The Pitchfork Music Festival is a three-day event showcasing over 40 of independent music’s best bands and artists on three stages. With so many blockbuster festivals gouging their attendees out of absolutely obscene sums of money, only to confine them in uncomfortable, tight spaces and skimp on basic necessities, our goal is to do the right thing: That is, to create a reasonably priced summer music festival that provides an overwhelmingly positive, comfortable and fun festival experience for both attendees and musicians.
Date
Friday, July 16, Saturday, July 17 and Sunday, July 18.
Location
1501 West Randolph in Chicago’s Union Park at the corner of Ashland and Lake.
Hours
Friday: 3pm to 10pm. Saturday and Sunday: Noon to 10pm.
Tickets
Single Day passes are $40
Three-day passes are $90
Will Call
Opens at 1 pm on Friday, July 16th, and 11 am on Saturday and Sunday, July 17th and 18th. Avoid long lines: have your tickets mailed to you in advance!!
There will be no reissues for lost or stolen tickets. Please provide reliable mailing address. Tickets will be mailed in plain looking envelope, please be on the lookout. All sales are final.
Children
Children of all ages are welcome, and children under the age of 10 will be admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
Bicycles
We highly encourage biking to the festival, and will provide a parking area at which you may store your bike while you attend the event.
ATMs
ATMS will be available on festival grounds.
Lost and found
Please visit the box office for all lost and found items.
Re-Entry policy
Please bear in mind, there will be absolutely no re-entry into the festival.
Prohibited items
All attendees will be searched upon entering the festival grounds. The following items will not be allowed: Tents, flags, refunds or exchanges, lounge chairs, instruments, knives or other weapons, video cameras, audio recording devices, professional cameras (NO cameras with detachable lenses), pets, food, beverages (other than sealed bottled water), drugs or drug paraphernalia.
Non-prohibited items
Digital cameras (non-professional), disposable cameras, film cameras (non-professional), fanny packs, sealed bottled water, backpacks/satchels (medium-sized), hats, sun block, lighters, sunglasses, cigarettes, folding chairs.
Alcoholic beverages
A valid government-issued photo ID is required to purchase alcoholic beverages on the festival grounds. Attendees will need to show their ID to festival security personnel in order to receive a wristband that will allow them to purchase alcohol. Sales of alcohol will end promptly at 9:30 PM. There are NO REFUNDS for unused beverage tickets.
Security and safety
Chicago’s well-respected and experienced S3 will be providing their services at the Pitchfork Music Festival. Their presence is intended to make this concert experience safe and fun for everyone. Please respect and follow all rules and regulations. They were created with your safety in mind.
Weather
The Pitchfork Music Festival will take place rain or shine. All acts advertised have confirmed their appearance at the Pitchfork Music Festival. However, acts are subject to change without notice. Please visit this website regularly for the most up-to-date information. All rules and regulations are subject to change.
Volunteer Information
Attention not-for-profit organizations: We are seeking not-for-profits who are looking for a fun, creative opportunity to raise money and awareness for their organizations, while helping the Pitchfork Music Festival run a successful event. If your organization has any interest in participating in the festival, please contact us here
Cass McCombs has as many faces as cities that he's called home. While moving from the Pacific Coast to the east, spending time down south and overseas, and now living in the middle of the country, Cass McCombs has written songs for both the streets and the priests, the seers and the school children, for suburban families and whatever's left of the ivory tower. His most recent album, Catacombs, was released in 2009 on Domino Records.
Following the release of their self-titled debut on Western Vinyl, Here We Go Magic have signed to Secretly Canadian for their follow-up due in 2010. The band spent much of last year touring with Grizzly Bear and the Walkmen before playing the Austin City Limits festival. Lately they've been hard at work recording their self-produced sophomore album in a house in upstate New York, and while the first record was the result of band leader Luke Temple getting creative in his bedroom, this release is a fully fledged team effort.
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The 2002 release of "Losing My Edge" ushered in one of the great new talents of the aughts, LCD Soundsystem, aka James Murphy. While also focusing on the running of his label, DFA, Murphy perfected a sound that would come to represent much of the label's output in the following years. The 2007 release of Sound of Silver shot Murphy to the tips of tastemakers' tongues; universally acclaimed, the record featured the minimalist single "All My Friends" and the heart-tugging "Someone Great", indie staples the world over.
Long a key component of the Providence, R.I.-based noise-rock label Load Records, Lightning Bolt's live shows have garnered a lot of talk, with the band often setting up behind the audience and sonically assaulting them as soon as the previous band completes their set. The 2005 album, Hypermagic Mountain, found Lightning Bolt tossing decades' worth of musical history into a wood chipper and coming up with some chewy chainsaw taffy. Their newest album, Earthly Delights, comes after two years of work and has the sound of a 10-piece band.
Modest Mouse formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Wash., and released their first full-length album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About, on the Up label in 1996. With the release of their second album, The Lonesome Crowded West in 1997, the band's status reached new heights with a legion of fans and critical acclaim. In 2000, Modest Mouse were signed to Epic Records and released their third album, The Moon & Antarctica; 2004 brought the release of Modest Mouse's breakthrough, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, which included the hit "Float On" and earned the band two Grammy nominations. Their most recent album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, was released in 2007 and immediately entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at #1, and last summer saw the release of a special eight-song EP, No One's First, And You're Next.
Since coming together over 20 years ago, Pavement released a bunch of EPs and singles and five great albums, then split. Slanted & Enchanted, the classic debut, casts a shadow miles wider than its modest tape width. Stephen Malkmus, Spiral Stairs, Mark Ibold, MC Bob Nastanovitch, and Steve West laid down the follow-up, the hook-heavy Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain with the detached confidence of heirs apparent. Wowee Zowee was a stoned and emotional sprawl that people are still finding new nuances in today. The last two LPs, Brighten the Corners and Terror Twilight, were stately showboats, intelligent, warm and cool. This spring and summer sees the highly anticipated return of Pavement for the first time since their final show at the Brixton Academy in 1999.
The world first encountered the lyrical prowess of Raekwon as a member of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. In 1995 he gave us his first solo effort, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., which has become one of the most highly regarded albums in hip hop. And 2009 was a banner year for Rae with the release of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II; here's hoping he continues to further solidify his place in hip-hop history.
Sleigh Bells are the duo of Derek Miller, formerly of Florida hardcore band Poison the Well, and Alexis Krauss, from teenpop group RubyBlue. The Brooklyn-based group's first recordings, in-the-red synth rave ups with cool, sassy vocals from Krauss, have made them an artist to watch in 2010, attracting praise from critics large and small. Their debut album will be released this year.
Annie Clark's recorded debut as St. Vincent, Marry Me, gave immediate notice that a dizzying new talent had emerged from the flatlands of Texas. In 2007, Clark capped a year of international touring by winning the Plug Awards' Female Artist of the Year. For her beguiling and sophisticated sophomore album, Actor, Clark developed an idiosyncratic writing process, immersing herself in some of her favorite films-- Badlands, Pierrot le Fou, The Wizard of Oz, Stardust Memories, Sleeping Beauty-- and beginning each song as a secret film score, then slowly giving it independence as its structure and lyrics came fully into focus. If Marry Me served as the world's introduction to Annie Clark, Actor may prove to be her coronation.
