After and eventful first dayat Pitchfork 2017, we returned to Union Park for another full day of music. During the second day, we managed to watch more than ten bands, but here are the moments that stood out as the top five highlights!
Jeff Rosenstock Became Obsessed Over The Wave
Brooklyn based punk rocker Jeff Rosenstock had the crowd at The Red Stage getting rowdy before the clock struck 2PM on Saturday. From the get go, Rosenstock expressed his elation about his band being invited to play at Pitchfork, even joking at one point that the person who invited his band to play must have gotten fired. Early on in his set, Rosenstock requested that the huge crowd did the wave, shortly after asking, "What if we do a converging wave, and when it gets to the center, everyone just does spirit fingers?" (The crowd happily obliged again). Rosenstock kept the crowd hooked for the remainder of his set with his humorous stage presence and lighthearted songs that had the crowd screaming back the lyrics. If you didn't roll out of bed on time to see him yesterday, catch him tonight at The Beat Kitchen!
Jeff Rosenstock rocking The Red Stage
Cherry Glazerr Crawled On Stage
Los Angeles based rock band Cherry Glazzer played a very sold out show at Schubas Tavern on Friday in advance of their Pitchfork Fest performance, and as one of the buzziest bands around at the moment, it's no surprise The Blue Stage viewing area filled up quickly for their 2:45PM show. Known for her outlandish stage presence, lead singer Clementine Creevy entered the stage by crawling to her mic stand. As the performance continued, Creevy continued her boisterous antics, making faces at the crowd and working the entire stage. Definitely one of the most entertaining sets at Pitchfork so far, Cherry Glazerr is a band you don't want to miss live.
Clementine Creevy crawling onstage
Mitski Was So Grateful She Almost Cried
"I can't thank you enough," Mitski told the crowd early on during her afternoon set, which followed Cherry Glazerr's show at The Blue Stage. Although she's quite the contrast to the over-the-top Cherry Glazerr set, Mitski drew in a massive crowd with her mellow narratives, which provided a nice break from the fast-paced day. Mitski first mesmerized the crowd with her soft, ethereal vocals, but quickly showed off her chops when the pace gradually picked up and she held out a roaring note towards the end of her set. Mitski reiterated her appreciation of the crowd saying, "This has been my dream since I was a little girl," her voice wavering with her thanks. If you missed Mitski's compelling set, she'll be back in October with The Pixies.
Mitski singing her heartfelt songs
Francis Climbed a Tree
Francis Farewell Starlite, the man behind Francis and the Lights, has collaborated with everyone from Bon Iver, Kanye West, and Chance the Rapper, recently remixing his song "May I Have This Dance" with the latter. That new collaboration coupled with Chance's tendency to show up announced at Chicago festivals had the crowd buzzing with rumors about a Chancis (Francis + Chance) performance. Although Chance never did end up joining Francis during his set, Francis kept the crowd glued to him the entire time, darting around from one end of the empty stage to the next as he sang over his tracks like "See Her Out (Thats Just Life)" and "I Want You To Shake" from his debut album Farewell, Starlite! Towards the end of his set, Francis took the energy up a notch, climbing a rig on the side of the stage and eventually making his way over to a tree next to the stage to climb that. Francis's Pitchfork performance reinforced his captivating stage presence as a musician and as an entertainer.
Francis and the trees
A Tribe Called Quest Brought On Nostalgia
Although it's been a while since they've toured and the iconic 80's hip hop group lost one of their founding members Phife Dawg last year, when A Tribe Called Quest hit the stage at 8:30PM Saturday, the energy at Union Park reached an all time high. Festival goers of all ages could be spotted screaming the lyrics back to the stage, which was lit up by the constantly-changing graphics and videos designed for this farewell tour by A Tribe Called Quest. The remaining members of the tribe also paid tribute to Phife Dawg, leaving an empty mic stand on stage in his memory. The nostalgic performance wrapped up about two minutes before the noise curfew of the festival and left the crowd wandering out of the park in awe of the historic performance.
A Tribe Called Quest making their Chicago comeback
Day 2 also included incredible performances from Vagabon, PJ Harvey, Angel Olsen, and more. Stay tuned for a photo gallery of the whole weekend, featuring photos of performances across the entire weekend, and follow along on our socials for real time updates of the third and final day of Pitchfork!
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!
