Pitchfork Music Festival returned to Chicago’s Union Park featuring a lineup packed with more than 40 indie rock, pop, hip-hop, electronic, and experimental artists
DAY 1 - Friday, July 19, 2024
The three-day festival got off to a mellow start on Friday, but performances by Tkay Maidza and Yaeji got the crowd dancing. Black Pumas frontman Eric Burton made the night for some fans during the headlining set by jumping into the center aisle to serenade them and pose for selfies.
Black Pumas
Black Pumas’ set reached its zenith early on, during “Know You Better,” when frontman Eric Burton leapt off the stage and into the crowd. Dancing, snapping selfies, and hugging fans, Burton turned the soulful concert into a communal celebration. “Look, I don’t even need security,” he joked. “Someone tickled me, though.”
Sudan Archives
In the hands of Sudan Archives, a violin is a bow and arrow, pistol, and katana. On the Blue Stage, she was armed with a quiver of violin bows that she often unsheathed to the sound of a sword slicing the air. Performing tracks from her 2022 album, Natural Brown Prom Queen, she was funny, flirty, and mesmerizing in her thermal imaging body suit.
“I got a cousin in Chicago/Who got homies from the way,” she sang, pointing to her family standing left stage, “They’ll smack you in your face/A certain type of hello.” Occasionally, she cocked the violin at the audience, plucking ominous chords as she scanned the audience like a Huntress of Artemis. She may as well have superpowers.
Tkay Maidza
Striding onto the stage in a black leather mini-dress adorned with silver cutout stars and “FAME” plastered on her bum, Tkay Maidza resembled an intergalactic rock queen. Against the backdrop of a red moon, the Zimbabwean Australian singer-songwriter matched the hype of her crowd, bouncing from her woozy cover of Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” to the twerk-inducing “Ring-a-Ling” and the vengeful trap anthem “WUACV.” Before closing her set with “High Beams,” Maidza offered a nugget of wisdom to her fans: “Be delusional that today is gonna be amazing.”
100 gecs
There are people with very good taste in music who love 100 gecs but maybe the duo should still come with a warning label. The band is a little like multiple musical styles thrown into one with a ton of vocoder and unpredictability. Still, they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously and were definitely having fun.
Yaeji
When Yaeji last graced the Pitchfork Music Festival stage, in 2021, we were fresh out of lockdown. Three years later, the Korean American electronic artist returned, whirling around the stage with an aura of emotional release. “And I’m 30,” she announced to the crowd, giggling as they cheered her on. Yaeji and her backup dancers swirled, swayed, and swung through her set. The crowd, to no one’s surprise, erupted for breakthrough hit “Raingurl,” bopping in freakish synchronization. Yaeji closed her set with a glimpse of her future, performing the unreleased banger “Booboo.” “If you resonate with my music,” she said before sharing the track, “you are a mirror for myself in some ways as I am for you.”
DAY 2 - Saturday, July 20, 2024
On Saturday, fans flooded the park for the pop power bill of Jessie Ware, Carly Rae Jepson, and headliner Jamie xx. Hip-hop icons De La Soul celebrated “40 years of friendship” with a buoyant set that featured appearances by Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch.
Jessie Ware
Saturday evening, Jessie Ware brought the Pearl Club to Chicago. “In our club, we demand that you free yourself,” she proclaimed while twirling around in her mirrorball jumpsuit. Flanked by her “Pearlettes”—a cadre of two unbelievably flexible dancers, two dynamic background singers, a guitarist, and a drummer—the self-proclaimed musical theater nerd invited the crowd to indulge in some guilt-free hedonism. No disco revival is complete without a cover of the goddess of disco herself, Cher. Ware’s rendition of “Believe” came complete with the Brit singing face-to-face with gyrating fans who fully took her command of “Pleasure is a right!” to heart.
Water From Your Eyes
Water From Your Eyes is unpredictable but intriguing. There are times of sweet melodies and then abrasive rifts and you can’t quite be sure what you might hear next. It’s too bad lead singer Rachel Brown wasn’t feeling well but they still played an engaging set. (She said maybe it was karma for sneaking into Pitchfork Music Festival ten years ago.) The duo played as a four piece with another guitarist and drummer to fill out their sound as well, which most definitely helped establish the presence of their intriguing songs!
Bratmobile
There is a ton of history with a band like Bratmobile, who have been making music for over 30 years, so it’s even more incredible how youthful riot grrrl Allison Wolfe still is. There wasn’t a still moment on stage when she wasn’t pogoing, kicking, and dancing without missing a beat. In between the short energetic songs, she mentioned long time Chicago favorites Liz Phair and Rainbo Club but kept the set moving at a roller coaster pace and the band as a whole possessed a fantastic dynamic energy that made for both a captivating listening and watching experience. For the last song, which was a cover of “Cherry Bomb,”by The Runaways, the band also brought out the “next generation of Brats!”
