When Pitchfork curated the Intonation Music Festival in 2005, the concept was relatively novel: a big, multiday outdoor festival dedicated to indie music. But in 2018, outdoor fests of all stripes (a few of them significantly more esoteric than Pitchfork) clog concert calendars all over the country. Some similar events have gone belly-up—this summer’s FYF Fest, for example, was canceled in May—but Pitchfork has continued to evolve and thrive, becoming one of the most respected festivals in the country.
Pitchfork Music Festival Fri 7/20 through Sun 7/22, box office at 11 AM, gates at noon, music at 1 PM, Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph, $75 per day, three-day pass $175, +Plus pass $375, all-ages
Happily, this year’s lineup also includes a record number of locals—I count 14, though I’m fudging a little by including LA rapper Open Mike Eagle (who grew up here), New York singer-songwriter Julie Byrne (who cut her teeth on the local DIY scene), and Saint Louis-born rapper Smino (who built his career here but continues to rep his first home like the city depends on it). Pitchfork continues to present fans with highly unlikely choices: Saturday evening, for instance, Blood Orange (aka pop sophisticate Dev Hynes) overlaps with This Is Not This Heat (a partial reunion of experimental UK postpunk group This Heat).
Irreversible Entanglements, Circuit des Yeux, Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society, and This Is Not This Heat don’t sell tickets like Fleet Foxes, but they help keep Pitchfork interesting.
by Leor Galil
