On Saturday, September 26, I took a trip out of the nor'easter storm to a sunny and beautiful Pittsburgh, PA. It was my first time in the city of Pittsburgh, as well as my first time attending Four Chord Music Festival! Upon entering, the venue was packed left to right; the atmosphere was energetic, and there were so many different areas I was eager to explore. There were fourteen different rock, pop-punk, and classic emo favorite acts throughout the day, which included: Pierce The Veil, Mayday Parade, Boys Like Girls, State Champs, Mom Jeans, Motion City Soundtrack, Cartel, Finch, Driveways, Hit The Lights, Eternal Boy, Patent Pending, Keep Flying, Don't Panic, and Heading North.
As I continued to immerse myself in the experience of Four Chord, I kept comparing the vibes of it to a mini Vans Warped Tour. The stage setup was perfect as the two were directly next to each other, so it was very easy to alternate between the bands' sets. The local vendor markets and tents were super cute and fun to walk around and browse in between shows. My friends and I especially enjoyed the Smartpunk Records tent, where we looked through a bunch of great vinyls! This was an absolute dream lineup for me, as my top 3 favorite bands since childhood are Mayday Parade, State Champs, and Pierce The Veil.
State Champs played the entirety of their 2015 seminal album 'Around The World And Back', which was such a treat and a great tribute, with the album recently celebrating its 10th birthday. I was in awe of seeing Pierce the Veil and Mayday Parade again, although I've been to so many Mayday shows I can't even count on my fingers, and it was my fourth time seeing Pierce the Veil! It truly never gets old hearing them live, as it always feels so special and emotional. As I was anticipating Mayday Parade to come on, already prepared and standing the next stage over, Boys Like Girls started to perform beside me. My favorite part of their set was the encore song, 'The Great Escape'. They started playing the intro, with a sudden stop, asking the crowd to put their phones away for the song that “started it all” for the band and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 reversing back to 2007. It was truly special, with everyone living in the moment and coming together singing, screaming, and drowning out everything else to a defining anthem of the mid-2000s pop-punk scene.
Fast forward to the headliner, when all rushed to the main stage for Pierce The Veil. The crowd quieted as Pierce The Veil's Mexican intro song 'El Ray' by Vicente Fernández took over the speakers. The stage illuminated red, as the iconic silhouette of the popular album 'Collide With The Sky' floating woman appeared on the backdrop. Smoke filled the stage, with screaming fans shaking with excitement, anticipating the band's arrival. Frontman Vic Fuentes walked on with a megaphone and began his screaming vocals to the track that starts 'Collide With The Sky' titled, 'May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight'. The intro transitions and erupts the crowd into a huge mosh pit for 'Hell Above'... and the show begins! You could tell everyone was saving their energy for the headliner as people ran circles in pits, and fans bounced and ricocheted off each other in pure fun and joy. My friends and I had such a fun time dancing with each other as we lost our voices to our favorite songs. At the end of Pierce the Veil's set, I was lucky enough to get a tossed guitar pick from Vic Fuentes! Pinch me! Am I dreaming? I was absolutely thrilled, and it made my entire night, especially because it completed my bucket list of getting a pic from my top 3 favorite bands, who were all there that night!
It really couldn’t have been a better lineup for me to see. Speaking of the lineup, I want to shout out the pop-punk band Cartel, who performed earlier in the day. They were a band I had never seen before, and I really dug their stage presence, vibes, and music. I immediately added them to my playlist to give them a deeper listen! The next day, after my friends and I drove six hours back home, we did a radio show at the studio that night where we played a bunch of the bands that performed and talked about our experience. One of our favorite stories to tell was about Mom Jeans, who started throwing wrapped burgers from the stage. It was incredibly humorous, as we’ve literally never seen anything like that at a show before. It was very silly, and the crowd got a kick out of it—including us. Plus, who doesn’t love free food? I guess you could call this show a core memory. :)
All the different performances!
The most surreal experience
Couldn't have asked for a better day
