The Mesa Music Festival returns this fall to open its gates to independent musicians ready to work, learn and be heard.

The eighth annual Mesa Music Festival is Thursday, Oct. 15, to Saturday, Oct. 17, in Downtown Mesa. 

The San Diego-born metal quartet P.O.D. will perform a free concert at 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Mesa Amphitheatre. 

During the Mesa Music Festival, hundreds of bands from around the world learn from the best. 

Music journalist/MTV VJ Matt Pinfield will serve as the keynote speaker, with The All-American Rejects frontman, singer/producer Tyson Ritter and songwriter/musician Gardner Cole preceding him.

The free event is open to the public and will be held Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Mesa Arts Center Piper Theater, 1 E. Main St. Seating is first-come, first-served. Cole is scheduled to speak at 6:30 p.m., followed by Ritter at 7:30 p.m. and Pinfield at 8:30 p.m.  

Known for his extensive knowledge of music, Pinfield has spent decades documenting and celebrating the artists, songs, and stories that have shaped popular culture. He is best known for hosting MTV’s 120 Minutes and for serving as vice president of A&R at Columbia Records.

During his talk, Pinfield will discuss his career and share music stories. 

Two other music industry veterans will speak. Ritter and The All-American Rejects are known for their songs “Dirty Little Secret,” “Move Along” and “Gives You Hell.”

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Tyson Ritter

Coupled with The All-American Rejects, Ritter co-founded PlayHouse.band. With the help of Playhouse, artists can pre‑sell tickets before choosing a venue, using a database of unconventional spaces — more than 90% of them free — that aren’t tied to corporate booking agreements.

“What DistroKid [music distribution company] did for independent artists releasing music, we’re trying to do for the live experience,” Ritter told AZ Big Media. 

“There’s a huge void. Artists can’t make money from streaming, they can’t make money from their product, and now you’re telling me they can’t make money on the road either? How the hell do you survive as an artist?”

The idea came from necessity. Last year, The All American Rejects launched a backyard‑based House Party Tour and put out a call for hosts. Within two weeks, more than 18,000 spaces were offered — community centers, reclaimed churches, minor league stadiums, basements and warehouses.

“It was wild,” he said. “It made me realize how many artists never get a chance to play live because of gatekeepers. Booking agents, promoters — people saying, ‘You haven’t proven yourself.’ Well, how do you prove yourself? You play.”

Ritter isn’t performing at the Mesa Music Festival — the timing was too tight — but he’s eager to be in the room.

“I’m excited to be around these young musicians,” he said. “Get the old dog around the young dog. Maybe I’ll live a little longer.”

Ritter said the industry is shifting, so independent musicians need support more than ever.

“We’re in the Roaring ’20s right now,” Ritter said. “We’re on the backside of a great period of suffering. The art that emerges from this will be essential to culture. We have to protect these artists. We can’t let them die.”

And for Ritter, the mission is simple.

“We’re not trying to game anything or make money off this,” he said. “I just want to blast the megaphone for independent artists however I can, because they deserve a chance.”

“The art that’s coming — it’s going to matter,” Ritter said. “And we have to make sure the artists making it survive.”

Gardner Cole

Cole will kick off the event by discussing his career as a songwriter, music producer and keyboard player. He wrote or co-wrote some of the 1980s and early 1990s hits, including Madonna’s “Open Your Heart.” He also wrote chart‑topping songs for the likes of Jody Watley, Vanity and Rockwell.

According to Billboard Magazine, he was the No. 2 songwriter in 1988, with six Billboard-charting singles.

Living in the Valley since 1994, Cole has performed with various acts, including as a drummer for the English group ABC (“The Look of Love,” “Poison Arrow”) and as a keyboardist with the Norwegian group a-ha (“Take on Me”). As a producer, he has recorded more than 350 songs for major labels such as Capitol, A&M, Warner Bros. and Motown.

But what he’s most excited to bring to Mesa isn’t a lecture. It’s a conversation.

“I’ve done these conferences before,” said Cole to AZ Big Media. “I was supposed to do 10 or 15 minutes of Q&A once, and I ended up doing four hours because people had so many questions. Rather than talk about myself, I think it’s most beneficial to just do a Q&A. They have questions, and I have answers.”

Cole began his career hoping to be a world-renowned drummer. But Los Angeles had no shortage of drummers — and a shortage of keyboard players. He adapted, formed a band, landed a record deal and eventually signed with Warner Bros., where his songwriting career took off.

“Sometimes you just have to get out of your own way and let stuff show up,” he said.

After a decade in real estate development, Cole was diagnosed with stage‑four throat cancer. During treatment — 35 radiation sessions and more than 40 hours of chemo — he scored an Emmy-winning documentary, “We Are All Plastic People Now.”

“It felt like God was trying to tell me, ‘Do what you came here to do,’” Cole said.

The Flint, Michigan, native has since returned to music full‑time, is selling a portion of his publishing catalog, and is developing new artists — including his sons, Kingston and Jasper, who already have major‑label interest.

“I cut a tune on them just for fun and sent it to some guys,” Cole said. “They were like, ‘I want first crack at signing them.’”