Undoubtedly the best Chicago street fest line up of the summer, the Empty Bottle Presents stage at West Fest hosted a wide variety of musicians over the course of the July 7th-9th weekend. Although the stage's lineup also included more established acts like Har Mar Superstar and Local H, our favorite sets included Chicagoans Post Animal and DEHD. If you couldn't attend the festival, get a glimpse of what you missed with our photo gallery featuring both of the aforementioned bands as well as Woods and Palehound!
Hometown heroes Twin Peaks played their last show in Chicago on Friday before they head off on a month-long European tour. Although the seated show at Taste of Chicago made for a pretty tame crowd, the band still delivered an energetic performance, supporting headliner Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals. Check out the full gallery of Twin Peaks' performance below!
Chicago, Twin Peaks will be DJing at Culture Collide's Lolla kickoff party with Mac DeMarco. RSVP for the free show here. The band will also be touring with Spoon in the fall and playing Audiotree Festival! Check out all of their tour dateshereand listen to theirlive LP Urbs in Horto below.
Minneapolis based bands DEM YUUT and Now, Nowshared the Lincoln Hall stage this past Friday evening to deliver a rare performance on their short cross-country tour. New project DEM YUUT kicked off the evening, bringing their unique and experimental sound to the Chicago venue. Members of DEM YUUT later joined Now, Now for one of their first live shows in three years. Check out the photo gallery of the evening and stay tuned for an interview with DEM YUUT.
Now, Now continues their US tour throughout the week, with shows still left on the east and west coasts. Check out all of the remaining dates and grab tickets here.Now, Now will also return to Illinois for Pygmalion Fest in September. Get ready for their upcoming shows by listening to their newest single, SGL.
Wolf Alice made their live comeback in Chicago, after taking a hiatus from the road to write and record their new album Visions of a Life. Their intimate set at Schubas Tavern included brand new, live debuts of a few songs from the upcoming album. Check out the photo gallery and the set list from the night!
With so many acts over the course of nearly two weeks, the highlights reel of Summerfest is endless. The festival kicked off June 28th, and headliners range from classics like Paul Simon and Tom Petty to new popstars like The Chainsmokers and Alessia Cara. With over ten stages, those are just the tip of the iceberg.
This past Saturday, we traveled to Milwaukee to get in on some of the fun by checking out the likes of The Naked and Famous and Bleachers. In case you missed it, here are the top three moments of that day, as well as the full photo gallery!
Flint Eastwood Called The Crowd Out
I've only had to privilege of seeing Flint Eastwood perform twice now, but both times, she's blown me away with her endless supply of positive energy. Some performers, especially those at festivals, accept the fact that the whole crowd isn't there to see them, but Jax Anderson (Flint Eastwood's real name) doesn't let anyone use that as excuse to not get involved with the music. "Nobody is too cool for this," Anderson addressed the Milwaukee crowd, encouraging everyone to stand up, put their hands up, and sing the hook of her song "Monster" back to her. "We're going for loud, not pretty," Anderson also told the Summerfest audience, encouraging everyone to give as much energy as possible. By the end of the set, everyone had loosened up and reciprocated the energy that Anderson exudes during every single one of her shows.
MUNA Performed New Songs
The trio MUNA were everywhere last summer, playing major festivals like Lollapalooza and touring with Børns...and it doesn't seem to be slowing down this year. Fronted by Chicagoan Katie Gavin, the now LA-based group also consisting of Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson are on the road with Bleachers currently, and they will be out with Harry Styles in the fall (no big deal). Despite their insane touring schedule, Gavin introduced two of their songs performed during Summerfest as new ones, called "In My Way" and "Loser." MUNA's debut album just came out in February, so as a big fan of their work, it's pretty exciting to hear there's already new material in the works.
Bleachers Reminisced...and Then Stripped
Shortly before Jack Antonoff's band Bleachers took the stage as headliners on Saturday night, Michelle from FM 1021 (the local alternative station) introduced them, reminding the crowd that Bleachers had played one of their first ever shows at Summefest 2014. Well, Michelle isn't the only one that remembers that performance...about halfway through their set, Antonoff recalled bandmate Mikey taking his sweatshirt off during the 2014 set and the crowd going wild. Mikey proceeded to take off his jacket, getting the same rowdy response this time around. The band also performed new songs from the latest Bleachers album, Gone Now.
Photo gallery of The Naked and Famous, Flint Eastwood, Calum Scott, MUNA, and Bleachers.
Tel Aviv group Lola Marshplayed their first ever show in Chicago on Thursday night at Schubas Tavern. Check out the full gallery of their captivating and charismatic set.
