A summer full of music kicks off this weekend with Pittonkatonk. There are some amazing things to look forward to this year: Free county concerts include shows from Heavy Heavy and the Women in Jazz Festival at South Park, plus Pittsburgh Opera and Arrested Development at Hartwood Acres. The first Turn It Upstream Festival on June 26 features top-tier local acts like Beauty Slap and NASH.V.ILL. And ’90s nostalgia buffs can enjoy the Spin Doctors and Joan Osborne at the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
As always, find even more things to do in Pittsburgh in our Weekend and Monthly Event Guides.
May 8-9, Vietnam Veterans Pavilion, Schenley Park
Pete Spynda’s Pittonkatonk — a celebration of world music, horns and drums — has opened the local outdoor festival season since 2014. This year’s lineup includes Colombian star Yeison Landero, the Undertow Brass Band and local artists Timbeleza and the Eagleburger Band.
There will be more than 350 musical acts on 32 stages, along with visual artists, comedians and poets in Millvale — and it’s all free. The two-day event includes classical music at St. Nicholas Church — and almost every other kind of music — all over the borough Friday night and all day Saturday.
Brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario, known as The Lemon Twigs, headline on Aug. 16 at Hartwood. Photo courtesy of Eva Chambers.
Allegheny County Summer Concert Series
All shows start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
South Park Amphitheater (All shows on Friday):
June 5 River City Brass
June 12 Jimmie Ross & The Jaggerz
June 19 Coltt Winter Lepley & The Briar Valley Rangers
June 26 Red Wanting Blue
July 3 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (8:15 p.m.)
July 10 The Heavy Heavy
July 17 Orleans
July 24 Ruthie Foster
July 31 Don McLean
Aug. 7 Matthias Lattin & Dylan Triplett
Aug. 14 Women in Jazz Festival, featuring Su Terry, Deanna Witkowski Trio and Camille Thurman with the Darrell Green Quartet
Aug. 21 Tamburitzans
Aug. 28 Summer of Love Revue
Sept. 4 Reb Beach
Hartwood Acres Park Amphitheater (All shows on Sunday):
June 7 Pittsburgh Opera
June 14 Melinda & The Night Sky
June 21 Yacht Rocket
June 28 Tito Puente Jr. and Nestor Torres
July 5 America’s 250th Anniversary Celebration, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (8:15 p.m., $30 suggested donation to benefit the county Department of Human Services)
July 12 The Fixx
July 19 Cyril Neville
July 26 Arrested Development
Aug. 2 The Wood Brothers
Aug. 9 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Aug. 16 The Lemon Twigs
Aug. 23 Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
Aug. 30 Blasey Plays the Beatles
Sept. 6 Buzz Poets
Grammy-nominated artists The War and Treaty are set for the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 12. Photo courtesy of Valfred Mendoza.
This is TRAF’s first year at its new permanent home on Penn Avenue between Eighth and Ninth streets. Aside from the shows listed below, also featured during TRAF at Arts Landing will be the world premiere of Squonk’s “Joy Machine,” running Friday, June 5, through Sunday, June 7; and Bandaloop’s “The Sky Is Not the Limit,” on Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13. Additional festival highlights include the Artist Market, Juried Visual Art Exhibition, Giant Eagle Creativity Zone and Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival Dance Battle.
June 5 Spin Doctors
June 6 The Pharcyde
June 11 Buffalo Rose
June 12 The War and Treaty
June 13 Delfeayo Marsalis and The Uptown Jazz Orchestra
June 13 (daytime) The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
June 14 (evening) Joan Osborne
Check back with NEXT in early June for a full preview of what to expect from this year’s festival.
Summer Fridays, a $5 concert series at the picturesque former home of the Frick family, returns for its 12th season on June 5.
June 5 The Stemtecs Band
July 24 The Polkamaniacs
August 28 Donora
The Farina Foundation will be at each night of Summer Fridays collecting instruments for a donation drive.
