‘Burgh’s best homegrown talent takes the stage

Homegrown Hoo-Ha Two Featuring The Clarks, Donnie Iris and The Cruisers, The Gathering Field … Homegrown Hoo-Ha Two Featuring The Clarks, Donnie Iris and The Cruisers, The Gathering Field and others Saturday 7:30 p.m. Post-Gazette Pavilion

Skeptics of the Pittsburgh music scene will be pleasantly surprised this Saturday when local bands come together onstage to headline the second annual Homegrown Hoo-Ha hosted by Live Nation.

The mini-festival, held at the Post-Gazette Pavilion, will be an excellent chance for Pittsburgh music fans to stay true to the Steel City and check out talented new local bands on the rise as well as see their well-known favorite Pittsburgh artists in a live, carefree outdoor venue.

Pittsburgh favorites The Clarks, Donnie Iris and The Cruisers and The Gathering Field will be performing for their Pittsburgh fans on the Pavilion’s main stage, while other local bands, including Gene the Werewolf, Anthony Rankin, Margot B and Lohio will take on the second stage. The Gathering Field’s performance at the Homegrown Hoo-Ha will be a one-night-only reunion.

‘The Post Gazette Pavilion is perfect for this ‘hellip; It’s great seeing big-name Pittsburgh bands like The Clarks in clubs, but the outside venue is great because people can come hang out in the parking lot, get drunk and then listen to 20 great songs they all know and have a great time,’ said Gene the Werewolf’s drummer Nick Revak.

Homegrown Hoo-Ha will be Pittsburgh’s first major music festival of the summer and will hopefully help boost the city’s music scene.

For returning artists, playing at Homegrown Hoo-Ha is a milestone and great opportunity to play in front of large amounts of people and acquire new fans.

‘It’s great returning to the same venue after playing there on the side stage at the Kelly Clarkson concert. We keep stepping up each time with a little more experience under our belt to bring to the performance,’ explained side-stage performer Margot B.

Unlike the Homegrown Hoo-Ha’s headlining bands, the side stages will host a variety of lesser known Pittsburgh acts from all different genres.

Though Pittsburgh is mostly known for its rock scene, with bands like The Juliana Theory, The Clarks and The Punchline emerging out of the Pittsburgh in the late ’90s, the side stages at Saturday’s festival will bring R’amp;B, acoustic and indie-sounding sets.

‘We’re really bringing in all different styles of music into one place. Donnie and The Clarks really draw in the crowds, but it’s really great for the smaller bands that haven’t had venues like this to play at in front of this many people,’ said Revak.

Though venues like Mr. Smalls and Diesel are hosting popular bands on a nightly and weekly basis, lesser-known Pittsburgh musicians don’t have a wide variety of stages to play, except for the occasional coffeehouse or benefit function, so the Homegrown Hoo-ha side stages are ideal for them.

‘There are only so many venues in Pittsburgh, so there’s not a lot of opportunity to sit outside in the summer and listen to really good music like this,’ said Margot B.

Though the Pittsburgh music scene has arguably gone downhill in the past few years with the number for music venues declining, events like this make Homegrown Hoo-Ha musicians optimistic about the city’s music scene and its future.

‘There’s a lot of talent up and coming on the Pittsburgh music scene, it’s only a matter of time before these artists start to break through,’ said Margot B.

Revak is similarly hopeful.

‘I think the Pittsburgh music scene is on an upswing. It was great in the late ’90s, then fell off for the past few years, but the talented bands are really coming back,’ he said.

Saturday’s predicted warm weather and clear skies look to be ideal for an outdoor music festival, and both the Post-Gazette Pavilion and the musicians expect to fill the venue’s seating.