Against the backdrop of a large graffiti wall, music and art will take center stage once again at this year’s Trace AeroSol Fest in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood. In its second year, Trace organizers say they’re excited to celebrate local musicians, graffiti artists and food trucks at the event on Saturday, May 24 from 3-10 p.m.
Trace Brewing marketing head Aadam Soorma said this year’s festival will build on the success of its inaugural, which featured a day full of music and food for attendees who, at the same time, got to watch artists create in real time on the building’s Clement Way (sometimes known as “graffiti alley”) wall. That wall, he said, has been covered in art for a long time, and the Trace crew didn’t want to change that. In fact, they made it an integral part of their mission.
“It’s pretty much like a daily rotating billboard,” Soorma said. “The only rules are no hate speech and tag it during daylight hours. Anyone is welcome to come, whether you’re a professional or an amateur or you just want to try it out and get some spray paint and tag the wall.”
This year’s festival features local artists The Conspiracy Theory, The Regal Sweet, Working Breed, Century III and f*** yeah dinosaurs (many of which you’ve likely heard here on WYEP). The scheduled food truck will be Off the Press Burgers (and give your congratulations to the owners, who recently welcomed their first child!). It will take place from 3-10 p.m., free, all-ages and open to the public.
“Memorial Day in Pittsburgh is really cool because it sort of kicks off the start of this really nice weather, summer, outdoor festivals, outdoor events, outdoor things to do with your family or whoever,” Soorma said. “And we were thinking, ‘How do we do something to incorporate the live music that we always book? We have a lot of live shows here. But how do incorporate the art side of it?’”
The musical lineup was, in part, curated by local artist Chet Vincent, and throughout the evening, attendees can listen to vinyl DJ sets by Michael Paladini, better known as “Dini Daddy.”
“He does a lot of cool disco and house and funk and stuff like that,” Soorma said. “And those 15 to 20 minute sets will be between each of the bands as they do sound check and set up.”
As for the graffiti artist element, Soorma said it was something Trace had been thinking about since they took over the space, considering its location on Clement Way. They were able to work with the local police precinct and Councilor Deb Gross to get permission for the artists, making it accessible, safe and legal.
“That space has been really interesting to watch kind of morph and grow and rotate,” Soorma said, adding that on the festival day, most of the artists will be placed on scaffolding above the audience. “So the crowd that walks up, you’re actually passing underneath it. Whether you’re watching a band or getting a drink or getting a bit off the food truck, that’s all happening.”
Max Gonzales, a muralist, graffiti writer and curator who goes by the artist name GEMS, helps create community-based murals and what they call "graffiti jams."
"I do what I call graffiti activism, or graffiti outreach to help sway the public's opinion toward spray can art and graffiti art to be more understanding of it," they said.
Before becoming a full-time spray paint muralist, GEMS said they found themselves in a bit of legal trouble after being identified as one of "Pittsburgh's Most Wanted" graffiti artists in 2016. Since going a more professional route, GEMS has been instrumental in Trace and AeroSol's artist showcase on the wall on Clement Way. Along with fellow artist Shane Pilster, Brian Gonnella and Jerome Charles, GEMS said they thought it was important to keep the Bloomfield wall active and vibrant.
"Rather than doing a one-time mural or even just a graffiti production that's a one-time thing, [we thought], 'Let's make this a rotating wall.'"
As the idea came together and Trace got on board, GEMS said Clement Way became a legal graffiti alley in Pittsburgh (they said there have been some in the past, but few exist today). That's important, they said, because graffiti is a way many people express themselves.
"It's a way to say, 'I was here,' to be seen," GEMS said. "There's been a huge rise of the queer community joining the graffiti scene in Pittsburgh that definitely all has to do with agency over identity. So just getting the general public to understand that as much as you might see these people as kind of reckless vandals, these names [and art] are very, very important to them."
