The Northside Music Festival returns with a curated array of musical acts on the North Side’s streets and businesses from July 10-12.
According to festival organizer Ben Soltesz, the festival started in 2023 and grew out of the previously held Deutschtown Music Festival, which started in 2013 and held its last event in 2022.
“I took it over and renamed it and kind of right-sized it,” Soltesz said.
The three-day festival is free to attend, and Soltesz said that about 70 acts will perform throughout, encompassing genres from hard rock to singer-songwriter to gospel. Some will play on the street, some in venues including the Government Center and The Eastman, and some in … a laundromat.
“There were some local neighbors who were working there, and they were like, ‘Hey, let’s do something here.’ We just tried it last year and it was so much fun, so we’re going to try it again this year,” he said.
That laundromat is The Laundry Basket, where acts including Caleb Kopta and Jason Peterson will perform.
“It turned out to be a lot of fun and the people who did it said how much fun they had,” Soltesz said. “We decorate it, hang some lights. It’s right in the main area, so we get a good crowd of people.”
Heavier bands that may be too loud for clubs will be on stage on James Street. There will also be a singer-songwriter stage in the coffeehouse space at Allegheny Center Alliance Church.
This year’s festival also brings new and renovated spaces into the fold, from The Eastman (formerly The Fat Cat) to a now-reopened The Park House.
“They have been continuously programming music over the weekends and have done really well. So they’re just going to be doing what they’re doing,” Soltesz said. “We’re really excited to have that back open in the neighborhood.”
The festival’s scores of acts include local favorites, such as Bastard Bearded Irishmen and Chet Vincent & The Music Industry, and touring acts that Soltesz is anticipating.
“Some people reach out to us and we check them out and see where we can fit them. We have a couple of out-of-town folks this year,” he said.
Those include Columbus-based singer and guitarist Angela Perley and the band Gardener, who played a show at Club Cafe, which Soltesz attended.
“They were just a lot of fun and I was telling them about it, and they said, ‘Well, we want to do it,’” he said.
The organizer also promised some other surprises for the lineup that will be announced closer to the event.
David Passmore, snare drummer for the Eagleburger Band, is looking forward to returning to the festival this year. “We really love it. Personally, I think it’s my favorite thing we do each year,” he said.
The band is a local staple, playing around the city for about 13 years. With upwards of 18 members, the street brass band plays both originals and covers. Passmore said that they’ve been leaning into poppier tunes of late.
But the party band is a whole experience even beyond the music.
“We should have our fire tuba, we should have our baton twirler, we should have our fire-eater dancer,” Passmore said.
He also loves the festival because they get to play on the street; they’ll be playing their outdoor show at 8 p.m. Friday, July 10.
“It sounds really great because of the way the buildings are situated. It also allows people to kind of surround us in a circle. We can kind of turn and play to a lot of people at once,” he said.
As has become tradition, Sunday will be an all-day gospel celebration organized by Allegheny Center Alliance Church.
“We’re changing it up a little bit this year over there, where there’s a continuous event from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Soltesz said.
He said that the day will bring in lots of folks from other congregations throughout the city, and free kids’ activities will make it a great experience for the whole family. About 10 acts are set to take the stage for the gospel day.
For refreshments, there will be about 25 food vendors and an outdoor bar, as in the past.
“Those alcohol sales are really what gets us over the top,” he said. “We need to sell some beer to keep it working.”
At the heart of the festival is the closeness of a neighborhood and a desire to show it off.
“It’s just a nice street party. That’s what’s fun about it,” Soltesz said.
The Northside Music Festival will take place at various venues on the North Side from July 10-12. To see a full schedule and lineup, visit northsidemusicfestival.com.