Pitchfork Music Festival returned for another summer with three stages over the span of three days and 14 artist performances across Union Park. The festival was full of food trucks and stands, art vendors, artist interactions and of course, live music. The festival would be nothing without attendees who line up before the gates even open, crowding the park excited to see their favorite artists. Here are some notable moments and performances from Day One.
Black Duck
Black Duck kicked off the entire festival performing on the Green stage at 1 p.m. The Chicago-based group, known for performing completely improvised shows since the mid 90’s, performed long, instrumental songs on stage that reminded us of jazz and psychedelic rock fusion.
Festival goers were seen sitting on blankets and enjoying the music while others crowded up against the barricade to try and get the best standing room. Their music allows for people to either relax or get up and dance, a perfect blend of feels for the Pitchfork audience. Little is known about Black Duck, with hardly any information about them online and only one released project on streaming services. Nevertheless, after their performance, people will surely remember their sound.
Angry Blackmen
Switching up the energy in the park, Chicago-based rappers Angry Blackmen took the red stage. Duo Brian Warren and Quentin Branch, stormed the stage with experimental hip-hop beats and the crowd immediately gravitated towards their performance.
Tracks from Angry Blackmen’s most recent album “The Legend of ABM” were heard throughout their set, along with some older projects as well.
Billy Woods and Kenny Segal
Rapper/artist Billy Woods and producer Kenny Segal welcomed a huge crowd for their set. Woods is known for covering his face from the media and performing with face coverings at some shows, so it was surprising when he came on stage without one, not something most people expected.
Segal and Kenny have collaborated on different projects in the past and performed tracks from their album “Maps” and “Hiding Places.” This was expected but appreciated nonetheless, while extremely captivating to listen to live. Sketch 185, Chicago-based rapper, was also brought out on stage during the middle of their set for a surprise guest performance.
100 Gecs
Laura Les and Dylan Brady make up 100 Gecs, an experimental electronic duo often referred to as hyperpop, pulling from genres endlessly awk wording replace endlessly to achieve their unique sound. When it was time for their set on the green stage, the crowd rolled in, waiting patiently. The duo walked out to one of their hit songs off of their most recent project “Dumbest Girl Alive” and instantly had the audience moshing and dancing. Gecs performances are known to be high-energy, silly and fast-paced.
Although they have newer songs, 100 Gecs also played their older songs such as “money machine,” “stupid horse,” and closed with “800 db cloud,” a fan favorite. Apart from there being a huge crowd who took over the headliner stage, many festival goers were spotted wearing their merch around the park. It wouldn’t be surprising if people bought their tickets solely for their set.
Jai Paul
As Day One was nearing an end, eager audience members waited patiently for Jai Paul’s set. British singer, songwriter and record producer Jai Paul heavily relies on electronic noise and soft vocals to produce his unique sound.
With only one album that was originally leaked, “Leak 04-13 (bait ones,)” much of this along with Paul’s singles was heard throughout his set. Jai Paul’s leaked album consisted of tracks made between the years 2007-2013, with music he began writing in his teenage years. Paul stated publicly that this leak was difficult for him to deal with as he wasn’t ready for these particular songs to be heard by the public, leading him to take a break from music for a while. After returning to the industry, it was inspiring to see him deliver an engaging and personal performance.
DAY 2
Day Two of Pitchfork was sonically filled with energy booming off the crowd. The artist lineup for the day featured a majority of electronica music through DJs as well as noise-heavy artists sprinkled in between sets. In a day full of outstanding performances, the following stood out.
Hotline TNT
Fans of Hotline TNT, fronted by guitarist and vocalist Will Anderson, arrived early for the first blue stage performance of the day. Known for their distorted guitar influenced by shoegaze and noise-pop, the band’s simple layering of guitars without excessive pedal use was not only refreshing, but also animated the crowd. Their performance to a small but loyal crowd was full of energy and memorable hits including two new songs, “Julia’s War” and “Candle”.
The group played a mix of songs from their most recent studio album Cartwheel, released in 2023 and given an 8.4 by Pitchfork reviews. The mix of crowd favorites and unheard releases made it especially worthwhile for the devoted audience.
Feeble Little Horse
A relatively new, young band from Pittsburgh has taken the world of indie rock/noise pop by storm after their most recent project, “Girl with Fish.” During their set, the band mentioned they had never played outdoors during the day before and that it was a new experience for them.
Their set consisted of loud instrumentals paired with lead singer Lydia’s soft yet powerful vocals which make up Feeble Little Horse’s sound. The band played hit songs such as “Tin Man,” “Steamroller,” and “Chores.” They also mentioned having a ritual where they end every performance with the same song, which is also the only song that showcases Lydia screaming and purging the final few lyrics. Although we expected their set to be a crowd favorite, they left the crowd almost speechless, in awe of their performance.
Wednesday
MJ Lenderman, had performed at Pitchfork summer of 2023 independently, but this year he returned with his band, Wednesday, where he is a guitarist. As an Alternative Rock group from North Carolina, Wednesday pairs their sound with elegant lyrics that make them one of the more unique groups within their genre. They performed songs from their most recent release “Rat Saw God,” as well as some older hits. Members of the band were even seen walking around the grounds enjoying the festival for themselves after their set.
