Midland, Ben UFO play VIA Festival 2016

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  • ESG, Juliana Huxtable and Chino Amobi will also head to Pittsburgh for the October event.
  • Midland, Ben UFO play VIA Festival 2016 image
  • Pittsburgh's VIA Festival will happen October 6th through 9th using the recently opened Ace Hotel Pittsburgh? as an anchor venue. Launched back in 2010, VIA has always given equal footing to visuals alongside forward-thinking music programming, while also putting on workshops focusing on diversity and technology. This year, the organizers have lined some big names for four days of events happening around East Liberty, the changing neighborhood where the Ace Hotel chain recently set down roots. NON boss Chino Amobi headlines night one, and he performs alongside close associate Rabit. Punk funk progenitors ESG sit atop the bill on October 7th, and they'll also participate in a panel happening Saturday, October 8th called Mothership: The Future is Female. NYC artist and DJ Juliana Huxtable is part of that discussion too, and later on in the evening she'll present SHOCK VALUE in the Ace Ballroom, with Lee Bannon and Junglepussy in tow. For the club crowd, Midland headlines the Rust Belt's city's infamous Hot Mass venue Friday late night for the Detour crew. The festival wraps on Sunday afternoon with an eight-hour outdoor set from Ben UFO. That one, which goes down outside the Ace, boasts a "pay what makes you happy," door policy, with full festival passes, individual tickets and a package allowing visitors to stay in the Ace also available. (Full disclosure: RA staffer Matt McDermott is a former organizer of the VIA Festival.) Listen to Ben UFO's most recent RA Podcast.

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