Kara Jackson
“I wrote this song at 17, which was around the age I dreamt about playing at Pitchfork, so this is very weird,” Kara Jackson confessed to the audience before performing “Ray”—a track from her 2019 EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart. Usually, Jackson rides solo with her acoustic guitar, but, on Saturday, she’s joined by a four-piece band. Still, her performance of “Dickhead Blues”—the proclamation of self-worth on 2023’s Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?— is the first time I’ve seen a crowd twerk to the sound of acoustic guitar plucks. That and her medley of “No Fun/Party” and SZA’s “Love Galore” solidified her place as the future of folk.
Carly Rae Jepsen
From the old-heads who remember when Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” dominated the airwaves to the youth who maybe weren’t born when the Canadian debuted, with Tug of War, in 2008, multiple generations gathered to enjoy Jepsen’s 16-year discography. For everybody, it was a celebration. Jepsen’s set was like a shot of 5-Hour Energy. If it weren’t for the barricades, I’m sure the crowd would’ve taken the chorus to “Run Away With Me” quite literally.
De La Soul
“We’re celebrating 40 years of friendship and brotherhood!” DJ Maseo yelled from his stand, setting the vibe for a trip down memory lane. “We’re also celebrating Trugoy the Dove!” De La Soul followed through with a wave of nostalgia, performing classics like “Potholes in My Lawn,” “Me Myself and I,” and “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’.” A surprise appearance by Talib Kweli, for “Stakes Is High,” added to the sentimentality, but the hypest moment was when Pharoahe Monch joined for “Simon Says,” shaking the ground with the party people’s jumping. “A lot will come up here, collect that check, and give you a half-assed show,” Posdnuous told the crowd. “But not De La Soul!”
DAY 3 - Sunday, July 21, 2024
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, attendees emerged from their respite in the shade to mosh along with Mannequin Pussy, who recently announced a break in touring to prioritize mental health. MUNA delighted fans with an indie-pop performance and briefly returned to the stage during Alanis Morissette’s headlining performance to join her on “Ironic” as the entire park sang along under a full moon.
Model/Actriz
Model/Actriz is a four piece but as soon as Cole Haden emerges on stage, it’s a little like there’s only him despite how tight the rest of the band is. Haden definitely understands how to seduce an audience. The band is a four piece instrumentally with guitar, bass, and drums (Haden is free to belt out visceral lyrics and dance around as well as get personal with the audience.) The sound itself is rhythmic and jarring with a fast paced energy and lyrics delivered with a slight vibrato. The guitar playing is more like a percussive instrument and the dark wave elements are prominent. Think Parenthetical Girls on speed and you’ll be on the right track!
Les Savy Fav
Tim Harrington is a possessed human sent to planet Earth to cure us of our boredom. Sure, the music of Les Savy Fav is simultaneously edgy and catchy but it’s the unpredictably of Harrington jumping into the audience, singing through balloons, licking microphones , using a tarp as a cape and never missing a beat that makes this work as not just typical indie rock. They call themselves “your new favorite old art rock band” but part of that art is definitely performance art. Too bad he didn’t ride the audience inside a garbage can this time but still we were just happy to be there!
In a sultry, soft-spoken voice, Marisa Dabice elongated the “s” each time she said her band’s name—“Mannequin Pusssssy”—during a set seemingly aimed at making the crowd comfortable with the uncomfortable. They raced through I Got Heaven material, a run of hardcore tracks, and howling pop-rock songs with snarling sentiments. An indelible frontperson, Dabice purred every line of stage banter—convincing men to scream “pussy” as loudly as possible, scolding religion and “God-fearing parents who [try] to make you ashamed”—while hiking up her dress. Was it satire? Does it even matter if it was just awesome?
MUNA
“This song goes out to any dykes that are out here tonight,” Katie Gavin of Muna announced early in the group’s set. Since their debut, Muna’s shows—led by singer Gavin and instrumentalists Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin—have served as a bubbly pop catharsis and a place of refuge for marginalized people. With their infectiously upbeat pop tracks, a “Free Palestine!” proclamation, and the dedication of “Kind of Girl” to their trans fans, they accomplished just that Sunday afternoon.
Alanis Morissette
Sunday night’s headliner and festival closer, Alanis Morissette, kicked off her buzzing set with the iconic “Hand in My Pocket” and the first of many harmonica solos—setting the tone for a night filled with adolescent nostalgia and angst. She kept the energy high with classics like “Head Over Feet” and “You Oughta Know,” fans screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs as they happily shed tears.
When Morissette started to spin during the crescendo of “Smiling,” it was clear she was as engulfed in this moment as we were. Just when it felt like the night couldn’t get better, Muna joined the alt-rock legend for a special performance of “Ironic.” What a way to wrap up the Pitchfork Music Festival.
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