Frontwoman Carly said during an official live Pitchfork interview that she’s influenced by other artists and other mediums when writing lyrics that pertain to the past and the present, most notably, Spongebob.
“I pick a feeling I want to dissect completely and whenever I go into that file, I imagine my brain, do you know that episode of Spongebob where he’s trying to remember something and he’s in a room and there’s a bunch of file cabinets and they’re on fire? That’s kind of how I’m imagining my memory and I’m trying to retrieve files before they burn away,” Carly said.
Bratmobile
Taking the blue stage by absolute storm, Bratmobile, one of the most influential women-led punk bands of all time, was a highly anticipated act of Day Two. The band’s stage presence was unmatchable, featuring eye-catching outfits from the entire band and insane dance moves from the lead singer. It’s always inspiring to see a band still performing after spending decades together and still sounding just as powerful. Bratmobile is not only still performing, but actively releasing new music.
Towards the end of the set, the band even brought out “the next generation of bratmobile,” a group of young girls to sing their hit song “Cherry Bomb” with them. The performance was an ode to their influence on music and punk culture and reminded the audience that bands like Bratmobile helped pave the way for women in alternative music.
Jamie XX
During the last performance of the night, Jamie XX single-handedly united the audiences of Pitchfork at the green stage with his animated set. While the pit of the stage was jumping and dancing together, people sitting on the lawn to watch the show slowly began to rise and dance with the rest of the crowd. For this performance, instead of most people attempting to crowd towards the barricade, people stayed back and gave themselves room to dance, sit and jump throughout this energetic, electronic set.
As a renowned remixer and producer, this was not Jamie XX’s first performance for an audience the size of Pitchfork. He’s also a part of indie-pop band, The XX.
DAY 3
The final day of the festival was not only the hottest day yet, but also the average hottest day of the year. Nonetheless, the grounds were packed and festival goers were excited. Out of all three festival days, Sunday was by far the most crowded and most diverse in age group.
Johanna Sternberg
The audiences for artists in the early afternoon were always smaller compared to later headliners, but Johanna Sternberg drew in one of the largest opening audiences for the entire festival to the red. At 1:45 p.m. on the hottest average day of the summer, Sternberg performed a beautifully raw and honest set. During their set, the audience was completely silenced in awe, only making noise to cheer at the end of each song. Sternberg was also the only artist who performed an acoustic set, with just them, their microphone and acoustic guitar.
Their performance was extremely raw and intimate, inspired by folk and alternative sounds. Their lyrics are unique and clever, the type that can make you cry tears of sadness and joy simultaneously. Joking with the crowd between sets, they admitted being terrified of bugs, even stopping moments into a song in fear that a bug was still on them.
Nala Sineprho
Sinephro, an experimental Jazz artist based in London held the Blue stage in a trance with her set. Her debut and only album so far, “Space 1.8” has made waves in the music world since its release with its ambient-heavy sound. Sinephro is known to bounce around from the piano, pedal harp, synthesizer and keyboard which is not only unique to listen to in the crowd, but unique to see happen live on stage. This was a perfect set for people to lie down, close their eyes and melt away to Sinephro’s performance.
Model/Actriz
Model/Actriz, a group originally from Brooklyn, combined a heavy post-punk noise with a melodramatic performance by frontman Cole Haden. At one point during their set, Haden jumped into the crowd and performed with them, definitely one of the more intimate moments at the festival.
Primarily playing songs from their most recent project, Dogsbody, Model/Actriz was a highly anticipated set filled with incredible energy by both the group and the crowd. For having a relatively early set, it was pleasantly surprising to see the green stage full of audience members.
Mannequin Pussy
Punk and Indie rock band Mannequin Pussy’s set was by far one of the most crowded sets seen on the Blue Stage either capitalize it every time or leave it lowercase during the festival. The band’s set was notable in the way that their vocals combine heavy shouting and purging with soft whispers that introduce an interesting, unique sound. They frequently begin with soft vocals, building up to a heavy grunge sound. About halfway through their set, lead singer Marisa Dabice stopped singing and led the crowd during a collective scream.
Formed in 2010 by best friends Dabice and Thanasi Paul, Mannequin Pussy’s set was another reminder of the past that still felt and sounded new.
Les Savy Fav
As we sat waiting on the lawn for the last blue stage performance of the evening, the energy was relaxed after a long day of festival activities. Out of seemingly nowhere an older man with brightly dyed hair and neon tie-dyed clothing zoomed right past us on a Lime scooter around the crowded stage. Moments later the same man, the legendary frontman of Les Savy Fave, Tim Harrington walked onto the stage and began the electric performance.
Harrington made his way from the stage into the audience and began interacting with anyone who dared to approach him. The crowd literally parted in half as he passed through, all while singing with one hundred percent energy. The post-hardcore group was not only bold in physical appearance and sound but also in reputation. All photographers at Pitchfork received a message from the band, “Get close to Tim Harrington at your own risk. If you aren’t willing for you or your gear to become part of the show, you should stay away.” One of the most shocking performances of the entire festival, Les Savy Fav was an incredible show to be a part of.
This story was written by Sofía Cortés and Shannyn Donohue. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].
