Friday morning and early afternoon did end up having some rain showers, but by the time singer songwriter Julie Byrne took the stage just before 3PM, the drizzle had died down, leaving a cloudy, cool breeze in the air. Bryne's mellow music and ethereal vocals perfectly complimented the gray skies, giving everyone a tranquil introduction to their festival weekend. Byrne's live band also included a rare harpist, which further hypnotized the crowd and eased them into what would inevitably be a long weekend of lots of great music. Byrne also gave a shout out to Chicago when she reminisced on her time she spent living here, before playing her song "Melting Grid" from her 2017 album Not Even Happiness.
Most of the time when solo artists perform live, they're joined by a live band to help them fill out the arrangements and make a more dynamic performance, but Julien Baker took the stage at Pitchfork completely alone at the beginning of her set. Armed with her guitar and her powerful vocals, Baker completely captivated the large crowd that overflowed the area around the Blue Stage, opening with "Turn Out The Lights." After performing the title track of her latest album, the chilling track "Appointments" from the same album, Baker was eventually joined by a violinist, who added a special touch to Baker's narratives. Again, it's rare to witness a solo performance as powerful as Baker's but with her vocal gusto and emotive stage presence, her shows are always something special.
Lead vocalist of The Internet and solo artist SYD hit one of the festival's main stages in the early evening hours, bringing her silky smooth vocals and effortlessly cool demeanor to the growing crowd. Earlier that day, The Internet had released their brand new album Hive Mind, and fans and Pitchfork were eager to see if any of the new songs would make it into SYD's solo set. After performing songs like "All About Me" and "Got Her Own" from 2017's Fin, as well as her Kaytranada collaboration "You're The One," SYD did in fact bring out some of The Internet to perform a few of their brand new tracks. The hypnotizing set finished with one of The Internet's most popular tracks, "Girl," allowing for the audience to get the full experience of SYD's discography.
It seem's like the members of Brooklyn's Big Thief never take a day off; after releasing full albums in 2016 and 2017 and touring in between, Buck Meek of the group also somehow managed to release his debut solo album and tour it this year. Buck Meek has played a couple of times in Chicago as his solo project, but this performance at Pitchfork was the first time the full band had played a show in town this year, and they were welcomed back by the Chicago audience with open arms as they performed crowd favorites from both of their albums. Their show stood out among all of the performances of the weekend with lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker's emotive delivery of her narratives and the magnetic chemistry among the group.
Before Courtney Barnett performed as the second to last act on Friday, flocks of fans had gathered in front of the red stage, anxiously buzzing for the Australian singer to take the stage. A lone fan started a chant for their apparent favorite song off Barnett's new album Tell Me How You Really Feel: "Nameless, Faceless." Before long, the majority of the crowd was chanting the song title along with the no longer lone fan and the anticipation for the show peaked. Barnett and her band rewarded the enthusiastic audience with another stand out set of the weekend, amplifying the already high energy on the studio versions of Barnett's records.
Following Courtney Barnett's set, fellow Australians in Tame Impala hit the Green stage, closing out the first night of the festival. Before they even walked onstage, trippy lighting and visuals illuminated the stage, prefacing their psychedelic rock tunes. A couple of songs in, the rain that had been looming in the forecast all day finally fell upon the massive crowd watching Tame Impala, falling just after the band had already showered the front rows with confetti. The rain couldn't put a damper on the infectiously jovial mood of the audience, and the rain even added another dynamic layer to the multicolored visuals swirling around on the stage screens. Just as soon as it hit though, the rain had passed leaving the crowd to dance around in the aftermath of the storm.
Chicago's own Paul Cherry checked a huge accomplishment off his bucket list when he opened up the second day of the festival. Cherry brought his dreamy psych-pop debut album to life with the help of a full band, which included Kevin Krauter from Hoops and Mat Roberts from Mild High Club. The super group performed the 2018 album Flavour in full--"even the instrumentals," as Cherry pointed out. Although the early set definitely had a thinner crowd than the later performances, plenty of festival goers made sure to get there on time and show their support to one of their own.
Singer songwriter Zola Jesus took the stage in the early afternoon to suspenseful introduction music, donning a layered red dress that covered her entire body and face. She began her set singing through the garment, eventually pushing the red veil back to reveal her face. The extensive catalog of Zola Jesus explores different sonic pockets, ranging from delicate piano melodies to ominous synths, but her powerful and evocative vocals always stand out on her records. During her Pitchfork performance, Zola Jesus and her band brought all those aspects of her records to life, pairing them with a simple yet theatrical production featuring her outfit and choreography. Despite the heaviness of her songs, between them, the singer made light-hearted banter with the crowd, shouting out any audience members from Wisconsin, where she had attended college.
