PREVIEW: Pitchfork Festival
By: Easton Parks
Pitchfork Festival is back to provide the best live music and festival experience to the city of Chicago this summer.
Friday
Jai Paul
Jai Paul (XL Recordings)
FFO: Frank Ocean, James Blake, Blood Orange
Must-listens: "BTSTU," "Str8 Outta Mumbai," “Jasmine (Demo)”
Set Time: 7:25-8:25 Red Stage
Jai Paul is a British record producer and recording artist from Rayners Lane, London, England. With his career mainly shrouded in mystery from a leaked album a decade ago to a long hiatus from music, his impact has been felt through popular music whether you’re familiar with him or not. Pioneering alternative R&B in the late 00’s and early 10’s his international retrofuturism begs to be danced to. Not only is this his first time playing in Chicago, but there might never be a chance to see Jai Paul again in this area, especially to this magnitude, making it a must this year.
billy woods and Kenny Segal
billy woods (Alexander Richter)
FFO: Quelle Chris, Mach-Hommy, JPEGMAFIA
Must-listens: “Soft Landing,” “Checkpoints,” “Kenwood Speakers”
Set Time: 4:15-5:10 Green Stage
Carrying that topic of mystery from our past artist highlight, billy woods is very similar in light to such mysteries. Opting not to show his face in any pictures, either blurring or covering it, creates a good mystique for his music. A champion of underground and abstract hip-hop through his solo projects of collaborations like his group Armand Hammer, he brings producer Kenny Segal with him to Chicago. Their 2023 collaboration Maps was one of the best albums from last year and bringing that energy to the Chi will be splendid.
Amen Dunes
Amen Dunes (Michael Schmelling)
FFO: Angel Olson, Kevin Morby, Aldous Harding
Must-listens: “Purple Land,” “Believe,” “Boys”
Set Time: 5:15-6:00 Blue Stage
Coming off May’s Death Jokes, New York’s very own Amen Dunes graces us with his brand of neo-psychedelic sound collage and sometimes just straightforward indie music. While his newest project takes time to digest (in a good way) there’s something instantly captivating about his live sets. Be prepared for an anxious feeling from beautiful music and try not to be overcome with dread, instead lean into that restlessness and enjoy this thought-provoking set.
Saturday
Feeble little horse
feeble little horse (Saddle Creek)
FFO: Wednesday, bar italia, MJ Lenderman
Must-listens: “Freak,” “Steamroller,” “Tin Man”
Set Time: 3:20-4:10 Red Stage
After canceling a tour following the release of their album Girl with Fish last year, feeble little horse makes its way to Chicago across a few dates for the remainder of the year. Superbly textured guitar passages makes way for a band on the rise with splashes of shoegaze and lofi instrumentals amidst ethereal and catchy hooks. This is an indie fan's wet dream of a festival placement is the only time one will find feeble little horse live this summer.
Kara Jackson
Kara Jackson (Mercedes Zapata)
FFO: Joni Mitchell, Joanna Sternberg, L’Rain
Must-listens: “pawnshop,” “no fun/party,” “brain”
Set Time: 2:30-3:15 Green Stage
Poet and singer-songwriter Kara Jackson brings the most well-written lyrics to Pitchfork Festival this year. Accompanied by her folk textures and cadence she makes any setting intimate and captivating with an incredibly soulful voice. Leaving the audience with questions such as the title of her debut album Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? this former Youth Poet Laureate is bound to make some lifelong fans on Saturday.
Hotline TNT
Hotline TNT (Camila Trimberger-Ruiz)
FFO: Ratboys, MJ Lenderman, Wednesday
Must-listens: “Protocol,” “Beauty Filter,” “Had 2 Try”
Set Time: 2:45-3:30 Blue Stage
Featured in our most recent DRIVE issue and verified “friends of Emmie”, Hotline TNT’s harsh indie rock is going to melt even the coolest of persons. Hotline TNT is more well known in the indiegaze realm that often champions Midwest culture with commitments to DIY sound and is no stranger to the area. Fans of shoegaze and jangle pop will be bloated after eating up a set that’s mostly played in small cap rooms but will fill out a festival so well. Trust me.
Sunday
Model/Actriz
Model/Actriz (True Panther Records)
FFO: Chat Pile, Nine Inch Nails, Jockstrap
Must-listens: “Crossing Guard,” “Mosquito,” “Slate”
Set Time: 3:20-4:10 Red Stage
Model/Actriz has had a crazy run since their 2023 album Dogsbody and this set placement is just a continuation of the victory lap from that release. A sexual and perfectly unsettling plate of noise rock with oddly danceable industrial tones led to one of the better debut albums this decade. With beautiful, menacing and groovy passages and a unique vocalist, this set is going to be explosive and so very fun.
Maxo
Maxo (Julian Klincewicz)
FFO: MIKE, Medhane, MAVI
Must-listens: “Both Handed (feat. LIVE),” “Time,” “Gold Man”
Set Time: 2:30-3:15 Green Stage
Maxo is a rapper who has flown under the radar for the majority of his career thus far, and like a dusty sportscar, there’s some shine in rap music if you look for it. Maxo is one of the brighter spots in introspective and conscious borderline underground rap. With a fantastic project from 2023 Even God Has A Sense Of Humor and features across Earl Sweatshirt and Alchemist projects, Maxo is someone you may have heard or may be needing to hear.
Mannequin Pussy
Mannequin Pussy (Epitaph)
FFO: Slow Pulp, Momma. illuminati hotties
Must-listens: “I Got Heaven,” “Loud Bark,” “Romantic”
Set Time: 5:15-6:00 Blue Stage
A big year for Mannequin Pussy with album I Got Heaven receiving best new music and an 8.8 from Pitchfork as well as many festival spots and a tour of their own. This punk and indie rock group reaches all different genres across this newly acclaimed record and grapples with ideas of loneliness and how to survive in this world but not in a pretentious way, more like a righteous anger way. Just coming off of an electric Glastonbury Festival performance where the band called out BBC, be sure to slide by this set with me to let some steam off and lose my voice.
Stay tuned for Pitchfork Festival updates on our website and social media.