Thrival Innovation and Music Festival releases full 2019 artist lineup

Over its six-year run, the annual Thrival Innovation and Music Festival has bounced from place to place, landing in the Bakery Square and Carrie Furnace, all with varying degrees of success and a few bumps along the way. From Sept. 18-20, the event returns, this time in the Carnegie Museum of Art and Schenley Plaza in Oakland, with another round of live music, art, and guest speakers.

Thrival, an event organized by the startup incubator and coworking space Ascender, just announced its full lineup (the headliners were revealed in June). Under the theme of "By Pittsburgh. For Pittsburgh. For the World," Thrival will focus on “celebrating and supporting Pittsburgh innovators and entrepreneurs,” and will feature innovators in business, research, and the arts, says a press release.

From Sept. 18-19, the Thrival Innovation Summit convenes at the Carnegie Museum of Art with panels on emerging technologies in robotics, manufacturing, biotech, and more.

On Sept. 20, headliner BUKU, a Pittsburgh-native, national DJ, producer, will take the Sheetz Main Stage in Schenley Plaza, and will be joined by Beauty Slap and Title Town. The Pittsburgh arts and activism collective 1Hood Media will also present eight local acts.

Also on the docket is a one-night-only collaboration with Everyone Orchestra. Conducted by Matt Butler, Everyone Orchestra invites musicians and audience members to create a totally improvised performance.

Given that two major universities, Pitt and CMU, are both within walking distance, it’s fair to assume that plenty of students will be at Schenley Plaza for the event, which the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy sees as a big plus.

“Maintaining vibrant, accessible public green spaces throughout the city is a priority for us and the City of Pittsburgh,” says Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy director of communication John Pepper, in a press release. “Spaces like Schenley Plaza provide cutting-edge, energetic public events like Thrival the opportunity to deliver unique and memorable experiences.”

Besides the main stage, the festival will feature art installations, spin classes by CycleBar Robinson, and a showcase by the Wicked Pittsburgh Collective with flower crowns, a stilt-walker, and a pop-up stage with various live music acts at noon.

There will also be craft vendors and tastings from Stateside Vodka, Wigle Whiskey, and local breweries.

In addition, CamPaints will turn a self-driving car from Uber Advanced Technologies Group into a piece of art as a way to, as one press release puts it, celebrate new autonomous Uber vehicles that will be “hitting the road soon” in Pittsburgh.

The Thrival music festival in Schenley Plaza is free, while tickets for the Innovation Summit cost $75-300.