On the third and final day of Pitchfork 2017, Chicago festival fans had the opportunity to dive deep into the city’s own thriving music scene. From house legends to poetic singer-songwriters to soon-to-be superstars in the rap game, the Windy City brought some of its finest artists to Union Park resulting in a diverse and delightful close to the festivities.
NE-HI
One of the many highlights came early in the day when Logan Square legends, NE-HI, brought their high-energy antics to the Green Stage in the afternoon. Strutting rhythms, howling vocals, catchy tunes and rock star leaps kept fans screaming for more. “This is pretty fun,” said guitarist, Jason Balla, midway through their electrifying daytime set. A powerful rendition of Harry Nilsson’s “Jump into the Fire” provided festival-goers with their daily dose of feedback and fury as NE-Hi’s closer.
The Blue Stage was dominated by Chicago artists throughout the bulk of the day, beginning with an old school house dance party compliments of Derrick Carter. Later in the afternoon, Joey Purp used his set to condemn gun violence and drop new material including the infectious “24 Carat Gold.” “Chicago ’till the day I die,” declared the rapper as confetti blasted across fans and his onstage entourage doused the packed crowd with water blasters. His set also benefitted from surprise guest appearances by fellow Chi-town rappers, Towkio and Vic Mensa, the latter of whom debuted his new album The Autobiography at a special show the previous night. Jamila Woods was also slated to perform on the Blue Stage, but a cancelation by The Avalanches allowed her set to be bumped up to the main stage in a move that proved to be one of the best decisions festival organizer’s could have made.
While Chicago artists thrived throughout Sunday, there was much to love outside of the homegrown talents. Colin Stetson used circular breathing and abstract sounds to create one of the most unique, hypnotic and intense performances of the entire festival. Wielding his growling bass saxophone to attack every note on the hypnotic track, “Judges,” the Bon Iver collaborator left fans in awe – as if at a world class magic show – wondering how he was producing such compelling sounds.
Ride, Isaiah Rashad, Hamilton Leithauser and more also delivered memorable sets before Solange closed out the festivities on the Green Stage. Click here to see our Day 2 recap and head over to www.pitchfork.com/festival/chicago for more information about the festivities.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)