There’s no All Out Festival or Pride on the Shore with nationally known performers this year. But a consortium of local groups, including TransYOUniting and QBurgh, has put together a more low-key Pride celebration. Check their site for entertainment updates.
This free festival produced by Stop the Violence Pittsburgh is now the largest Juneteenth celebration in North America. Expect entertainment for the “grown folk” in Market Square, featuring Final Draft on June 19, Keith Washington the next night and Evelyn Champagne King closing it out on June 21. The lineup at Point State Park might appeal to younger fans: Lloyd, Musiq Soulchild and Fabolous. There will be a vendor market, food and more, as well.
The Turn It Upstream Music Festival debuts June 26, with local favorites including Beauty Slap headlining. Photo courtesy of Pat Bruener.
Upstream Pittsburgh, which promotes clean water by protecting watershed ecosystems, celebrates its 25th anniversary with a music festival/fundraiser featuring Beauty Slap, NASH.V.ILL, Colatura and other artists. Along with the music, there will be guided walks and activities highlighting Upstream’s local impact. Tickets here.
Michigander, also known as Jason Singer, headlines the WYEP Summer Music Festival on June 27.
Indie-pop singer Michigander headlines the free music event this year, supported by Ratboys, Jobi Riccio, and local artists Cam Chambers and Kahone Concept. There are free rides on the PNC Carousel until 9 p.m., too.
The Blues and Roots Festival has morphed into the Pittsburgh Music Festival with a new location along the Allegheny River. The lineup includes local stars like Gathering Field, Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, Billy Price with Bill Toms, and the Sun King Warriors. As in the past, proceeds benefit Band Together and Autism Pittsburgh. Tickets go on sale May 15. More information here.
It’s the North Side’s version of the Millvale Music Festival (or vice versa). There will be three days of free, local music on outdoor stages, in bars and at the Elks Club, along with family activities. The schedule and lineup have not yet been announced.
Aug. 8, Market Square, Downtown
The festival returns to Market Square after switching to Stage AE last year. This year’s lineup includes UB40, G. Love & Special Sauce, The Elovaters, and more. Proceeds will benefit Cafe Momentum, which offers paid internships and job training for young people exiting the justice system. Buy tickets here.
Ally the Piper. Photo courtesy of BRIGID and the Pittsburgh Irish Festival.
Headliners include Ally the Piper, Screaming Orphans, Eileen Ivers & the Brigideens as well as locals Bealtaine, the Low Kings, Jim Lamb and more. Look for kids’ activities, ceili dancing, Guinness, Harp, whisky, scones and the like. Tickets available here.
A free outdoor festival with some of the best-known names in jazz. Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bilal and many more played last year. The 2026 lineup will be announced soon.
The annual festival of all things punk/pop-punk/emo is happening this year at F.N.B. Stadium, the home of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer team. It won’t technically be summer anymore by the time this one takes places, but we all know it stays warm well into October in Pittsburgh these days. Here’s the lineup:
Day one:
Knocked Loose
Underoath
Kublai Khan
We Came As Romans
Saosin
Superheaven
Counterparts
Haywire
Militarie Gun
Thousand Below
Facewreck
Pain Clinic
Day two:
Pierce the Veil
Mayday Parade
Boys Like Girls
State Champs (Performing Around the World and Back)
Mom Jeans
Motion City Soundtrack
Cartel
Finch
Driveways
Hit the Lights
Eternal Boy
Patent Pending
Keep Flying
Don’t Panic
Heading North
More music
Major events like the city’s Fourth of July celebration, Picklesburgh and Barrel and Flow will also feature live, outdoor music. Both WYEP and the City of Pittsburgh will host neighborhood concerts, and Hazelwood Local is bringing back its Summer Sounds on Hazelwood Green. Municipalities including South Fayette, Monroeville, McCandless and many others have summer concerts too.