For years, the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF) took place on the street. Over one weekend in June, Downtown thoroughfares Penn Avenue or Liberty Avenue were closed off to traffic to make room for three stages. While the festival, which began in 2011, also featured some indoor ticketed concerts, the outdoor events were free to anyone lured in by the music.
Then 2020 came and Downtown was quiet.
Last summer, the festival came back with a twist: The two-day event moved across the Monongahela River to Highmark Stadium, with multiple stages set up on the artificial turf field that serves as home to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer team. Admission was no longer free, but a one- or two-day pass granted access to seven acts each
