On August 17, 2024, we played a 3 hour long concert with over 30 amazing musicians and it was incredible! It has taken me some time to fully process that night and I finally have a minute to write about it.
During the summer of 2023, my brother Brad Frost said, “I want to throw a big concert next year for my birthday and include as many friends in it as possible.” If you know Brad, he thinks big and does everything he can to take what is in his mind and spin it into reality. Since I’ve known him my entire life, I knew this was going to happen whether he had 2 other people involved or over 30. It’s hard enough practicing with that many people for a solid concert performance when you live in the same area, but when you don’t play with most people who live all over the place until the day of the show, it adds an entirely new wrinkle into things. The name of the event: Frostapalooza. Not only would it be a legit concert with tickets, but in a very Brad-like fashion, the proceeds would go to benefit spinal injury rehabilitation center NextStep Pittsburgh and non-profit Project Healthy Minds.
The lead up and practices
“I need someone to be the be the through-line between songs as lots of people will be moving on and off stage. Are you okay with being that person?” he asked. “Yeah” was my quick answer. We’ve now worked together for almost a decade. We’ve played music for almost 25 years. Like the rhythm section we create with bass and drums, we know how to play off of each other and I was happy to try and help be the anchor in this wild idea. Music is a passion of mine and it seems to ease all of the other BS life can throw your way. So why not dive head first into this endeavor?
Brad reached out to family and friends who were musicians. The response from over 40 people initially was “yes.” We had the people. Next, we needed a song list. How do you take song choice input from that many people and narrow it down to a one-night only show? We all voted for a number of songs and the list went from hundreds of songs down to a more reasonable number that would eventually get cut down even further as we practiced. We had the people. We had the songs. And eventually, the venue was set. The 800 person venue Mr. Smalls Theatre just outside of downtown Pittsburgh. A venue we had seen acts at. A stage where Jack White would play just weeks after Frostapalooza. The pressure was on and so were the practices.
We practiced in person with who we could in the area once a month. Brad, Melissa Frost, and I would try to practice sometimes during the workday at lunch, but work and life gets busy so it didn’t happen most days. If folks happened to be in town for one of those practices, they would join which was super helpful. In addition to Brad, Melissa, and me, the other core band members Will Schneider and Aaron Spring came up in April for a power practice. 17 hours of playing music in less than 48 hours. My body was tired, but we made it through and the setlist started to sound better and better. Technology was huge in this as we recorded what we could together to send out to most folks who were remote so that they could practice. A year sounded like a long time until the week of the show came in quickly. Holy shit! It was time.
The week of the show
The week of the show was a blur. I was busy with work, but also made time to practice when I could with much of the core band when we had a chance. Will came up several days early which gave us time to mesh better and fix some of the gnarlier bits that needed to be ironed out. We had some solid practices Wednesday and Thursday before the show, especially with folks who came in early from out of town so we all could get a feel for how we’d come together. Friday was a party for the folks coming in to celebrate Brad’s birthday and yet we still managed to play a little music.
Showtime!
Finally, the day of Frostapalooza had arrived! It started off on a fun note with me piercing my leg with the sharp end of one of the bass drum legs while loading the U-Haul. It was a bit of a scrambly morning, but we made it to sound check on time. Everyone who needed to be there showed up and we played a number of songs that we would play that night. I felt shaky getting used to the space at first, but after a few songs it felt better. A lot of us didn’t play together until sound check, including many of the guitarists, singers, and an entire brass section in Elby Brass. All of the folks who were a part of the show blended together into something incredibly special that night. Insanely talented people to say the least. My young son even got to come to sound check which made my heart so happy.
Before we knew it, it was time to perform for an audience. Hundreds of folks came and the night was very very special. We played rock, pop, funk, and everything in between. It’s hard to explain how magical that night was. Brad was able to bring dozens of people together from all over the world without everyone playing together for a one-night-only show for hundreds of people. Not only did that happen, but it was a great production. Everyone did their part and more. Folks didn’t just show up, but everyone was so kind and encouraging. It was never about them, it was about the show and how we could make it as fantastic as possible. The guitarists were amazing. The brass section was amazing. The keys were amazing. The bassists were amazing. The singers sounded amazing. The mandolins and banjos were amazing. The percussionists were amazing. The musical saw was amazing. How many shows have a musical saw?! What a night!
Final Thoughts
There aren’t enough words to describe the night. Brad worked incredibly hard to organize something that would be memorable for everyone involved, and boy did he do that. He took a lot of wonderful people and gave them a reason to rock out on stage for a night, many who don’t get that opportunity very often if ever. He made sure each and every person was comfortable and knew what they were doing because he is the kind of person that gives a shit about each and every single participant. Lots of folks wouldn’t have been able to pull this off. I knew he would and he had a ton of fun doing it.
It had been about 23 years since I played a stage nearly that big. There’s something about live music, whether you play it or listen to it, that brings a therapeutic feeling to what can be a chaotic life. On that night, it was a party of positivity, adrenaline, and fun. I am so grateful to be a small part of that wonderful night with such awesome people. I hope to play live sometime again in the near future, but for now, we have this beautiful night to hold onto for the rest of our lives.
For more photos and posts about Frostapalooza:
- Brad’s post of photos and videos
- Photographing Frostapalooza by the great photographer Will Browar
- Jeremy Keith’s post about playing at Frostapalooza
- Chris Coyier’s post about Frostapalooza
