This year’s Pitchfork Music Festival had an endearing combination of clear skies, colossal black metal, and lots of hand waving courtesy of Giorgio Moroder. The Italian producer behind Donna Summer’s big hits was one of 43 acts that played Union Park over the past three days, part of an eclectic lineup that featured Kelela, Hudson Mohawke, Pusha T, and Hundred Waters. Not every band was fit for the fest (Sun Kil Moon‘s intense, dour songs are better suited for a dark concert hall that forbids talking) and some groups had to struggle with severe sound issues (Neutral Milk Hotel sounded like hot garbage for a couple songs), but the festival’s exciting mix of artful R&B, introverted hip-hop, celestial folk, and noisy punk proved to be quite potent. Many of the performers could’ve played for at least an hour longer than they were scheduled, and there were lots of highlights, including Tune-Yards’ colorful “playground pop” and DJ Spinn’s life-affirming footwork. If you couldn’t make it out to the festival we’ve got you covered: the Reader‘s wonderful photo staff jumped around the park all weekend long to capture all the onstage excitement and provide a glimpse of the revelry in the crowd. —Leor Galil
