Wu-Tang Clan @ Coachella 2013 (more by Dana (Distortion) Yavin)

North Coast Music Festival 2013 is set to take place from August 30 - September 1 in Chicago's Union Park. Their initial lineup features Wu-Tang Clan performing Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in full, Nas, Purity Ring, AlunaGeorge, On An On, Flatbush Zombies, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, and many more. Three-day passes (general admission & VIP) for the fest are on sale now. Stay tuned for the second wave of artists to be announced.

The current NCMF 2013 lineup is below...

Continue reading "Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Purity Ring, AlunaGeorge, On An On & more to play North Coast Music Festival 2013"

Pitchfork Music Festival 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

As discussed, Pitchfork Music Festival 2013 is set to take place in Union Park from July 19-21. The festival's initial lineup featured R. Kelly, Björk, Belle & Sebastian, Joanna Newsom, the Breeders (playing Last Splash), Swans, Rustie, El-P, Chairlift, Killer Mike, TNGHT, Sky Ferreira, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Mac DeMarco, Foxygen, Angel Olsen, Trash Talk, and Tree.

The remainder of the lineup has just been revealed, and includes M.I.A., Lil B, Solange, Wire, Yo La Tengo, Low, Savages, Toro Y Moi, Phosphorescent, Metz, Autre Ne Veut, Mikal Cronin, Parquet Courts, Merchandise, Woods, Julia Holter, Glass Candy, Andy Stott, Pissed Jeans, Frankie Rose, Ryan Hemsworth, Waxahatchee, Blood Orange, Daughn Gibson, Evian Christ, White Lung, KEN Mode, and DJ Rashad.

Three-day passes and single-day tickets are still available.

Check out the full lineup-by-day below...

Continue reading "Savages, Pissed Jeans, Wire, Waxahatchee, KEN Mode & more acts added to Pitchfork Festival 2013"

Pitchfork Music Festival 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

As discussed, the 2013 edition of Pitchfork Music Festival is slated to take place from July 19-21 in Chicago's Union Park. You already knew that R. Kelly, Björk, and Belle and Sebastian will be headlining the fest, and today, a bunch of other artists have been announced. Joanna Newsom, The Breeders (playing Last Splash), Swans, El-P, Killer Mike, TNGHT, Chairlift, Sky Ferreira, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Rustie, Mac DeMarco, Foxygen, Angel Olsen, Trash Talk, and Tree will all take the stage in Union Park that weekend.

Three-day passes and individual day tickets are still available.

Check out the current lineup-by-day below...

Continue reading "Joanna Newsom, The Breeders, Swans, Angel Olsen & more acts added to Pitchfork Music Festival 2013"

Pitchfork Festival 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

As discussed, the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival is slated to take place from July 19-21 in Chicago's Union Park. Today, it has been revealed that the festival headliners will be R. Kelly, Björk, and Belle and Sebastian. Three-day passes and individual day tickets are still available for the fest. The full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for more information.

Pitchfork Festival 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

Though we've still got a few days left to go in 2012, Pitchfork have shared the dates for their 2013 music festival. It'll take place from July 19 - 21, as always, in Union Park. Three-day passes and tickets for each day go on sale TODAY (Friday, December 21) at noon CST. Three-day passes will be available for the discounted price of $95 and then will jump to $120 when that limited lot sells out. Individual day tickets are $50. The lineup will be announced in mid-January.

Stay tuned for more.

photos by James Richards IV

Big Boi // Crowd

You've already seen pictures from Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2012 North Coast Music Festival, and now here's a set from the final day of the electronic music-geared fest. Were you there? Maybe you caught acts like Big Boi, Com Truise, Pretty Lights, and Steve Angello? Pictures of all those acts, and many more, are below...

Continue reading "North Coast Music Festival 2012 in pictures: day 3 (Big Boi, Com Truise & more)"

photos by James Richards IV

YACHT // Crowd

You've already seen pictures from Day 1 of North Coast Music Festival 2012, and now here's Day 2 (Saturday, September 1), which featured YACHT, Dan Deacon, The Rapture, Girl Talk, and many more acts.

A full set of pictures from Saturday of NCMF 2012 continue below...

Continue reading "North Coast Music Festival 2012 in pictures: day 2 (YACHT, Dan Deacon, The Rapture & more)"

photos by James Richards IV

King Khan // Crowd

The 2012 North Coast Music Festival went down in Union Park from August 30 - September 2. Day 1 of the dance-oriented festival featured performances by Axwell, STS9, King Khan & The Shrines, Yelawolf, and many more.

A full set of pictures from Day 1 continue below. Stay tuned for Day 2 and Day 3 photos.

Continue reading "North Coast Music Festival 2012 in pictures: day 1 (King Khan, STS9, Yelawolf & more)"

photos by Chase Turner and James Richards IV, words by Parker Langvardt

Wild Flag / Sleigh Bells

Day 2 of the 2012 Pitchfork Music Festival happened on Saturday (7/14) with sets from Grimes, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Hot Chip, Sleigh Bells, Nicolas Jaar and more. We've already got pictures of day 2 up on BrooklynVegan, and here's another set of pics for BV Chicago.

