— Pittsburgh May Day Festival
![Pittonkatonk event poster 2025</p>
<p>Pittonkatonk Celebrates 12 Years of Community, Music, and Social Justice<br />
Pittsburgh PA – May 9-10, 2025 – The highly anticipated 12th Annual Pittonkatonk May Day Brass Picnic returns to Vietnam Veterans Pavilion, bringing together a vibrant fusion of music, activism, and community spirit. Known for its unique blend of brass bands, cultural performances, and social justice advocacy, Pittonkatonk invites over 8,000 attendees to join in celebrating music and collective action.<br />
This year’s festival promises an even more exciting lineup, featuring world-renowned brass ensembles, global music, local musicians, and engagement for all ages. As always Pittonatonk collaborates with organizations dedicated to fostering social and environmental justice.<br />
What to Expect at Pittonkatonk 2025:<br />
Unforgettable Performances: A diverse lineup of brass bands and cultural performers from around the globe.<br />
Community Engagement: Opportunities to connect with local and regional organizations advocating for change.<br />
Family-Friendly Activities: Interactive music workshops, sessions, and more.<br />
Food and Vendors: Enjoy delicious local food and drinks from regional vendors.<br />
“Pittonkatonk is more than a music festival—it’s a platform for grassroots collaboration, cultural expression, and social impact,” says festival director Pete Spynda. “We are proud to bring people together in an inclusive, celebratory space that inspires action and solidarity.”<br />
Event Details:<br />
Date: Saturday, May [insert exact date], 2025<br />
Time: 1pm ish - 10pm ish<br />
Location: Vietnam veterans Pavilion Schenley Park<br />
Admission: Free and open to the public! (Donations encouraged to support the festival’s mission.)<br />
Support Pittonkatonk:<br />
Pittonkatonk thrives thanks to the support of its generous donors and community sponsors. To contribute to this year’s event or learn about sponsorship opportunities, visit pittonkatonk.org.<br />
About Pittonkatonk:<br />
Founded in 2014, Pittonkatonk is a grassroots music festival and community initiative that unites musicians, activists, and attendees to amplify the voices of underrepresented groups. By blending music and social justice, Pittonkatonk creates a space where everyone can participate in building a more equitable and inclusive society.<br />
Join the Movement:<br />
Stay updated on the latest announcements, artist lineups, and more by following Pittonkatonk on @pittonkatonk .<br />
Let’s make May 2025 a month to remember—where the power of music meets the call for change.<br />
VIDEO CLIPS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egQEUXqGK8E</p>
<p>](https://pittonkatonk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rock-Night-Facebook-1-2-scaled.jpg "Rock Night Facebook (1) (2)")
PITTON
KA
TONK
FRIDAY MAY 9, 2025
SATURDAY MAY 10, 2025
VIETNAM VETERANS PAVILION
PITTSBURGH, PA.
We’ve been a Green Festival since 2019!
NO POTLUCK!!!
OUR 2025 OFFICIAL LINEUP
Kaleta and Super Yamba Band
Brooklyn’s Kaleta & Super Yamba Band are fronted by Afrobeat and Juju veteran Leon Ligan-Majek a.k.a. Kaleta. The singer/guitarist from the West African country of Benin Republic lived his adolescent life in Lagos, Nigeria where Afrobeat was born. Kaleta’s guitar chops earned him decades of touring and recording with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Lauryn Hill and more.
Kaleta got his start in the late 70s performing in church and was soon after picked up by iconic Juju master and world music pioneer King Sunny Ade. A few years later Fela Kuti came calling. Kaleta would go on to tour the world playing guitar for the King of Afrobeat in his storied band Egypt 80 through the 1980s and into the 1990s.
Lemon Bucket Orchestra
Lemon Bucket Orkestra are Toronto’s original guerrilla-folk-party-punks. The award-winning crew has been called frenetic, charismatic, and gloriously anarchic by the New York Times,
Equal parts exhilarating precision and reckless abandon, LBO live is a truly immersive experience mixing sweat and tears with audience chorales and howling at the moon. You can hear that journey on their latest album Cuckoo (self-released, May 2024). It’s signature LBO: powerful Ukrainian polyphony and driving Balkan rhythms filtered through hip hop, punk and jazz and a whole range of global influences and purpose accrued from their eclectic global journeys and polycultural home city of Toronto alike.
Undertow Brass Band
Undertow Brass Band (FKA What Cheer? Brigade) is a brass band from Providence, RI, USA. We prove that great parties need no electricity.
Undertow Brass Band, formerly known as What Cheer? Brigade, is an energetic party band from Providence, RI, USA. We play dance music without microphones, so we can make noise almost anywhere. We are loud, tight, and love to dance with crowds, offering mobile moments of intense revelry.
Our music includes covers and originals, taking inspiration from genres ranging from Balkan, New Orleans, and other global brass traditions, as well as electronic dance music, classical, and pop. The band emerged from the Providence underground music scene in 2005, inspired by the unlikely overlap between the intensity of punk rock and brass. From these origins, the band developed its original sound, with one foot in Balkan tradition, the other in the American punk scene.
