Black Music Festival returns to Pittsburgh, organizers worried with lack of resources from the city

PITTSBURGH — The stage is set for Pittsburgh’s Black Music Festival.

But the cost of safety is taking center stage as fears about large gatherings continue to resonate following a mass shooting on the Fourth of July.

“The city has told me that they are not going to support this event,” said festival organizer William Marshall.

Marshall says safety is his biggest concern for the estimated 60,000 people coming to Pittsburgh’s Black Music Festival at Point State Park this weekend.

Marshall tells Channel 11 that the city is not allowing him to use city services like barricades, paramedics, and cleanup crews.

He also says that a day before the event starts, he’s still trying to figure out what police presence there will be.

“Every time we put on an event like this, we think about the mass shootings or racial shootings. We just had a Fourth of July incident. A guy shot at the community marching in the parade. So that’s why I ask the city to help us,” said Marshall.

We emailed Pittsburgh police and Mayor Ed Gainey’s office.

A spokesperson for the city replied: “As with any event like this festival, the city provides police as security based on a matrix from the department of public safety, and we offer the use of Pittsburgh police officers at cost to the event organizers.”

“We are a very soft target, and if you don’t think it’s important to secure this event, I don’t know what to say, " said Marshall.

Marshall tells us that he’s paying for his security detail, and there will also be a handful of park rangers at Point State Park.

While this has been the city’s standard practice for independent events at Point State Park in recent years, Marshall said city police officers are paid through tax dollars — and this event will bring more money to the city.

The festival starts at 11 a.m.

The musical acts take the stage from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday night.

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