- With a lineup that ranged from ESG to Rabit, VIA Festival 2016 was characteristically adventurous. Since launching in 2010, the Pittsburgh event has explored all corners of leftfield music, from electronic to hip-hop to rock. The VIA team organised most of last weekend's activities, but there was help from some of the other players in Pittsburgh's burgeoning music and art scenes, as well as plenty of volunteers. Techno label Detour, Carnegie Mellon University and beloved promoter Hot Mass, to name a few, all chipped in. They pooled together to create an event that felt both ambitious and locally-driven.
VIA's main venue was in the repurposed YMCA gymnasium at Ace Hotel. The space felt expansive, especially compared to previous editions' more modest settings. But though it served as a great canvas for the visual side of the festival, which is placed on equal footing with the music, the size of the venue and the height of the ceilings led to some unfortunate lapses in sound, especially during performances with smaller crowds. At the opening night on Thursday, Rabit and NON Records boss Chino Amobi cloaked the space in grime and noise-inspired club music. Rabit was more of a crowd-pleaser, leading with grime before slowly mixing in hip-hop cuts like Migos's "Kidding Me," which sparked the most movement in the crowd all night.
Friday brought more energy. Negative Gemini and Empress Of played first, mixing moody, poppy tunes, before dance-punk pioneers ESG pioneers ESG threw down an ecstatic headline performance. The crowd had reacted warmly to Negative Gemini and Empress Of, but they turned it up several notches for ESG, whose set was a reminder of just how much hip-hop and dance music owes to their percussive, funky sound.
Both Junglepussy and Rakim performed rousing hip-hop sets in the gymnasium on Saturday, but more memorable was Juliana Huxtable's SHOCK VALUE showcase in the Ace Ballroom. The intimate space and gorgeous visuals mixed well with Lee Bannon's noisy drum & bass, which preceded a three-way back-to-back of grime, rap and ripping Baltimore club from Huxtable, Abby and Anthony Dicap. Their diverse selections stirred up a raucous atmosphere, as the crowd lost it to tracks like Miss Kittin & The Hacker's "Frank Sinatra" and Future's "Stick Talk." Despite some mishaps with the sound, including what sounded like a blown-out speaker, the vibe in the Ballroom was lively all night.
Hot Mass hosted the festival's official afterparty programme, running events on Friday and Saturday nights. LA's LadyMonix played on Friday, tearing up the spot with a set of nicely executed house bangers, including Armand Van Helden's "You Don't Know Me." Midland went more serious and focussed, and the crowd lapped it up, even as his selections grew more adventurous.
As the finish line loomed on Sunday afternoon, the Ace gymnasium was transformed into hangout full of people socializing and playing lawn games to a soundtrack of chilled-out funk and house played by local DJ Good Dude Lojack. Ben UFO closed VIA, hitting the decks at 7 PM. A throng of ravers boogied graciously to his expertly mixed set, as modern hits like Daphni's "Cos Ber Zam - Ne Noya" rubbed shoulders with fresher cuts, such as Willow's "Untitled B1" off her recent Workshop record. It was another affirming reminder of the feel-good community spirit at the heart of VIA.
Photo credits /
Alison Sacriponte - Lead
Ryan Michael White - Singer
