Pitchfork Music Festival 2024: Saturday Highlights
Pitchfork Music Fest returned for day two at Union Park on Saturday, July 20th, with another perfect day of weather and a musical line up that focused on good old fashioned rock n’ roll in the early afternoon and pivoted to pop queens and dance beats in the later hours.
The day began with some local love thanks to Chicago’s own Lifeguard opening the fest on the Green Stage. They kickstarted the rock-focused performances with their grungy, indie sound and had the early afternoon crowd enthralled. As I listened to their set, I overheard an audience member say, “I LOVE Lifeguard! The fact that these teenagers are rocking so hard like a band from the 90’s is insane.”
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
Next up, L'Rain, the moniker for artist Taja Cheek, and her band slowed down the tempo and projected a calm demeanor out to the crowd with their ambient, experimental sound that helped get everyone in the right headspace for a full day at a festival.
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
Another Chicago-based artist, Kara Jackson, hit the Green stage next, and she brought along other Chicago music icons to play in her band, including Sen Morimoto, Macie Stewart and Kaina— all of whom have played past Pitchfork Fests. Kara’s set opened with her popular cover of Karen Dalton’s song “Right, Wrong or Ready” before moving onto her single “no fun/party” from her 2023 debut album. During the second song, Jackson said, “I’ve done this song a billion times in the last year or so. It gets really boring sometimes but I realized it reminded me of one of my favorite other song that maybe some of you have heard before” as she slipped in a snippet of SZA’s “Love Galore.”
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
From there the tempo ramped back up with a slew of bands that all complemented each other’s sounds well. First, New York’s Hotline TNT riled up the Blue Stage, starting off their set telling the audience “Let’s go fucking crazy today” as the band and audience fed off of each other’s energy. Feeble Little Horse followed, drawing in a large crowd over at the Red Stage, especially for the early afternoon timeslot. “We’re so happy to be opening for Carly Rae Jepsen,” the band joked— adding in “And Karly from Wednesday. You should see them too.” Both Hotline TNT and Feeble Little Horse’s sounds had similar grunge elements as Lifeguard.
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
Before we got to the first Karly of the day, Water From Your Eyes hit the Blue Stage next. Lead vocalist Rachel Brown took the stage saying, “What’s up Chicago? Who likes alternative rock music?” once again keeping up the theme of Saturday’s afternoon line up. Brown also told the crowd that they were currently experiencing a lingering cough following a case of laryngitis, which they chalked up to as karma for sneaking into Pitchfork Festival ten years ago when they were a teenager.
Photo by Kenn Box
Asheville alternative rockers Wednesday, which includes vocalist Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman (who actually played Pitchfork Fest last year), hit the Green Stage next. The group amped up the volume and showcased Hartzman’s signature scream vocals as they played songs from their 2023 album Rat Saw God as well as some newer unreleased material. Wednesday’s set also included a cover of “Women Without Whiskey” by Drive-By Truckers.
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
As the day slipped into the evening hours, the vibes of Pitchfork crept more towards a dance party, starting with the legendary hip hop group De La Soul performing some of their iconic songs like “Me Myself and I” alongside a cover of “Simon Says” by Pharoahe Monch— the latter of which featured a guest appearance by Monch himself.
Photo by Pooneh Ghana
Pitchfork Fest began the descent into evening by journeying into pop music for my favorite set of the day from Jessie Ware. The singer and her band brought a full production packed with choreographed dance numbers and dazzling outfits. Ware herself donned a sparkling jumpsuit featuring cape sleeves and sequins that radiated from the evening sun, while her backup dancers also sported vests bedazzled in sequins. While Jessie showcased her flawless vocals and diva-belting abilities, she also connected to the crowd with her humbled and hilarious stage banter. “This is my favorite city in The States to play,” she proclaimed as she continued to shout out some of her long-time supporters from Chicago by their first names. Ware’s dancers shone as they did flips and lifted the singer up, but Ware also made sure to include the fans in their choreography as she performed her song “Beautiful People.” Everyone got into the crowd-participation dancing as Jessie told everyone to “stand up, turn around, take a bow.” The singer even joked that security could join in. As I’ve mentioned, several of the artists performed covers during their sets today—and who doesn’t love a good cover during a festival set? Jessie Ware’s show was no exception as she performed a rendition of Cher’s hit “Believe,” jumping down from the stage to sing with fans along the barricades.
Photo by Pooneh Ghana
Meanwhile Bratmobile kept the rock presence alive over on the Blue stage. They brought their riot grrrl songs like “Brat Girl” and “Panik” to the fest. True to the cover-song theme of the day, they also performed a cover of “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways.
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
Carly Rae Jepsen flipped the switch back to pop over at the Red Stage, entering to “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and rocking a sparkling sequin dress. Jepsen’s stage backdrop consisted of a disco ball screen that changed colors depending on the song. Jepsen also set up her songs with some fun stage banter, saying “Are you guys ready to run away with us tonight?” before her hit “Run Away With Me” and joking that she sometimes forgets the words to “Call Me Maybe” so she she’d need the audiences help singing along. The crowd happily obliged to singing and dancing along, and Jepsen also came down from the stage to sing with fans along the barricade.
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
The dance party wrapped up the second day of the rest with a headlining set from Jamie xx.
Photo by Kimberley Ross
Check out highlights from the first day of the festival here and stay tuned for the final day.