ExcuseAPalooza IV, a day-long Music Festival held on the Southside, will take place August 11th from 12 Noon to 2 AM at Excuses Bar & Grill located at 2526 E Carson St, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15203. For the second year, all proceeds will be donated to the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. 2017’s ExcuseAPalooza III raised over $3,000 with another $1,000 in goods also donated. This year’s Festival schedule is the biggest yet, with 15 bands confirmed to play, including several noteworthy performances. The Cover Charge is set at $10 per person or a donation of goods to the Women’s Center.
The event is organized by Bobby Collins, a local musician who sings in bands including Royal Honey and Muscle Of Love (Alice Cooper Tribute). Collins founded the event in 2015 because he wanted to attend a Summer music festival with quality bands held in one venue, not 12 or more venues as with some of the larger music festivals in town “I wanted to get together the best bands that I liked in different genres in one place, without having to move from different venues in the Summer heat,” said Bobby. He has to start contacting bands in January to get the acts he wants, to insure a great turnout by the somewhat fickle Pittsburgh music scene audience.
Last year Collins picked The Woman's Center & Shelter Of Pittsburgh as the charity to benefit from the show. With the Me Too movement and women’s rights such hot button topics, he felt the time was right to do something for women. Domestic violence also came into his orbit, personally. “I had 2 close friends who were in abusive relationships and wanted to support them and other women any way I could,” Bobby added.
The Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh is a domestic violence agency providing high-quality, confidential, and free programs. Their Mission is to advance the safety and well-being of victims of intimate partner violence and prevent and respond to intimate partner violence through social change. For more information: http://www.wcspittsburgh.org
Funds at ExcuseAPalooza are raised from the cover charge, T-shirt sales, business sponsorships, and item donations, along with gift basket and prize drawings. Both local and corporate sponsors are sought after. So far, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller Brewing, and N’ Stuff Music are sponsors. Excuses owner George Pantelas provides the venue (phone 412-431-4090) with his staff, and also supplies some beverages for the bands. However, volunteers, donations, services, and products for baskets are still needed.
The event T-shirts feature a donated custom design, also used for the posters, flyers, and Facebook event page, by local professional artist, illustrator, and graphic designer Brian Holderman. His vividly colored work has been exhibited throughout the US, including the Andy Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory, Gallery Nucleus, and Gallery 4. There will only be 50 Limited Edition double sided T-shirts made, a bargain at $20 each.
Raffle prizes include donated Gift Baskets and an ESP LTD Viper 10 Guitar, procured by Punk and Judy of local radio show, The Electric Crush. This weekly Internet radio show with a rock and punk format occurs every Tuesday from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on http://wmck.fm/. In lieu of cover charge, attendees may make item donations to the Women's Center & Shelter (clothes, diapers, gift cards, air mattresses, and more are requested).
Band Performances of Note:
An out-of-town band, Three Chord Money, is coming in from Philadelphia. The Americana/country band features former members of hard rock band Clashing Plaid, who traveled through Pittsburgh for gigs several times over the years. This will be Three Chord Money’s debut in Pittsburgh.
Joffo's All Star Band will be appearing. This band recently formed around Jeffrey Joffo Simmons, long time drummer for Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers. The all-pro line-up also includes veteran musicians from the Zippers, Science Fiction Idols, The Dirty Charms, Torn & Frayed, Royal Honey, The Borstal Boys, and more.
Pittsburgh’s influential female fronted metal/punk band, the Motorpsychos, is playing their first show back after a long break. The band started back in the late nineties and released 4 albums along the way. Except for a one-off show in 2016, the classic power trio line-up has been on a 3 & 1/2 year hiatus. ExcuseAPalooza will mark their highly anticipated return to action.
Veteran rock band The Dirty Charms, originally formed in 2009, will be playing their last show for the foreseeable future. The band brought together seasoned musicians that created catchy, melodic rock n’ roll. The Charms played all over the city over the years and released 2 albums and a video. However, due to the members now working on other projects, the band is splitting up.
The Full Schedule of Acts:12-12:30 - Betti Coates 12:45-1:15 - Bobby Lamonde1:30-2:00 - The Molecule Party2:15-2:55 - Neostem3:10-3:50 - Those Gorgeous Bastards4:05-4:45 - Joffo's All Star Band5:00-5:40 - Three Chord Money5:55-6:35 - 13 Saints(635 to 7 Early Prize Drawings, etc. )7:00-7:40 - The Motorpsychos7:55-8:35 – Lize8:50-9:30 - The Legendary Hucklebucks9:45-10:25 - Royal Honey10:40-11:20 - The Cheats11:35-12:15 - The Dirty Charms12:30-1:10 - Stone Cold Killer
The bands will be wrangled by organizer Bobby Collins, who is on-site all day to handle any problems that may arise. Though all the bands want to headline or play at an ideal time, Collins schedules the bands based on merit, such as how many people they will bring or their ability to keep the crowd at the venue. Several other events are happening in the city the same day and night, but the festival will be flowing throughout day. Those with previous plans are encouraged to come early or late to the all-day show to support the charity and the local music scene.