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Our friends at Pitchfork have been through some dark days lately. In January, Conde Nast, Pitchfork’s owners, moved the site under the banner of GQ, another of its properties, and most of the staff was laid off. Pitchfork continues to exist, and it’s still publishing every day, though not as much as it was a few months ago. When all the layoffs happened, the bosses at Conde were quick to assure the world that the annual Pitchfork Music Festival would still happen, and so it will. It goes down 7/19-21 at Chicago’s Union Park, the same place where the fest has been happening since 2005. Today, we get the lineup.
This lineup? It’s a weird one. Most of the lineup is dedicated to acts who make perfect sense for Pitchfork, but some of it is truly puzzling. Grammy favorites Black Pumas, a band who have basically nothing to do with the kind of music that Pitchfork has championed over the years, will headline the first night. Alanis Morissette, a hugely influential figure who still seems somehow outside the festival’s wheelhouse, will headline the last. Jamie xx, the other headliner, is more the type of act that you expect from this fest, and he’s played it before. (His inclusion makes me wonder if we’re getting that second solo album sometime soon.)
The weirdness of the headliners aside, Pitchfork remains a tastefully booked boutique festival, and there’s lots of great stuff on this year’s bill. The lineup also features Carly Rae Jepsen, Jai Paul, Brittany Howard, 100 gecs, Jessie Ware, MUNA, De La Soul, Grandmaster Flash, Jeff Rosenstock, Les Savy Fav, Unwound, Bratmobile, Wednesday, Mannequin Pussy, Yaeji, Crumb, Sudan Archives, Amen Dunes, Jessica Pratt, Hotline TNT, billy woods and Kenny Segal, Water From Your Eyes, feeble little horse, Tkay Maidza, Sweeping Promises, Kara Jackson, L’Rain, Hailu Mergia, Model/Actriz, Nala Sinephro, Doss, ML Buch, Rosali, Maxo, Joanna Sternberg, Angry Blackmen, Lifeguard, Black Duck, and Akenya. You can find all the relevant information here, and you can see the full breakdown below.
Friday 7/19:
Black Pumas
Jai Paul
100 gecs
Jeff Rosenstock
Yaeji
Sudan Archives
Amen Dunes
billy woods & Kenny Segal
Tkay Maidza
Doss
ML Buch
Rosali
Angry Blackmen
Black Duck
Saturday 7/20:
Jamie xx
Carly Rae Jepsen
Jessie Ware
De La Soul
UNWOUND
Bratmobile
Wednesday
Water From Your Eyes
Sweeping Promises
feeble little horse
Hotline TNT
Kara Jackson
L’Rain
Lifeguard
Suday 7/21:
Alanis Morissette
Brittany Howard
MUNA
Grandmaster Flash
Les Savy Fav
Crumb
Jessica Pratt
Mannequin Pussy
Hailu Mergia
Model/Actriz
Nala Sinephro
Maxo
Joanna Sternberg
Akenya
Meanwhile, right down the street from Pitchfork, another music festival is happening on the same weekend. The Rumble, the annual Chicago hardcore fest, is going down in the Cobra Lounge Parking Lot 7/20-21, and two returning bands, the Hope Conspiracy and local heroes Weekend Nachos, will headline. That bill also features Frozen Soul, Modern Life Is War, Conservative Military Image, Bulldoze, Creeping Death, Ingrown, Morbid Visionz, and Violent Way, among others.