One thing you should know about the Mighty Pines: They’re more than a “local band.” Instead, they prefer to describe themselves as a “St. Louis–based” group. These terms might sound the same, but to them, there’s a crucial distinction.
“‘Local’ just diminishes value,” guitarist and singer Neil Salsich says. “‘St. Louis-based’ is the same thing, but it communicates it in a way that’s, I think, more dignified…and it emphasizes the geographical and cultural location of the music scene.”
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Salsich and his bandmates drip with St. Louis pride. For proof, look no further than Pines Fest, an annual music festival organized and curated by the band, meant to showcase their favorite musicians based in the city. This year’s Pines Fest falls on October 14 and will be held at The Big Top in Grand Center Arts District.
While the festival is only entering its second year, it’s already showing signs of growth. This year will mark the addition of a two-stage setup, consisting of a main stage and a side stage, as well as several St. Louis–based sponsors, including Swade Cannabis, Alliance Credit Union, 4 Hands Brewing Co, and Mighty Kind.
The Mighty Pines are already having a pretty great year, and they anticipate it getting better. After his stint on NBC’s The Voice this past spring, Salsich says the band’s popularity has flourished. One of his appearances on the show has topped one million views on YouTube, and the band has played for increasingly large crowds around the city.
With all this positive attention, the band is expecting a sizable turnout for Pines Fest 2023. It’s an exciting time, but it doesn’t come without stress.
“It is like finals week or something, leading up to it,” Salsich says. “I’ll have quiet moments of panic attacks at 11:00 at night…and that’s kind of just part of life and part of the business.”
As the festival’s sole curators, Salsich and his bandmates carry a lot of responsibility—but that’s what makes Pines Fest so remarkable. Whereas standard festival lineups are crafted by talent agents, managers, and, to some extent, artists, the Mighty Pines have full control over who performs at their festival. This means they’re free to showcase as many St. Louis–based artists as they want, including those who might be overlooked by other local festivals.
The band also employs staff and audio technicians who live in the city. The Mighty Pines don’t just want to support its music scene, but its broader culture and economy as well.
“It’s important to be able to help build the community,” band member Gerard Erker says. “People really need that, especially post-pandemic…we have a lot of pride in the fact that we get to participate in that and help build something special.”
Another key feature of Pines Fest is the artist-at-large, who joins each act onstage to provide additional vocals. The Mighty Pines select a different artist-at-large every year. This year, St. Louis staple Emily Wallace will take on the role.
While Wallace will only join each band for one or two songs, her job is just as strenuous as the other performers’. After all, she has to keep her energy up for the entire day. Wallace, known for her powerhouse vocals, says she’s up to the challenge.
Besides the enjoyment she gets from performing, she says she’s looking forward to taking in the sense of community that Pines Fest provides.
“Coming from a musician who’s done other festivals that are less locally concerned, [Pines Fest] feels like family,” Wallace says. “We know the stagehands, we know the guys running sound. It really is a community of all of us coming together with our passion and collaborating.”
The Mighty Pines have another treat in store for festival goers—their set will feature the live debut of their latest single, “Hey KDHX!” The band describes the song as an expression of support for the volunteer DJs at community radio station KDHX 88.1 FM. The station’s management team dismissed 10 volunteer DJs in September, and many others have recently quit or gone on strike.
“It’s really not a hateful song,” Erker says. “It doesn’t villainize anybody. It’s very much a love song to the radio station, but it also shows a little bit of alliance to the DJs.”
From celebrating community radio to employing musicians and crew members strictly from St. Louis, the Mighty Pines remain dedicated to keeping the city’s cultural sphere strong. They may be riding a high right now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be forgetting their hometown anytime soon.
“Anything we do as a band, the success of it is deeply impacted by the depth of our community here,” Salsich says. “It only gets better, and that’s the cool thing about it. It compounds on itself, and it keeps growing.”
Pines Fest 2023 will be held on October 14 at The Big Top. Tickets can be purchased here.