Moses Sumney's incredible vocal range and live band lineup that even included orchestral instruments would have been enough to make his set stand out as a highlight, but his showmanship and interaction with the audience is what really set his show apart from others. Sumney worked the entire stage as he played songs from his 2017 album Aromanticism and his latest single "Make Out in My Car," giving the whole audience his attention throughout the show. Towards the end of his set, Sumney got even more up close and personal with the crowd when he left the stage to walk up and down the catwalk barricade in front of the stage.
Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad, better known as Girlpool took the Blue Stage on Saturday afternoon, providing festival goers a chance to sit back and relax to their laidback indie rock tunes. Girlpool have a sound that's instantly like-able, drawing in a huge crowd of both their avid listeners as well as curious passerby looking to discover new music at a festival. Between songs, the pair made witty banter to keep the entertainment rolling; Harmony Tividad even reminisced about Myspace at one point, sipping Gatorade and recalling that she had once included the drink in her Myspace bio. The duo's natural stage presence continued to add another layer to their performance, making them a fan favorite.
Dev Hynes, known by his stage name Blood Orange, returned to Pitchfork Music Festival this year, delivering a full production and new music. Hynes and his full band performed in front of revolving videos being projected on the screen behind them. In addition to the visual layer added to the performance, Hynes added choreography and dance moves as well as backup singers to fill out the layered production. While most of the set consisted of tracks from his 2016 album Freetown Sound, Hynes threw a couple of new songs in, including "Charcoal Baby" from his upcoming album Negro Swan, out August 24th.
Evanston rapper and producer has been buzzed about in Chicago for a couple of years now, but his early Sunday performance marked his Pitchfork Chicago debut. Despite his 2:30PM start time on the third of the festival and the rainy morning, Collins still drew a large crowd of enthusiastic fans. Among the throngs of festival goers echoing the lyrics back to Collins, he recognized some of the audience members as his former high school classmates. Being 21, Collins admitted that his high school days weren't that long ago, but you could tell it meant a lot to him to have some hometown support. Collins also used his performance time to put his platform to good use; during his set he addressed one of the common issues at music festivals. "Guys watch your space. Your presence is not a burden until you make that shit a burden," continuing on to add that if we all go about it the right way and be respectful, everyone can have a great time. His statement set the tone for the final day of the festival and left everyone walking away with a smile.
Immediately following Kweku Collins' performance, another young Chicago artist took the Red Stage across the way: Ravyn Lenae. The R&B singer certainly made an entrance when she sauntered onstage draped in a sparkling fringe dress and carrying a microphone covered in red faux fur. Lenae's impressive range and vocal chops backed up her glittery stage set up, and she quickly had the crowd wrapped around her finger. Early on in her set, Lenae asked for the audience to raise their pinkies and promise to dance and sing along to her music, and they happily obliged.
Michelle Zauner, known under her moniker of Japanese Breakfast, made her Pitchfork Festival debut with her usual exuberant stage presence, projecting that positivity out into the crowd. Following her incredible set that featured songs from her two albums as well as a cover of "Dreams" by The Cranberries, Zauner returned to the Blue Stage a short time later, this time joining her former tour mate (Sandy) Alex G during his set. The two had toured together in 2017, and at Pitchfork they reunited to perform the crowd favorite "Brite Boy."
Chicago remained the name of the game on Sunday at Pitchfork; following the performances of Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Kweku Collins, and Ravyn Lenae, the Chicago acts just kept rolling. Rapper Noname delivered a special show with her full backing band and a few guest appearances from her fellow Chicagoans Ravyn Lenae, Smino, Saba, and Joseph Chilliams. The guests during Noname's set showcased the collaborative nature in this city's music scene.
The legendary Chaka Khan, another Chicago native, took the Red Stage next, keeping the hometown theme going. Her set consisted of nonstop hits, from her solo songs like "I'm Every Woman" to "Ain't Nobody," as well as songs from her funk band Rufus, the crowd never stopped singing along.
Throughout the entire day and even the entire weekend, festival goers continued to speculate if Lauryn Hill would show up, and if she did show up, how late she would be. The legendary artist has earned herself an infamous reputation for cancelling shows last minute or showing up hours late. Needless to say, no one really had high expectations as the night began to come to a close and the headliner was scheduled to begin, but everyone got a pleasant surprise when Ms. Hill's DJ took the stage right on time. After about thirty minutes of hype brought on by the DJ and her other band members who began to trickle onstage, Lauryn Hill finally graced the Green Stage, rewarding the swarm of eager fans that spanned multiple generations. The weekend ended on a high note as the festival goers got to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill with the icon, who has since cancelled some of her upcoming tour dates.
