Pitchfork Music Festival 2023
July 21 – 23, 2023
Union Park, Chicago, Illinois, 60606
There can be a bit of uncertainty when one wants to assign a single “best” word to describe the 2023 iteration of the Pitchfork Music Festival. Rejuvenated, revivified, and recharged come to mind. Honestly, attempting to distill this serpentine-like festival to a single descriptive term is silly. Pitchfork is defined as an experience where one can catch today’s innovators (old and new) in alternative rock, electronica, hip hop, house, metal, and punk. Honestly, the event is so much more than a myopic academic denotation. For me, this year’s July event reminded that additional sounds are to be listened to in this life. I have been photographing this festival for over a decade. This year’s selection of artists was thoughtfully procured in terms of balancing the breadth of music genres with the variety of performers. The music curation has been a consistent staple since inception in 2006. Aside from the rain delay on Saturday, this was a great year.
There were several established bands not on my radar who dazzled. Just prior to the festival the music of Mdou Moctar, Nation of Language, and Hurray for the Riff Raff were added to my sonic collection. In each, I found their live performances emphasised their acumen as accomplished musicians. There was an ethereal quality in the combination of Mahamadou Souleymane’s vocals and the weaving instrumentals of the Mdou Moctar ensemble. Their performance was as perfect as one can imagine when experiencing for the first time a chant from an unfamiliar religion. The Nation of Language reminded that the indie post-punk genre is still fertile, even offering a freshness enabling the next generation to expand upon. Alynda Segarra was something special at this moment in time. One could sense during their soundcheck that the music to be had would be precise and thoughtful. That is exactly what Hurray for the Riff Raff provided.
There’s long forgotten stories that can hibernate for years, then resurface when visiting these music events. This year, I ran into Curt Baran, the Chicago-based editor and photographer for Illinois Entertainer Magazine (possibly the kindest soul in the Photo pit). During the Day Two rain delay we talked about our early experiences with Chicago music. Both of us became fans of the band Naked Raygun early on. Our conversation returned to our youth and early shows attended. We both were at the infamous 1992 Lollapalooza Festival out in Tinsley Park where during a Ministry set, rain came in, debris began to be tossed in the air by the crowd, followed by grass sod being hurled about in full downpour. Now, that chaos of that day seems rather quaint. New friendships and memories are often located with embrace at these events. We need these common experiences in the first person, together in expansive parks lined with greenery. We need each other today. This ephemeral experience opens up many possibilities for tomorrow.
On Day Two (Saturday), there were storms, this is common in upper Illinois in July. The focus on how the crowd sought shelter became a topic. Light rain evolved into lightning. The park was cleared. Here, the focus was on the trees of Union Park. The ultimate protectors who have endured all the festival’s sounds over the years. The topic of environmental change on alert became central. We see the smoke from Canada drifting south, the jet stream collapsing, and the stifling heat blanketing the northern hemisphere that we all have had a hand in creating. Throughout the weekend, I pulled out my phone and made several images. I thought about the importance of environmental stewardship. The sinuous lines of the branches intersecting while protecting the audience below became an exercise in contrasting formal ideas and precautionary tales with the scale of the population in contrast to the trees surrounded by sound. The rain delay silence evolved to a constant hum of echoing lyrics, percussive beats, electronic pulses, and long winding rhythm guitars.
One headliner, The Smile (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner) applies environmental stewardship to their practice through their emphasis on the need to utilise public transit. The band has made a commitment through only playing at venues that provide or have access to public transit. Less cars on the streets equals less emissions. Along Ashland Avenue, busses were three deep carting loads of visitors north and south, while the Brown, Pink, and Green lines shuttled attendees to the Loop and other quarters of the city. Musicians have long been connected with activism. At this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival one could see the seamless application. These ideas have become one of the guiding factor in the evolution of music festivals. This attentiveness by creators is important and is passed onto the audience.
At root, Pitchfork is about the music. There are artists and designers, collectively organised by Flatstock, selling gorgeous screen prints, a record fair organised by Chirp Radio, many types of food (tacos, BBQ, pizza, vegetarian, etc.), and an array of libations, but the draw is the diverse collection of musicians and bands. There was Killer Mike delivering a sermon-like set where he and entourage were decked out in all white. Mikayla Victoria Simpson, aka Koffee, who won a Grammy for best reggae album at 19 (also, the only woman to have done so thus far) brought a youthful summer sound that connected clearly with their audience. You could tell that the scene and tone were going to escalate when increased security staff was deployed along the barriers. Here, the response was in response to the Philadelphia-based hardcore punk band Soul Glo’s set in late afternoon. No worries, there were no riot shields, but Soul Glo brought some chaos in the hard-edged melodies on the Blue Stage.
It has become a ritual to review notes from past festivals attended prior to shows. These documents are generally assembled a couple weeks after the event. There’s need for time to reflect and see what resonates. Past doodles, scratchings, and thoughts are often indecipherable. They tend to be a visual key. I see this exercise as my rosetta stone. Scribed in the Pitchfork binder are mentions of The National and Band of Horses in 2006, Grizzly Bear and M83 in 2009, Kendrick Lamar and Neutral Milk Hotel in 2014, and JPEGMAFIA and Earl Sweatshirt in 2019. The music genres at Pitchfork tend to shift each year in response to that present time and day’s events. The overriding factor over the years has been the emphasis on providing a diverse slate of performers and new ideas. Not all the music or performances will resonate with everyone. This should not be seen as a negative. One may even find these introductions piquing interest in the future. Music is transient and often tracks back in cycles. The exposure may touch something inside at another moment. In a couple weeks I plan to sit down and muse over this past weekend’s Pitchfork. For now, I believe I will sit back and do another listen of The Smile’s 2022 album A Light for Attracting Attention.
The 2023 Music Line-Up:
Friday, July 21, 2023 – Nourished By Time, Contour, Sen Morimoto, Mavi, Grace Ives, Axel Boman, Youth Lagoon, Nation of Language, JLIN, Perfume Genius, Ric Wilson, Alvvays, Leikeli47, and The Smile.
Saturday, July 22, 2023 – Deeper, Palm, 700 Bliss, Black Belt Boy Scout, MJ Lendeman, Vagabon, Snale Mail, Julia Jaclin, King Krule, Yaya Bey, Weyes Blood, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, and Big Thief.
Sunday, July 23, 2023 – Ariel Zetina, Rachika Nayar, Lucrecia Dalt, Florist, Jockstrap, Soul Glo, JPEGMAFIA, Killer Mike, Illuminati Hotties, Koffee, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Kelela, Mdou Moctar, and Bon Iver.
For additional information, please visit:
Pitchfork Music Festival – https://pitchforkmusicfestival.com/
A handful of band websites to checkout:
The Smile – https://www.thesmiletheband.com/
Mdou Moctar – https://www.mdoumoctar.com/
Big Thief – https://bigthief.net/
Killer Mike – https://killermike.com/
Bon Iver – https://boniver.org/
Koffee – https://www.originalkoffee.com/
Hurray for the Riff Raff – https://www.hurrayfortheriffraff.com/
Additional photographs from Pitchfork Music Festival 2023:
Photography and writing by Chester Alamo-Costello
