MATI Festival and Conference Announces 2025 Artist Lineup

MATI (Music at the Intersection) Festival and Conference returns for its fifth year! They’ll be back with a diverse, roots-inspired and decades-spanning artist lineup. We’re super psyched to see what this festival has in store! Headliners include 3x Grammy winning rapper Common with superproducer Pete Rock, the godmother of soul Patti LaBelle, New Orleans R&B singer-songwriter Lucky Daye, neo-soul R&B singer-producer Leon Thomas, legendary hip-hop group De La Soul, and jazz great Branford Marsalis. 

The festival also brings back Ferguson-born trumpeter Keyon Harrold, a 4x festival alumnus, as MATI Artist-in-Residence. Additionally, Cuban jazz percussionist and singer Pedrito Martinez will perform as MATI Artist-at-Large (meaning he will perform throughout the festival on a variety of other artists’ sets).

MATI weekend – now expanded to three days – features more than 100 national, regional and St. Louis-based performances and presentations across 15 stages and venues throughout Grand Center Arts District’s festival footprint. Weekend passes are $150 and go on sale at MetroTix on Friday, April 18, at 10 a.m. Weekend four-packs are also available for $400. This is the best way to save some money by getting in on the action right now!

MATI Festival and Conference programming starts at noon daily – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – with MATI Main Stages (The Big Top, The Sovereign and Field Stage) kicking off mid-afternoon and going past midnight. A full schedule will be released in mid-July. 

Artist Lineup

With a special focus on “St. Louis Made,” MATI pays homage to the city’s imprint on the American songbook. This is a great way to showcase local talent in the area, which is cool! It also focuses on the relationship St. Louis has with its Mississippi River roots. The festival aims to celebrate musical heritage, from the West African coasts to the Caribbean islands, up through the Mississippi Delta. MATI honors the giants who shaped genre and sound – across blues, jazz, soul, R&B, hip-hop and rock n’ roll – as it also calls up and gives platform to a new wave of artists.

A majority of the lineup has direct ties to the St. Louis area. R&B artist Ryan Trey spent time growing up in St. Louis, East St. Louis and University City. Trey opened for fellow St. Louis native SZA at the Ready Room in 2017; he’s also performed and collaborated with MATI alum Jordan Ward. Marcus Baylor, of the husband-wife jazz duo The Baylor Project, is from St. Louis. Drummer Weedie Braimah was born in Ghana but raised in East St. Louis. Trumpeter (and MATI Artist-in-Residence) Keyon Harrold is from Ferguson.

Other artists hail from the Caribbean, Mississippi Delta and sister river cities, from which St. Louis shares music and cultural roots. Pedrito Martinez was born in Old Havana Cuba and began his musical career at age 11. Latin tropicale group Pirulo y la Tribu was founded in San Juan Puerto Rico. Branford Marsalis was born in New Orleans to a jazz singer mother and pianist father; his three brothers are also jazz musicians. John Medeski’s Mad Skillet is a New Orleans funk band. Lucky Daye, also from New Orleans, and has a soulful, southern influence in his R&B music. 

Additional national acts are tied to St. Louis by musical genre. The influence of St. Louis-born or raised artists – like Chuck Berry, Tina Turner and Miles Davis – have had a lasting impact on the sounds of today. R&B rising star Leon Thomas, Pakistani-American singer Arooj Aftab, and jazz veteran Branford Marsalis all credit Miles Davis as an influence.

The full artist lineup is as follows:

Common & Pete Rock; Patti LaBelle; Lucky Daye; Leon Thomas; De La Soul; Branford Marsalis; John Medeski’s Mad Skillet; Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe; The S.O.S. Band; The Budos Band; Leela James; Arooj Aftab; The Baylor Project; The Womack Sisters; Coco & Breezy; Pedrito Martinez; Keyon Harrold; Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio; Pirulo Y La Tribu; Butcher Brown; Weedie Braimah & The Hands of Time; Ryan Trey; Jazz STL celebrates Miles feat. Danny Campbell, Keyon Harrold, Dustin Shrum, Dawn Weber, Kasimu Taylor & Brady Lewis; Blvck Spade & The Cosmos; Marquise Knox with Funky Brass Band; Adam Maness Trio feat. Bob DeBoo & Kaleb Kirby; Brothers Lazaroff Super Friends; Anita Jackson; Whitworth; T-Dubb-O; House of Tucci: Ish Ensemble Superjam; Eldraco+FreeNation; Drea Vocalz; Matt “The Rattlesnake” Lesch; Playadors St. Louis Superjam; Matthew Henry’s Agbara; Mesonjixx; Saint Boogie Brass Band; K Kudda Muzic & Friends; Materia Takeover; Joe2morrow; DJ Mahf, Antonio Foster Trio; DJ Boogieman, Enoch, Marc Buxton; KC Mackey; Santo; Papa Ray; Biko; DJ Crucial & Agile One; Chilly C; The Boogaloo Crew of St. Louis; Noel Spiva; Branden Michael Lewis; Frankie Dowop & The Thundacats; Scooter Brown; Cassette with Charlie Chan Soprano & Rhashad La Rocka’; Steward Stiles; DJ Phonzeito; Lady J Huston; G.Wiz and the Time Travelers; DJ Sinamin.

The 2025 lineup was chosen by a programming committee made of St. Louis tastemakers, industry leaders, musicians and event professionals – along with guidance from Artist-in-Residence Keyon Harrold. A select number of artists were also chosen via an open call for applications. 

MATI will also feature community curations by Poetry in Motion; Slumfest; APR Entertainment; Frizz Fest; Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis; Pack Dance; Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis; Walls off Washington; Laz Jazz Fest and more.

Festival Passes and Pricing

Starting on Friday, April 18 at 10 a.m., festival passes can be purchased at www.MATIstl.org or directly at www.MetroTix.com (or by phone at 314-534-1111). Weekend passes are $150. Weekend four-packs are also available for $400. A limited number of single-day passes will go on sale in mid-July.  Grab them while they are at their cheapest!

All MATI festival passholders will have access to indoor restrooms (!!!), expanded seating, lounge areas, elevated viewing platforms, shade structures and curated culinary options. The Big Top and Field Stage will feature new video elements, while The Sovereign – brand new for 2025 – will offer a state-of-the-art audio and visual concert experience. MATI weekend pass holders will be able to come and go freely from the block party to the performance areas, showing their pass at security checkpoints to gain access to the Main Stages.

MATI 2025 will not offer VIP tickets. Instead, fans looking for an elevated experience are encouraged to become a patron and join the MATI Movement. Depending on level of membership, MATI Members get access to non-public areas in the footprint, artist meet-and-greets, exclusive merch and special programming year-round.