On Traveling Music

Monday, April 12th, 2010 // Paperhouse

Folk artists are migrating to Portland, and hip-hop artists are finding their scene in Baltimore. Popular music is no longer about dominating the charts; it’s about commanding a region.
While the Internet has helped musicians find audiences beyond borders, artists are always looking for a place to call home. They want friends to collaborate with and live audiences to play in front of.
With that in mind, some cities are becoming musical safe havens, while other cities are becoming musical dry spots. Places like Toronto, Canada have brought together super groups like Broken Social Scene. Sometimes borrowing members from bands all across Canada, Broken Social Scene plays with as few as six members to as many as 19 members. The band even has popular artists like Leslie Feist in its mix.
As of yet, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly dry, but most good musicians don’t stay in the city long. Oftentimes it feels like artists only stop by Pittsburgh on their way to New York.
This is all so unfortunate because Pittsburgh has the potential to explode on the music scene. Few cities support their artists as much as we do, and even fewer can match our affordable housing. Our city is the perfect place for emerging artists to collaborate and call home, so make a point to support local talent. Go see a show!
-Stephen Epple