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Updated 3 hours ago
After a year's absence, Pittsburgh is getting the blues again.
Ron “Moondog” Esser of Frazer says many people have approached him since the Pittsburgh Blues Festival ended its 21-year run in 2015, after the sponsoring Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank decided to go in a new direction with its annual musical fundraising.
“A lot of people were really upset. It had become a tradition for them,” says Esser, who owns and operates Moondogs in Blawnox and who produced the event for the Food Bank, helping it raise $2 million dollars over two decades.
Now the music will play on under a new name, the Pittsburgh Blues and Roots Festival, on July 22 and 23 outdoors at the Syria Shrine Center in Harmar. The complete lineup, which will feature national touring acts and popular regional musicians, is expected to be announced soon. Proceeds will support the work of the Autism Society of Pittsburgh.
Esser, Jim Stewart of Ross and West Deer musician John Vento are founders of Band Together Pittsburgh, the force behind the rebirth of the festival.
The community-based nonprofit uses the power of music to enrich the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum and their families.
The festival will be “an inclusive environment that recognizes, respects and celebrates the lives of differently abled individuals and their families,” Stewart says.
Band Together Pittsburgh is working in partnership with the music therapy program at Seton Hill University. Workshops are planned during the festival.
“We have received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to create our Mobile Music Lab program,” he says. ”A trailer is filled with various instruments that will travel throughout our region providing participatory music programs and music therapy to schools and programs working with autistic youth and adults.”
Band Together Pittsburgh supports the Pittsburgh band Spectrum, which will perform at the festival.
“All members of the band are on the autism spectrum or have a family member who is,” Stewart says. “Often when the band plays out, people will ask us, ‘When are the autistic kids playing?' because they are quite good and people are surprised. That, too, is part of our vision, to break down barriers and change stereotypes and demonstrate that these individuals are ‘differently abled,' not handicapped.”
Stewart says that the success of the festival won't be measured in dollars and cents. “We are excited about the opportunity to bring back something that Pittsburgh folks loved. Additionally, we are enthusiastic about the opportunity to raise the profile of the amazing capabilities of those on the autism spectrum,” he says.
Festival planners are giving special emphasis to booking bands and artists who have been personally touched by autism.
“Music is ideal methodology to do this work,” Stewart says. “It is accessible, infinitely adaptable and fun. Music, by its very nature, coalesces us and breaks down barriers. It is also an ideal pathway to develop and reinforce life and vocational skills.”
He is excited about securing Hempfield musician Jim Donovan and his Sun King Warriors for the July 23 bill. Donovan was the drummer for Rusted Root and is now an assistant professor of music at St. Francis University, Loretto.
“He has done some terrific work with autism and percussion and will hold a seminar at the festival as well as bringing his great act to the stage,” Stewart says.
Veteran bluesman Tinsley Ellis, whose daughter is autistic, has been booked for the festival as one of the headliners. Over his 40-year career, the Atlanta-based musician has released 19 albums and shared the stage with the Allman Brothers Band, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins and Otis Rush.
Esser, producer of the new fest, says the first year of the Blues and Roots Festival will be much smaller than the Pittsburgh Blues Festival was at Hartwood Acres, Hampton. Even so, he believes the new event has the potential to be better.
“We're going back to ground zero,” he says. “We're staying away from the high-price acts, but they will be great acts.”
“Ron is expert at paying the ‘right price' for musicians. He has a great reputation in the music world and because of that, he can get folks to come and play,” Stewart says.
Esser says the Syria Shrine Center, located just off Route 28 and the turnpike, is a perfect place to begin anew. A covered picnic pavilion seating 1,000 will be used and there is ample free parking. “This was a no brainer. There is no reason why we can't be there for years to come,” he says.
Details: 412-522-2563 or facebook.com/PGHBluesAndRootsFest
Rex Rutkoski is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
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