The inaugural Free 4 All music showcase took over the streets of Grand Center in September 2025, bringing 100 St. Louis-based acts of every conceivable genre to nine stages throughout the district, with droves of local music fans in tow. The showcase served as a precursor of sorts to the following weekend’s MATI festival, also held in Grand Center, priming the pump for further live music in the bustling arts district.
But this year, MATI’s organizers switched things up and moved their festivities from September to July. They also opted to move many of the performances indoors, rather than on outdoor stages, to account for the blazing heat of St. Louis’ summers. That left Free 4 All’s organizers with some decisions to make.
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“When they bumped up their timeframe to July, we sort of had a choice of whether we wanted to do it earlier, before MATI, or wait until after,” says Free 4 All co-creator Michael Landau.
The nature of Free 4 All tends to see a lot of people milling about in the streets walking from venue to venue, which isn’t exactly ideal when the temperatures hover around the 90s. But on the other hand, September in St. Louis tends to be notoriously event-heavy.
“There’s so much congestion in terms of other events and other things going on,” Landau says. “We tossed around the idea of doing it on Labor Day, but we didn’t want to do that and get in any conflict with Paint Louis…We just didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”
Ultimately, the decision was made to move the event to the first weekend of November.
“We looked at the last three Novembers and [it has] been pretty moderate the first weekend in November in the last three years,” Landau says. “So we’re just hoping that that continues and that it’s going to be pretty mild.”
Aside from that one big change, not too much will be different for this year’s iteration of the festival, according to Landau. There will again be 100 acts performing; it will again be in Grand Center. MATI is still a key sponsor and supporter of the event, and many of the venues that will be activated fall under the larger Kranzberg Arts Foundation umbrella.
But while last year’s festival saw between 40 and 60 acts perform each day over Saturday and Sunday, this year will feature a smaller pre-show at The Key STL on Friday, November 6; an all-day marathon comprising most of the acts throughout the district on Saturday; and a matinee wrap-up show back at The Key STL on Sunday.
“The core idea behind Free 4 All is to provide the largest meet-up for local musicians. So it makes sense to move from two full days to one, a condensed music marathon that starts at noon and might run even later than midnight in some spots,” says Landau’s fellow Free 4 All co-creator Joseph Hess, also a frequent SLM contributor. “Friday’s kick-off party is also meant to be a chance for folks playing the main show to hang out and hype each other up before the big day. And since The Key STL is an excellent restaurant, a Sunday matinee will give many of us the chance to maybe have a meal together, hang and give each other high fives after pulling off a crazy concert crawl. The music will be a little more chill and the vibes probably more mellow than the day before.”
Booking will again be by submission, either by artists applying for themselves to perform or by fans nominating their favorite acts.
“We’re looking for those bands that are sort of undiscovered, that have been playing a long time, that just need a platform to show people what they got,” Landau says. “I’ve always said the big thing that we’re trying to do is help these bands get discovered.”
Aside from providing that platform for local artists, the other major goal of the fest is the same as you would expect from any major event of its kind: To show the audience a damn good time. Some attendees might only recognize a couple names on the lineup, Landau reasons, but they’re not just going to up and leave after those bands play.
“They’re going to walk to one of the other venues, and they’re going to listen to a band they’ve never heard before. And that, to me, is what it’s all about, right there,” he says. “If they can make those connections, that is huge. That’s what this music community needs right now.”
Free 4 All will take place in Grand Center from November 6-8. Attendance is free. Submissions for artists are being accepted from now through Tuesday, August 11 at 11:59 p.m. at this link. Lineup announcements will begin on September 1 through Free 4 All’s Instagram account. For more information, visit Free 4 All’s official website at free4allstl.com.