OKAN
Okan is a Canadian Afro-Cuban jazz group, whose core members are Cuban Canadian musicians Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne
The band is called TAKAAT (meaning noise in Tamashek). TAUREG POST PUNK EXPERIMENTAL featuring the rhythm section of Mdou Moctar
Detroit Party Marching Band
ROCK YOUR FACE OFF!!!
We seek to establish a platform for artistic expression in efforts to further the economic and creative advancement of artists, as well the active engagement of diverse audiences.
Timbeleza is a community group that is a Brazilian batucada based in Pittsburgh, PA.
Colonel Eagleburger’s Highstepping Goodtime Band
Schenley Local No. 412
We are a community-based band that welcomes members of all skill levels. We like playing fun and funky music at parades, rallies, protests, picnics, fiestas and other events. We also love to show up random places and surprise ya!
FAQ for the festival
EVENT IS RAIN OR SHINE
VIETNAM VETERANS PAVILION IS ACCESSIBLE VIA STAIRS FROM THE OVAL/SOCCCER FIELDS.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gR1Em5Ti2vjH62Jq6
Festival is in a park
Festival begins at 1pm
Parking around the park is limited, so we strongly encourage
Ride share – carpool
Public Transportation (bus)
Biking – there are bike racks
(Bikes must be removed by the end of the event)
Uber/Lyft
Parachuting
Paddleboarding
Space Shuttle
Teleportation
WHAT TO BRING
Reusable water bottle
A blanket for the grass
Sunscreen
Umbrella
RAINCOAT
sweatshirt
earplugs
money for donations and vendors (most accept cards)
VALID I.D. (state id, passport, other form of valid identification)
WHY DONATE?
PITTONKATONK brings real deal bands to Pittsburgh without a ticket price. Please donate what is comfortable for you.
We accept payments via Venmo, Paypal, or to our Go Fund Me
A one of a kind musical festival, free and open to all, connecting the dots between community, organizers, and euphoric musical experiences.
Pittonkatonk is more than just the annual picnic; it also does educational outreach year-round in the Sto-Rox school district and elsewhere. But the picnic is its keynote event, last year drawing a crowd estimated at about 3,000.
Bill O’Discoll
WESA 90.5 FM
Authentic and grassroots, Pittonkatonk erases boundaries between performers and attendees, which means there are no stages, green rooms, tickets or corporate sponsors. Sounds representing West Africa, Chicago, Providence and more will fill the pavilion and spill into the park actively engaging listeners in live performance. It’s uplifting to see, hear, and be a part of.
Jennifer Baron
NEXT Pittsburgh
“You’re part of something bigger, something magical. You’re part of something where everyone values you for who you are. And in that moment, you can totally let loose and be free.”
Meg Fair
Pittsburgh City Paper
The focus of Pittonkatonk is on community. It’s about bringing together people who might otherwise never convene, and blurring the line between performer and spectator.
Caralyn Green
Pittsburgh City Paper
PITTONKATONK 2025
Day(s)
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Hour(s)
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Minute(s)
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FRIDAY MAY 9th – VIP DONOR PARTY (INFO TBA)
FREE FESTIVAL
TIME: PITTONKATONK KICKS OFF AT 1pm
DATE : SATURDAY MAY 10, 2025
WHERE: VIETNAM VETERANS PAVILION (Schenley Park)
come visit & participate in the activist greenhouse.
May Day Marching Band & Casa San Jose SOY
Immigration & Equality
Afro Yaqui Music Collective & 1Hood & Sio-Rox Marching Band
Lemon Bucket Orkestra and Sto Rox Marching Band
Cultural Exchange
But, What is Pittonkatonk?
NO POTLUCK!!!
We stopped the Potluck aspect of the event.
FOOD / DRINK
PITTONK IS GOING GREEN!!!
Pittonkatonk’s Zero Waste since 2019!
- We have partnered with the PA Resources Council to reduce waste and divert it from the landfill through recycling and compost.
- In 2021, the festival diverted 83% of its waste – the most diversion yet– and in 2022 we aim to be a recognized Zero Waste Event by diverting 90%+ from the landfill! We need your help to get there!
Here’s how you can help:
-
- Use PRC’s Zero Waste Stations, located throughout the festival:
- Compost
- Food vendor packaging is also compostable!
- Cups from East End are compostable!
- Recycling
- Aluminum cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles (please empty before throwing them in!)
- Cardboard and paper
- NO other plastic (cups, containers, clamshells, plastic utensils)
- Landfill
- Everything else! Zip ties, plastic clingwrap, etc
- NO food, liquids, or compostable or recyclable items
- Compost
- Use PRC’s Zero Waste Stations, located throughout the festival:
- For more Zero Waste tips, visit www.prc.org/programs/zwpa/
Education
Event
Activism
show your pittonka-pride
NEW SHIRTS COMING SOON
Pittonkatonk is
supported by
PARTNERSHIPS
