Tents lined a dark, warehouse-sized room inside Pittsburgh’s Carrie Furnace. The 140-year-old historical landmark towered above Four Chord Music Fest’s grounds with the tents spaced out like a small village. Pennsylvania’s prodigal, pop-punk daughter Taylor Acorn chilled inside one.
“I just get nervous because I’m not sure if I’ll run into any familiar faces,” Acorn said about the thought of performing a marquee set at her home state’s longest-running indie punk, emo, and hardcore festival in its 10th year.
You wouldn’t think Acorn’s self-described “shy” personality would fit with a comparatively edgy, mostly male-dominated cohort of bands. But the hot pink streaks in her hair say otherwise.
“I kind of have an alter ego,” she says. “When I get on stage, I have a hardcore, rock chick energy.”
Photo Courtesy Of Stephanie CincinnatiAcorn drew a day two, early evening stage time. Placed just before a stretch of acts that included megastars The All-American Rejects and the resurgent Something Corporate, she wouldn’t lack an audience. Yet, Acorn remained unrecognizable to many in the crowd.
Despite Acorn’s immense talent and local ties, a portion of the Four Chord audience showed up for the legacy acts, hoping to relive the Warped Tour glory days for one more night. They stopped paying attention to new musicians long ago. The chance to impress the disaffected scene kids added weight to the performance, not just for Acorn, but for every other band before her. Four Chord blends the legacy acts with the up-and-comers better than any festival. And Acorn is the queen of the latter. She headlines tours, is streamed by millions and her presence on a song is enough to help catapult a music colleague to a major hit.
Like the band 408, who shined as an unexpected festival star. After performing with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus at the Kick-Off Show, the Florida natives filled in for Koyo as day one’s second band (local act Mallory Run opened the festival). As 408 ripped, thousands of sunscreen-and-sweat-drenched fans filled the grounds.
“You are honorary Florida residents” the band joke, referring to Pennsylvania’s 100-degree temperatures. But the heat became a secondary concern as mosh pits whipped up dust. Still, you take those distractions over the lightning storms of Four Chord 2023.
One of just two ska, or ska-adjacent, bands were up next. Oklahoma natives, Cliffdiver, delivered one of the best performances of the festival. The male-female vocal combo with the instrumental backing is tailor-made for a summer festival set. Surely some of the onlookers yelled “more sax” as Cliffdiver spun the Smartpunk stage into a frenzy.
“Getting to play in front of all your favorite bands … I appreciate it more at 36 than I would at 16,” vocalist Joey Duffy humbly admits.
Moments after Cliffdiver finished, pop-punkers Action/Adventure blasted from the Monster Energy stage (shoutout to the brand for sponsoring the water stations. They were much needed). The Chicago natives tore through their set, spending a moment to reflect on a stretch of trials that included two van break-ins.
“It feels great to be associated with these big names and big acts,” Action/Adventure vocalist, Blake, says. “The crowd was great … It’s a great time. We are super honored to be here.”
Attention teetered back to the Smartpunk stage, where the crowd ballooned for Massachusetts natives Driveways. Thousands of fans vibed in unison to the anthemic “October Forever.” The performance cemented the band’s status as a scene-produced success story.
“We’re just three idiots from Boston,” the band yell, an unassuming yet ironic statement from the rockers and full-time teachers.
Eternal Boy, headed by festival mastermind Rishi Bahl, batted next. By some miracle, the band orchestrated the weekend and still performed a kickass set. Apart from the calls for a circle pit, praise for Bahl was the most common talking point by other performers.
One of punk’s brightest, young acts then took over. A year after their breakthrough album Life Under The Gun, Militarie Gun added a line to its growing resume with an excellent performance. Microwave followed, with an atmospheric set providing the perfect summer ambiance.
Fresh off new releases, Four Year Strong fired on all cylinders. The dusty, intimate setting of the Smartpunk stage was tailor-made for the hardcore legends. On the spectrum’s other end, State Champs performed as polished as ever. Joking that they’ve played Four Chord “100 times,” it was no surprise the band respectably paused as a poised medical crew pulled an injured mosher onto his feat.
