While much of the Northeast spent the weekend getting hammered by rain, Pittsburgh somehow got the better end of the deal. Sunshine, temperatures in the 70s, and nearly perfect festival weather set the scene for two days of Four Chord Music Festival at F.N.B. Stadium.
The location ended up being one of the best parts of the weekend. The Pittsburgh skyline sat right behind the venue and gave the whole festival a really cool backdrop without making it feel like you were stuck in the middle of downtown. Hotels were close enough to walk from, along with coffee shops and places to grab food, and getting to the venue from the highway was easy.
Once inside, the setup made the weekend even easier. The field was covered in turf, which meant no mud, no dirt, and no dealing with the usual mess that can come with outdoor festivals. The two stages were close enough together that getting from one set to the next did not feel like a hike, and the second stage had video screens showing the band playing, which helped to watch what was going on if you wanted to hold a space at one stage only.
Around the venue were merch stands, vendors, drinks, and other festival stops. The food vendors were set up across part of the paved lot with things like pizza, lemonade drinks, and ice cream.
One of the busiest spots all weekend was the tattoo area. Several artists were working from festival specific designs, and most of the appointments stayed booked throughout the day while they still worked in walk ins where they could. It felt like more than just another vendor setup and really became part of the festival itself.
The crowd had just as much personality as the festival….
There were plenty of the expected black and white emo and hardcore looks, but mixed in were sparkles, skirts, bright tops, and outfits that were just fun and a little feral. Other people used their clothing to make statements about things that mattered to them, including animal welfare, women’s rights and safety, and broader frustrations with politics and government.
Friday came out heavy from the start…
With Knocked Loose, Underoath, Kublai Khan TX, We Came As Romans, Counterparts, Haywire, and more on the bill, the first day had a much more physical feel to it. There were circle pits throughout the day, plenty of moshing, and crowd surfers making their way toward the barricade over and over again.
Haywire had a strong presence before they even played. Their shirts and merch were everywhere throughout the crowd, which made it obvious how many people were already there for them. They are a pretty popular hardcore band well beyond one local scene, and the support they had in the crowd really showed.
Kublai Khan TX kept that same heavy energy going. What stood out most to me was the front row. Everyone seemed to be moving and headbanging together until the whole section looked like a wave. It was one of those moments where the crowd almost became part of the show.
We Came As Romans put on a solid set too. They were tight, energetic, and fit naturally into Friday’s heavier lineup without needing anything over the top.
Underoath felt almost surreal to watch live. The band had a ton of energy, but the fans were just as involved. There was a lot of singing along, and it made the set feel bigger than just what was happening onstage. For a band with that much history behind them, they still felt current and completely connected to the crowd.
Knocked Loose closed Friday exactly the way that day needed to end. Their set was hard hitting from start to finish, with dramatic lighting making the stage feel even darker once night came in. Bryan Garris’ screams cut through the stadium while the rest of the band brought the kind of crushing sound people expect from them live. There really is not a passive way to watch Knocked Loose. Even if you are nowhere near the pit, you still feel the energy moving through the crowd. It was loud, chaotic, and completely relentless.
Saturday felt completely different…
The weather stayed beautiful, although by the afternoon there may have been a little too much sun. People were looking for patches of shade, reapplying sunscreen, and doing whatever they could to cool down before heading back into the crowd.
Saturday was also noticeably more packed. The lineup leaned more into pop punk, emo, and the kind of songs people have known for years, so the crowd reaction changed with it. Friday had more circle pits and moshing. Saturday had more singing along, more hands in the air, and more nostalgia. Crowd surfing stayed pretty common on both days, though, so neither day was exactly calm.
Patent Pending were one of the earlier bands that really stood out with the crowd. They had a lot of movement onstage, plenty of interaction, and enough jumping around to keep photographers waiting for the next shot. They made an earlier slot feel a lot bigger than it was
Don’t Panic was a personal highlight for me because they are local to my area. It was fun getting the chance to photograph a familiar band on a festival of this size, and they did a great job fitting into the lineup. Eternal Boy brought the punk rock side of the weekend, with festival organizer Rishi Bahl also fronting the band. There is something cool about watching the person behind the festival step onstage and become part of it too.
For me, Motion City Soundtrack and Finch were two of the biggest personal highlights of Saturday. Those were two bands I was really excited to see, and both sounded just as good as I remembered. There was a lot of interaction with the crowd, and neither set felt like a band simply showing up to replay old songs. They still had the same pull.
Mayday Parade leaned right into the emo side of Saturday. There was plenty of energy from the band and a huge amount of singing from the crowd. It was one of those sets where almost everyone seemed to know the words. Boys Like Girls brought a much more dramatic setup. Their set had a lot of pyro and strong lighting, which made it one of the more visually noticeable performances of the day.
By the time Pierce the Veil came out to close Saturday, the stadium was packed. Their fans were loud from the beginning, singing along throughout the set. The band had dramatic lighting as well and the whole performance felt like a true headlining set.
As Saturday started to wind down, the sky opened into a huge sunset over Pittsburgh. With the city behind the venue, it was one of those moments that looked almost too perfect to be real. That contrast between the two days was one of the strongest parts of Four Chord. Friday was heavier and more physical. Saturday was more emotional, nostalgic, and built around songs people had been singing for years. Somehow, both worked together without the festival ever feeling all over the place.
And for an independently run festival, things moved really smoothly— Check in was quick. The stages were easy to get between. The setup made sense. There was a strong mix of bigger names, smaller bands, heavier music, pop punk, emo, and punk. The venue itself was beautiful, and the city made a perfect backdrop.
Rishi Bahl and the Four Chord team put together something that felt organized without feeling corporate. It still had the personality of an independent festival, just on a much bigger scale Between the music, the tattoos, the crowd, the outfits, the easy setup, the weather, and that Pittsburgh skyline, Four Chord felt like more than just two days of bands playing back to back… it felt like a weekend people came to fully be part of.
GALLERY: Four Chord Festival at F.N.B. Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (September 25-26, 2026)
