Saturday Recap: Pitchfork Music Festival 2023
Pitchfork Day 2 kicked off Saturday, July 22nd with Chicago’s own Deeper and wrapped up with Big Thief on the main stage. The day began with a perfect forecast, but the weather had a change of plans that affected some of the performances. Still, the day provided many incredible performances. Read on for the highlights and see the full photo gallery of the day below.
The day began with members of Deeper Nic Gohl, Shiraz Bhatti, Drew McBride, and Kevin Fairbairn taking the Green stage playing an atmospheric, distorted introduction that faded into their first song, “This Heat” from their 2020 album Auto-Pain. The hometown band had a good crowd show up despite it being early in the day, and their setlist featured some of their newer singles like “Build a Bridge” and “Tele” from their upcoming third album.
Nic Gohl of Deeper
Next up, Palm was the first victim of the unexpected lightening storm that day. Just as they were about to take the Red stage for their last Chicago show ever (they’re currently on their farewell tour), security made the announcement that everyone had to get away from the stage and barricade due to lightening in the area. The music finally resumed at 2:30PM with 700 Bliss, and Palm were able to be rescheduled to play 1:15PM on the Blue stage Sunday.
Speaking of the Blue stage, Black Belt Eagle Scout gave an incredible performance there shortly after the weather delay. Black Belt Eagle Scout is the project of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Katherine Paul, and Paul was joined by two bandmates to bring her songs to the stage. Paul told the audience that this was her first time playing Pitchfork Fest as she dove into her performance. Her set was beautifully dynamic, ebbing and flowing between softer moments and crescendoing guitar solos from Paul. Paul wrapped up her set with “Indians Never Die,” a song rooted in her Swinomish culture and commentary on the harsh reality that the government doesn’t respect Indigenous land. About this song, Paul has said “Indians never die because this is our land that we will forever protect in the present and the afterlife.”
Katherine Paul of Black Belt Eagle Scout
Next up, MJ Lenderman and his live band performed on the Red stage as it began to drizzle rain. Forget about rock n’ roll—Lenderman’s set was rain n’ twang! Lenderman’s set was one of my favorite of the day as it evoked those feel-good festival vibes. His live band featured a slide guitarist and two drummers, including Spencer Tweedy on one of the kits— we even got to hear some cowbell from Tweedy. More cowbell! An extended jam at the end of Lenderman’s song “Rudolph” showcased the intricate musicality he and his bandmates have.
MJ Lenderman performing
Vagabon took the Blue stage next, but only got part way into her second song before the weather struck again. The audience was upset about the delay and ultimate cancellation of the singer’s set, but they applauded in support of her brief performance.
With the pause in music, I made my way over to the DoorDash Backstage interview stage and got to hear a brief part of Weyes Blood’s interview before the entire fest ended up being put on hold. After a short on-site weather delay, the festival eventually announced an evacuation the grounds.
The hour and a half break in the performances unfortunately meant that Panda Bear’s and Snail Mail’s sets were also cancelled for the day. Originally, there had been a devastating lineup conflict between Julia Jacklin and Snail Mail performing at the same time on the Blue and Red stages, respectively, but the 5:15PM slot was part of the evacuation. Jacklin got to perform a delayed and brief solo set over on the Blue stage when the gates reopened around 6:00 PM, but the main stage performance had to carry on with King Krule at his original time slot.
King Krule, the project of English musician Archy Ivan Marshall, made for a great official welcome back to the festival grounds. The front row was full of dedicated fans, who screamed in joy when they saw the musician appear on stage. I think they would have been equally excited if the weather delay hadn’t happened, but they seemed even more happy that one of their most anticipated sets was able to go on as planned.
Archy Ivan Marshall AKA King Krule
Later that evening, I caught a few minutes of Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul closing out the Blue stage for the evening. They brought the dancy, care-free vibes along with so much bass that you could feel it in your chest.
Natalie Laura Mering, AKA Weyes Blood, closed out the Red stage simultaneously, donning a flowing white gown and cape that complemented her ethereal vocals. Towards the end of her set, rain began to fall again, drizzling at first and then rapidly picking up. Still, the show went on, and dedicated fans remained smiling and singing along to her songs like “Everyday” and “Do You Need My Love.” During her second to last song, “Twin Flame,” Mering’s dress lit up like her heart was glowing, as in the title of her most recent album And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow.” Her dress featured more visual projections for the final song “Movies,” this time mimicking waves of water.
Weyes Blood performing in the rain
Saturday wrapped up with Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik, and James Krivchenia of Big Thief returning to the Pitchfork Fest stage, this time as headliners. The band made quite the entrance, with Oleartchik being carried onto the stage in a mermaid (or merman?) tail. Krivchenia also wore a bright orange, bedazzled outfit that contrasted with Lenker’s more casual flannel and Meek’s button down and blazer combo, but once they started playing, everyone honed in on the music. Big Thief’s setlist heavily featured songs from their most recent album, 2022’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, as well as their brand new single “Vampire Empire.”
The infamous mermaid tail
You can see more photos of all of these performances below, and stay tuned for coverage of day 3!
