clouds began to form in the west, heading towards Pittsburgh. Reliant K eventually ended their set early due to high winds and lightning. We were told to take shelter until further notice at that point.
The Get Up Kids made their appearance after the wind and lightning delay. The band took the stage for a 45 minute set. Much like last year’s the rain storm, many fans stuck around to enjoy the music despite the weather. The five-member band all went on like nothing ever happened, and the crowd seemed very happy with them performing only 20-ish minutes later with some of the loudest cheers of the day to this point. To make sure they made the most of the set, the band played song after song to make sure they got in the entire set list. Successfully, The Get Up Kids played a whole album for their set, most of which was in the pouring rain.
Motion City Soundtrack came on after yet another rain delay that quite literally flooded the venue. Playing with two LED screens behind them, the band made sure to keep the energy up for all of us soaking wet folks. Unfortunately, with the rain coming down as they played, I stayed under some cover to protect my camera gear as much as possible. It was a bit hard to hear the band with all the talking that was happening around me, but based off the cheers, the set was a huge hit.
Something Coporate’s lead singer, Andrew McMahon, was back again after missing his chance last year due to a tornado, during which he played at a Mexican restaurant instead. The band he was with then was Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness. The six-piece band had a really simple set up, and for most of the set everyone played in a particular spot. McMahon’s voice was really easy to listen to and really clear to hear every spoken and sung word. With all the drama that happened through the day, this easy-going set was refreshing. Favorites like “Punk Rock Princess” and “Konstantine” were played, as well as “If you C Jordan,” “Fall,” and “Space.” McMahon said this was one of the biggest and best crowds they’ve played for, especially after all the rain storms, through which the crowd still stayed. McMahon also made a joke that it was the first time they had a freight train come by as they performed. The band, back together after a 20-year hiatus, said they would “not perform again until it felt right, and it felt right to finally come back out”
After the first night’s debacle of getting out of the venue, at least half of the crowd left prior to The All American Rejects. Honestly, I found that quite sad. However, those who did stay got a fun treat of music from another elder emo band (I, at least, count them as an emo/pop-punk band) that many of us in our later 20’s and older grew up on. The band opened up with “Swing, Swing” and continued with “Fallin’ Apart” and “My Paper Heart.” Even with the multiple rain showers that dumped buckets and buckets of rain, the show went off without any issues. The lighting and sound was perfect. The crowd sang loudly and proudly. And the band really seemed to be having fun as well.
As expected, the 12-song setlist was accompanied by fan favorites “Dirty Little Secret,” “It Ends Tonight,” “Move Along,” and “Gives You Hell” at different points throughout the set.
Thank you yet again to Rishi and the entire Four Chord staff for all they do. The free water stations, the vendors, and the lineup were spectacular. It takes a lot to make this festival happen, and each year the bands get bigger and better. People don’t really take the time to actually think about what it takes to make this event happen. Independently run for 10 years, the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this festival are unseen. Maybe there were issues with the parking and location, but that is to be expected. At least there wasn’t a tornado like Four Chord 9. I rate this year a 10/10. All the bands played, the crowd enjoyed themselves, and even with the high temperatures and rain, only small delays occurred. What more could you really ask for in an outdoor music festival?
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