Who: Singer, songwriter, musician and producer extraordinaire Paul Cherry has become a staple in the Chicago rock scene with his dreamy bedroom psych-pop tunes. While rejuvenated psych rock has been done by many over the last few years, Cherry stands out with his signature reverb vocals and quirky textures used on his debut album Flavour, released March 31st by Feeltrip Records. Following the album release, Cherry spent weeks on the road promoting it, joining Post Animal for a leg of their last national tour. With his recent announcement of a European tour, it doesn't look like Paul Cherry's tour schedule will be slowing down any time soon, so make sure you catch him in town this weekend. After his Saturday set at the festival, you can catch an official Pitchfork aftershow at Schubas on Sunday, July 22nd featuring Paul Cherry, Bunny, and Slow Pulp--get tickets here.
Fun fact: Paul Cherry produced Anna Burch's album and sometimes plays in her touring band.
When: Saturday, 1PM on the Green Stage
For Fans Of: Mild High Club, Post Animal, levitation room
Start With: "Hey Girl," "Like Yesterday," and "So Easy"
Who: 21-year-old rapper, producer, songwriter, and Evanston-native Kweku Collins makes his Chicago Pitchfork Festival debut this weekend (he played the annual Pitchfork Paris fest in 2016), and it certainly seems like it's been a long time coming. Despite his young age, Collins' discography holds a certain depth to it, which makes sense when you consider he grew up in a musical family and has been playing music for essentially his whole life. Collins' air of experience mixed with his refreshing take on hip hop has earned him endless praise for his debut Nat Love (2016) and the more recent grey EP released in 2017. The traction he's gained has taken him on to tour the country and play major festivals like our own Lollapalooza, so do not miss him this Sunday. If you're not going to the festival, you can also catch Collins at Schubas on July 21st--grab tickets here.
When: Sunday, 2:30PM on the Green Stage
For Fans Of: Vic Mensa, Kid Cudi, Frank Ocean
Start With: "Lonely Lullabies" "Stupid Rose," "Vanilla Skies"
Who: Self-proclaimed art rockers The Curls have created a stand-out sound in a scene that can sometimes seem oversaturated. With multiple vocalists and the incorporation of different instrumentalists, the group has a chameleon-like quality, pulling together aspects of genres like psych, pop, and jazz to craft something of their own. Their last record, 2017's Super Unit, boasts ten tracks that sound nothing alike, in the best possible way. Their flexible and varying sound will be sure to keep audience members on their toes during their Pitchfork set, so make sure you don't miss it. Just in case you might get stuck at work and miss the very first set of the entire festival, you can also catch The Curls at The Hideout on Friday night with Deeper--get tickets here.
When: Friday, 1PM on the Green Stage
For Fans Of: OHMME, Lala Lala, Palm
Start With: "Prickly Feelings," "I Can't Tell U," "Do It Right"
Who: Noise-rock group Melkbelly has continuously garnered buzz among the masses in Chicago's DIY scene since 2014, when friends of artistic and musical backgrounds came together to create this new project. After releasing their debut full length Nothing Valley last October via Wax Nine Records, the outfit has performed all across the city; From Thalia Hall to the Empty Bottle and Schubas to The Hideout, you'd be hard pressed to find a venue Melkbelly hasn't played. This weekend, the band can tick one more landmark achievement off their bucket list when they play Pitchfork Fest. If you've hit your Friday afternoon slump, this band will be sure to crank up the volume and get your blood flowing during their early Friday afternoon set. You can also check out Melkbelly with fellow Pitchfork performer Nnamdi Ogbonnaya at their official aftershow on Saturday, July 21st at SubT--grab tickets here.
When: Friday, 1:45 PM on the Red Stage
For Fans Of: NE-HI, Flasher, Wolf Alice
Start With: "Kid Kreative," "Off the Lot," "Greedy Gull"
Who: Songwriter, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya has become a seasoned musician playing in bands like Monobody and Ittō, but when he's not behind the drumkit, he's working on his own solo project. As a solo artist, Ogbonnaya doesn't shy away from the strange, creating completely unique eclectic hip hop tunes, like those on his 2017 album DROOL. His exuberance and busy beats will be sure to get you moving early on the final day of the festival. Like all of these artists, you have a second chance to catch Ogbonnaya if you find yourself running on empty on Sunday morning; he'll be playing with Melkbelly on Saturday at the SubT. Grab tickets here.
When: Sunday, 1PM on the Green Stage
For Fans Of: Shamir, Knox Fortune, Danny Brown
Start With: "hOp Off," "let gO Of my EgO," "nO drOOl"
