Already got the post-Pitchfork blues? Relive all the fun with our photo gallery of the incredible weekend, and check out our daily highlights featuring some standout moments during the performances.
Pitchfork Festival returned to its rightful place in Union Park yesterday on Friday, July 14th, and so begins one of the best festivals of the summer. Each year, Pitchfork Festival curators do an excellent job of placing some of the best up and coming acts on the Red, Green, and Blue stages at the three day event, but this year they also wrangled in massive headliners LCD Soundsystem, Solange, and A Tribe Called Quest. This year's line up also feels more diverse and wide-reaching with genre, drawing in a large crowd early on Friday afternoon. If you weren't among the masses last night, here's what you missed at P4K Day 1.
Priests Put On A Bright and Bold Performance
Prior to the festival, we compiled seven of our most anticipated acts, and of course it included Washington DC punk band Priests. Although they got stuck with the second performance of the festival at 1:45PM on Friday, a surprisingly large number of festival attendees managed to get out of work and to The Green Stage just in time. Lead singer Katie Alice Greer had the crowd instantly wrapped around her finger with her roaring vocals and magnetic stage presence. In addition to singing back the words of popular Priests songs like "JJ" and "Appropriate," the crowd also went wild when drummer Daniele Daniele multitasked on the drums and vocals during one of the songs. If you missed their wild and captivating performance yesterday, catch them tonight at Schubas! Tickets will still be available at the door, and show starts at 8:45 with Espejos.
Frontwoman Katie Alice Greer in her bright and bold Pitchfork getup
Phil Cook Rocked The Harmonica with Hiss Golden Messenger
Based in Durham, North Carolina, Hiss Golden Messenger is the brainchild of M.C Taylor, but on his records and live performances, you never know who will show up to lend a hand. In fact, on the Facebook page for Hiss Golden Messenger, under band members it just says "M.C Taylor + pals," and on Friday afternoon, Taylor's definitely brought his pals out to play. The collaborative set of folk and alt-country music featured the likes of Ryan Gustafson on guitar, Scott Hirsch on bass, and Phil Cook on the keys. Cook brought some character into the afternoon set, multitasking on the harmonica and keys at one point, which had the crowd going wild.
Frontman M.C Taylor
Vince Staples Promoted #WearOrange
This year, Pitchfork Festival has partnered up with organizations Everytown for Gun Safety and Mothers Against Senseless Killings to promote the campaign Wear Orange, to raise awareness of the senseless gun violence that plagues Chicago. Vince Staples took the stage at 4PM Friday and performed his entire set in front of an orange backdrop with orange stage lights, lending a hand to the campaign. In addition to his powerful backdrop, Staples had the crowd screaming back his lyrics and moving nonstop during his rowdy performance.
Vince Staples rapping to a packed crowd
Frankie Cosmos Overflowed The Blue Stage
Another act on our list of can't miss performances this weekend, Frankie Cosmos and her band completely overpacked the area in front of The Blue Stage for their 5:15 PM show. As the smallest stage at the festival, The Blue Stage often gets crowded, but folks showed up early to soak in Frankie Cosmos' indie pop narratives, and the band gave it their all during each song. Keyboardist Lauren Martin danced while playing the keys and Frankie Cosmos (Greta Kline) enthusiastically played guitar, at one point dropping to the stage floor to ground all her energy into playing. If you missed their mesmerizing set, catch the band at SPACE in Evanston on September 30th!
Great Kline, AKA Frankie Cosmos playing her heart out
LCD Soundsystem Made It Smell Like Middle-Aged Sprit
Hands down the best set of the day, the seasoned musicians of LCD Soundsystem had the crowd grooving the whole time. Although they've been around for a while, the band still gave an incredibly enthusiastic performance, completely entrancing the audience. Lead singer James Murphy acknowledged their veteran status early on in the set joking "it smells like middle-aged spirit up here." In addition to the high-quality tunes, LCD Soundsystem's performance also featured topnotch production, with trippy effects added to their video projections on the big screen and of course--their trademark disco ball.
The LCD Disco Ball in Full Effect
That's all for Day 1, but don't forget to follow along on our social media for some real time updates, and check back for day 2 highlights, as well as a photo gallery of the whole weekend!