Legacy act Senses Fail followed. Vocalist Buddy Nielsen still oozes charisma and the band’s cover medley was a high point of the day. Senese Fail’s rendition of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” was so spot on, you could have closed your eyes and been back at Woodstock ’99. Without the riots, of course.
As evening approached, so did The Story So Far on the Monster Energy stage. Fresh off an album release the crew’s new stuff cooked. “Letterman” riled the crowd; a mosh pit churned up a cloud of dust so big it could have been mistaken as stage smoke. After a brief pause, A Day To Remember closed out day one. The band navigated minor technical problems to produce a pyro-laced, smashing set. The crowd was gigantic for much of the day, reflecting a serious appetite for this scene. And most stayed until A Day To Remember exited stage right.
Pittsburgh pop-punkers Old Neon opened day two with what every good party should have, inflatables! And as their on-stage props flailed in the stiffening breeze, the band bounced to a killer set.
“Welcome to the dust bowl!” they joked as the ominous weather conditions kicked up dirt. But the rain was a welcome departure from the previous day’s heat as Don’t Panic then battled droplets to put on a memorable performance. The Pennsylvania natives noted the amount of band friends at the festival.
More Keystone state representatives followed. Goalkeeper was on top of their game, previewing an excellent new tune heavier than its typical pop-punk. The affable drummer, Cody Richie, momentarily stole the show as the crowd chanted his name.
“Almost unreal,” Richie says about the experience. “Just to look out and see all the familiar faces and a bunch of new faces, it feels really great.”
Day two was blitzing along, but still without a mosh pit. That changed when House Parties took the stage. The pleasantly piercing pipes of the band’s uber-tallented vocalist, Chaney, echoed across the grounds as the crowd parted below her. Without warning, dozens descended into the pit.
“It was our first time playing Four Chord,” she says after the performance. “I didn’t think that many people would come see our set. But it was really fun.”
The bubbly jokesters People R Ugly were up next and did not disappoint. This feels like a band that would have had labels in a bidding war 20 years ago. Funny and talented, it was another excellent performance from the up-and-comers.
Ska flag-bearers Keep Flying conjured up the spirit of Warped Tour legends Less Than Jake. The band’s set included all the ska bells and whistles; the horns, upbeat lyrics, motivational speeches and just a whole lot of fun. It was all you could ask for from a Four Chord set.
Patent Pending, a Warped Tour alum themselves, played to its reputation. Peppering its set with jokes and crowd work, the band performed like it never took a day, or nearly a year off from touring. Maybe the festival’s chillest band, Hunny, followed. The California natives ooze West Coast vibes. And “Vowels” is such a banger live.
And that brings us back to Acorn. The scene was set for the Pennsylvania native, who moved to Nashville to dabble in country music before returning to her true love. She bounced onto the stage and ripped the air guitar before belting the words to her opening song.
Whatever nerves she had were clearly gone.
“I think I just black out,” she laughed as she described the feeling on stage. “And then once I’m done I am like ‘oh my God that was crazy.’ And I can finally come to and be like I just did that.”
Acorn’s set was one of the gigantic Monster Energy stage’s best that weekend. The rest of the evening was rain-soaked. But it didn’t stop Relient K, The Get Up Kids, Motion City Soundtrack and The All-American Rejects from quintessential performances. Something Corporate’s crowd felt the most energized, clearly biting at the bit for the band’s reunion tour.
The entire festival felt like a crossroads for the scene. Acts from the 2000’s heyday mixed with equally, if not, more talented, young artists navigating the social media, Spotify-splintered industry. Like Acorn, who might have sold out stadiums 20 years ago.
While this reality has its downsides, it grants the chance to simultaneously honor the past while living in the present. For all its flaws, Warped Tour acted as a breeding ground for talent crossover; come for big bands and become fans of the small ones. Four Chord fills that gaping void better than any other festival.
“It’s cool. We talk about it quite often. To go to shows and festivals and be like I want to be on a stage like that one day. And now we are there,” Goalkeeper’s Marc Juliana said.
“It’s such a huge inspiration for me and makes me want to eventually get to that level,” Acorn adds when asked about performing with legacy acts. “Everyone is so humble and kind and they are always there to lend advice … It is really cool to mix the two. I’ve been able to meet a lot of really amazing people and become friends with them.”
Cover photo courtesy of Stephanie Cincinnati
