Pitchfork Music Festival: indie rock's finest hit Chicago in July
Chicago hosts several music and street fests all summer long, but as far as Chicagoans are concerned, there’s the grand vision of Lollapalooza and then the much smaller yet equally impressive Pitchfork Festival. Held every July in Union Park, the trendy and affordable festival books 40 of the world’s best buzz groups to perform in front of over 50,000 spectators during the three-day event.
The locally based tastemaker music news and album reviews website Pitchfork Media basically has the clout to make or break a band. If the site bestows a glowing review, it could mean increased album sales and exposure for an up-and-coming act. In its fifth year, the festival has exponentially grown in size since 2006 when there were only two stages over the course of two days. In 2007, the festival instilled British promoters All Tomorrow’s Parties to curate the debut night of the festival offering three bands to perform their seminal album in its entirety live. Legendary rock act Sonic Youth and hip-hop pioneers Public Enemy have performed in the past, but last year’s Friday kick-off night consisted of bands playing fan approved requests.
Within a week of tickets going on sale in February of this year, three-day passes immediately sold-out. That’s due in part to the reunion of ‘90s indie rockers Pavement performing after a ten year hiatus and the vast appeal of the other bands. Two main stages trade off performances throughout the day until the headliner goes on at sunset, while a third stage presents lesser known acts. Some bands like last year’s festival headliner the Flaming Lips have the luxury of volleying between performing at Pitchfork one year then at Lolla the next year.
Besides the music, a record fair occurs all weekend and an assortment of vendors cook up food for hungry concertgoers. The festival begins Friday evening and continues early afternoon Saturday and Sunday and concludes around 10 p.m. each night. After introducing themselves at Pitchfork Fest, many bands launch their career and move onto bigger and better things, so it’s imperative to come out and support these rising stars.
Posted by Garin Pirnia
