Three Rivers Arts Festival returns with new look
Courtesy of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets are among the musical acts who will be appearing at the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh.
Courtesy of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
Femi Kuti and the Positive Force will be playing Afrobeat music on Sunday, June 12, the final night of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.
Courtesy of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
Public art will be part of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, which is happening in the Pittsburgh Cultural District through Sunday, June 12.
For years, art enthusiasts in the Pittsburgh region have marked the informal start of a summer with a visit – or two, or three – to the Three Rivers Arts Festival, where they can take in a variety of live performances, see some public art, and maybe take home an affordable piece of art from the vendors who set up shop there.
For the last two years, though, the festival has had to modify its usual scale to meet the demands of COVID-19. The festival in 2020 was carried out entirely online, and the 2021 festival was a hybrid event, with the in-person portion being appreciably scaled down from what it had been in the past.
This year, the festival – which is officially known as the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival – is back at full strength but with a different footprint. Rather than being centered around Point State Park, when the festival gets underway today it will still be in downtown, but in the Pittsburgh Cultural District. Organizers are hoping it will be “a block party on a grand scale.”
The switch was made as a result of new rules issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the use of the park. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, said when the change was announced in April, “While we will miss the iconic setting of Point State Park, we are also excited to further showcase our beautiful, world-renowned Cultural District.”
The festival, which kicked off June 3 and runs through June 12, will mainly be happening in an area bound by Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Liberty Avenue between 7th and 9th streets. It is free and open to all, and will boast 10 musical acts on its Dollar Bank Mainstage, an artist market that will have more than 300 sellers, public art, exhibits at the Cultural Trust’s four downtown galleries and more.
“There will be so much happening during the festival this year,” according to Sarah Aziz, director of festival management for the Cultural Trust.
The festival’s concert stage is at the intersection of 9th Street and Penn Avenue, with all concerts starting at 7:30 p.m.:
• Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock & Roll Revue starring Los Straitjackets, Friday, June 10.
• Goodie Mob, with all the original members of the hip-hop group, Saturday, June 11.
• Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, led by the son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, Sunday, June 12.
The festival will also have a Giant Eagle Creativity Zone set aside for children and their families, with hands-on activities. It will be set up from noon to 6 p.m. every day.
Additional information is available at TrustArts.org/TRAF.