Live Recap: Pitchfork Festival 2022 Day 3
The third day of Pitchfork Festival took place on Sunday, July 17th, with breezy and cloudy weather conditions to go along with all the chill vibes.
I began my day catching a set from Taja Cheek, AKA L’Rain, and the beginning of her set featured a calming reset for all fest goers. Cheek asked everyone in the audience to take a deep breath and close their eyes, saying, “this is the only time in the history of the world that all us will be together in this space.” It was the perfect reminder to be more present with current experiences, and felt like the Calm app IRL. For the remainder of the set, Cheek’s silky smooth vocals and chill energy kept the vibes going.
Next up, Chicago’s own Kaina took the Green Stage and continued the breezy tones. “I’m from Chicago and this is my first time playing Pitchfork. I’m so emotional to be here,” Kaina told the audience. L’Rain’s set earlier had featured a saxophonist in the band, lending a soulful touch to her music— and the saxophone trend only continued with Kaina’s show. Her band features fellow Chicagoan and multi-instrumentalist Sen Morimoto, who played the sax during Kaina’s Pitchfork debut. The show featured some of Kaina’s newer music from the 2022 album It Was a Home, as well as a few from her 2019 album Next to The Sun. Kaina didn’t let her set end without giving props to her bandmates— “Pitchfork, please give it up for the band, these are my best friends,” she said.
Sunday was the day of the festival where I was least familiar with the artists on the lineup, so it was my day of discovery. One act that I experienced blindly was Sofia Kourtesis. Kourtesis is originally from Lima, Peru, but based in Berlin, Germany and her music captures a perfect blend of her hometown and current base by blending EDM sounds with Lantinx flare. Her set was at 2:45 PM but it felt like we are all in a nightclub in Berlin with the amount of bass and beat building she did in her performance. The crowd was very into her performance, and Kourtesis returned the enthusiasm by saying “We had a very hard time coming here, but to see your faces makes it worth it.”
Next up, I caught a few minutes of Injury Reserve on the Red Stage, and it was another first-time discovery for me. The hip hop group from Tempe, AZ is composed of Ritchie with a T and Parker Corey, and the duo performed their set on a hazy, fog-filled stage.
BADBADNOTGOOD unfortunately had to drop off from the Sunday lineup due to illness, but we got to experience Natural Information Society in their place. I saw the ensemble recently open up for Kurt Vile at Thalia Hall, but they switched it up at Pitchfork Festival by playing one long piece for the entirety of their set. The band set up included brass instruments, woodwinds, and of course— a saxophonist! Sunday’s line up was essentially “more saxophone!” instead of “more cowbell!”
Noname was up next back at the Red Stage, delivering another dose of hometown pride to the festival ground. Noname has played that same stage at Pitchfork Festival before, but this was definitely the most packed I’ve seen the audience. Fans were loudly screaming her lyrics back at her, and it was obvious Noname was very appreciative of the support. Her set also had a guest appearance from rapper The Mind.
After almost a full day of no rain, the clouds eventually opened up and we got a brief shower of downpour that had some fans scattering towards trees and the record fair tents for cover. The rain also caused a short delay for the next sets from Earl Sweatshirt and Tirzah, who played at the Green and Blue Stages respectively. Lots of fans stuck it out and rejoiced when Earl Sweatshirt and his DJ finally took the stage. Earl Sweatshirt kept the chill vibes going, telling the crowd he came out in flip flips. Despite being laidback, he did try to rile up an empty spot in the crowd, but realized there was a huge mud pit that prevented everyone from packing into that section.
Toro y Moi closed out the Red Stage with some funky, electronic-based grooves. The set started out kind of slowed and subdued, but continued to pick up to a point where the whole crowd was dancing along. Setlist highlights included “The Difference” and “Ordinary Pleasure.”
The Blue Stage wrapped up for the entire weekend with a delightful set from Cate Le Bon. Le Bon put on a very polished and serene performance, which included songs like “Pompeii,” the title track of her latest album, and fan favorite “Moderation.” Her band also included a (you guessed it) saxophonist, bringing the daily sax count up yet again.
The Roots closed out the entirety of Pitchfork Fest 2022 with a bang, bringing their feel-good tunes to the Sunday evening audience. Their set was a non-stop medley of dance-inducing grooves— from the performance of “Jungle Boogie” at the start of the set to “Move On Up” at the end, they kept the hits coming. Their set also featured a guest appearance from Hannibal Buress, who had done a DJ set in the new Zelle tent earlier in the weekend.
See the full photo recap of Sunday below, and make sure to revisit the day 1 and day 2 recaps.
