Pitchfork Music Festival Recap - Day Three
Written by: Josh Skarda, Jonathan Joseph | Sep 1, 2024
JOSH: We attended this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago as press, something that was a pipe dream for me until just a few weeks ago. This was the first live event that our station has ever covered as media, and we’re incredibly grateful to have been selected to attend such a prestigious festival. A thrilling weekend ensued of knockoff Brat merch, live music from all across the genre spectrum, and hours spent under the Chicago sun. Enjoy our recaps of the dozen-plus performances we caught, accompanied by photography from yours truly.
MUNA
JONATHAN: I’d never heard of MUNA before catching their set, so I had no idea what to expect. I still don’t know what a MUNA is exactly, but either way, they rocked. MUNA brought gay pop-rock to the Pitchfork stage, bringing all the energy you could dream for. The band was driven by a purely joyful energy that framed their performance. I joined the crowd in jumping and dancing to every tune, relishing in the music that was so beautifully queer. MUNA was a bombastic start to the last day of the festival.
JOSH: I came into the festival as a casual appreciator of MUNA and their kaleidoscopic synthpop, and I left as a full-blown fan. Hands down the most passionate crowd all weekend, from the photo pit I could hear the screams of the front row better than I could hear the actual show. The hype is warranted – the three main performers and their touring members played off each other effortlessly, weaving in between one another with ease. I love how their chemistry as a group is almost boyband-esque, with each trading off duties in the spotlight to raucous hype from the crowd. Their anthemic sappho-pop unsurprisingly translated well to a festival setting, with huge hooks and sleek, synth-driven grooves. The album highlight “Solid” was especially heightened by the live experience, but every song that they played felt like a smash hit.
Brittany Howard
JONATHAN: Brittany Howard was the artist I was most excited to catch. Her stint with the Alabama Shakes’ short but groundbreaking run makes her stand out as one of the greatest vocalists in the 2010s. Continuing to make music solo has only led to millions of people being graced by her voice. Howard was incredible to watch live, performing songs off her 2024 album What Now, such as my favorite song of hers, “Red Flags”. Mixing soul with southern indie rock, Howard created an intricate maximalist record that was a treat to hear live. Howard and her backing band rocked Chicago, commanding the attention of the crowd with ease. It was a standout performance and a big highlight of the whole festival.
JOSH: I wasn’t super familiar with Brittany Howard’s material before the fest, and now I feel stupid. Not knowing exactly what to expect, her stage presence caught my attention before anything else. She’s an absolutely entrancing performer, and I was reeled in immediately. Her powerful voice commanded the stage between howls and sweet, soulful runs, accompanied by the lush instrumentation of her backing band. Her approach to psychedelic soul and funk felt rejuvenating as the weekend’s penultimate show, and I’m really glad that this festival let me discover a great artist that I probably wouldn’t have caught otherwise – one of the most beautiful aspects of live music. Rest assured, I’ll be keeping up with Brittany Howard from here on out.
Alanis Morissette
JONATHAN: Pop juggernaut Alanis Morissette ruled the 90s and early 2000s with a wide discography of dance-pop and pop rock hits. I was happy to hear my favorite song of hers, “Hand in My Pocket” off of Jagged Little Pill – her standout record. Morissette has been a pop queen for two decades, and the experience shows. Being able to get a sweaty and tired crowd to move like the festival just started is an impressive skill, and Morissette ruled Pitchfork for an hour straight. The set not only was a great way to end day three, but acted as a great bow tying together the whole Pitchfork experience. Three days of the Chicago red line, three days of sweltering heat, three days of $15 purchases, all coming to a close with a legendary performer.
JOSH: Growing up with the Jagged Little Pill jewel case CD always in my mom’s car, Alanis Morrisette was a mandatory set for me to catch – especially as the closing act for the entire festival. A lifelong performer, she wasted no time and immediately had the audience in the palm of her hand – running through fan favorites “Hand in My Pocket”, “Head Over Feet” and “You Learn”, while keeping us on our feet and saving her two biggest hits for the last 15 minutes. “Ironic” and “You Oughta Know” were the real pyrotechnics on display, bringing out MUNA to sing the first half of the former before ripping through the rest on her own. The latter, or the most insidious breakup song of all time, was tastefully performed in front of a flaming background that resembled the depths of hell. Attracting what definitely looked like the biggest crowd of the weekend, Alanis gave us a show to remember and a damn proper sign-off to my first festival experience – one I’ll never forget. Time to sleep for a month.