I began my Saturday at the Blue Stage for The Atlas Moth, whose bluesy doom was an appropriate fit for the grey weather we had early on at the fest. Vocalist and guitarist Stavros Giannopoulos flashed a friendly peace sign that contrasted the aggression of his high, crackling scream. The interweaving riffs of the three guitarists give a lively edge to the band's slow, doomy rhythms. They were later joined by Chicago jazz trumpeter Jaimie Branch, who previously lent her skills to a track on The Atlas Moth's 2011 album An Ache For the Distances, and de facto Chicago rock saxophonist Bruce Lamont of Yakuza and Bloodiest. Lamont also performed with The Atlas Moth at SXSW 2012, and just last week contributed to The Black Lips' performances at The Empty Bottle and West Fest.

Cloud Nothings started on the cheerier end of their 2012 album Attack On Memory opening with "Fall In" and following with "Stay Useless". The rain began after "Separation," and it was down-pouring by the noisy bridge of "Wasted Days" a couple songs later. The stage hands covered the floor monitors with tarps before the PA system was shut off entirely, leaving the band jamming at stage volume. When frontman Dylan Baldi went to sing and found his mic off, the crowd took over the chant of "I thought I would be more than this" before Cloud Nothings closed out their set. They seemed disappointed, but great set nonetheless.

The sky had cleared by the time Bradford Cox took the stage as Atlas Sound, decked out in a straw hat, white face paint and a harmonica hanging angularly from his neck. Like most Atlas Sound shows, it was just Bradford and his acoustic guitar on stage, but he creates layers of sound with the loop and effect pedals that he runs it through.

The rain picked up again for Liturgy, who have disintegrated from a black metal quartet into a guitar duo backed by programmed drums. This was not the kind of set that you casually walked away from; it either captivated or repelled. The bizarre electronic drum tones might have fit better with dance music, but instead followed chunky, mechanical rhythms which usually synced up well, but lacked the dynamics that used to be provided by live drummer Greg Fox.. At one point, frontman Hunter Hunt Hendrix gave a solo vocal performance that involved him looping his voice into a strange, twisted chant, which stood in contrast to the howling and yelping scream he produced during the rest of the set.

The sun made its final return by the time Flying Lotus began his set. He spun bits of A$AP Rocky, a sped up Schoolboy Q, and the beat to "Niggas in Paris," mixed with pieces of his own abstract recordings. He was joined mid-set by rapper and Brainfeeder label mate Azizi Gibson, who also played the Brainfeeder showcase that night.

After a long set up and some volume issues with the PA, Nicolas Jaar and his live band began creating a swell of noise before settling into a cool electronic R&B groove. Though some of the band's mics were too quiet, the set was still enjoyable.

Back at the Blue Stage, Schoolboy Q walked on stage and yelled "Pitchfork, what it fuckin' do?" He later made a comment about being faded, a mental state fans might have expected from the lyrics of "Hands On the Wheel," which was heard during both his and Flying Lotus' sets. Many of his songs work in a party setting, but there is a dark sense to it. He made sure to keep the energy up, jumping and yelling more aggressively than heard in his recordings.

Hardcore fans of Godspeed You! Black Emperor had camped out in front of the Green Stage for a couple hours prior to their set, though it was still possible to get a good spot, about as far back as the sound booth, fifteen or so minutes before they began. The proximity of the stages made it easy to catch any artist for an acceptable amount of time, yet there was very little bleeding of sound between stages.

Godspeed spent the first several minutes of their set focusing on one note, working intently on expanding it slowly by creating noise that inched up toward harmonizing notes. After a careful build, the strings broke out into a dark Eastern European melody. When the first song ended, the silence was eerie, like a cease-fire in a war zone. The often sepia imagery projected behind them reinforced the seriousness of their set, at one point showing sped up smoke stacks spewing vapor and particles into the atmosphere. Having seen their other project Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra earlier this year, the instrumental Godspeed seemed to be more apocalyptic and bleak. Both bands are very critical in a post-modern way, but the lyrics in Silver Mount Zion provide a sense of hope, in that there are other humans aware of the world's problems. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is more like the soundtrack to the human race destroying itself.

Pics from day 1 are HERE. More from day 2 are below...

Continue reading "#P4K Festival 2012 pics & review (part 4) - Grimes, Nicolas Jaar, Psychic Paramount, Liturgy, Youth Lagoon, Danny Brown & more"

photos by James Richards IV, Chase Turner & Fred Pessaro

"Vegan" (photo by James Richards IV)

"Rain controlled the tempo of Pitchfork Music Festival day one early on, but the clouds eventually gave way to sun shine and music from an eclectic and entertaining lineup of acts. At its close, Friday of Pitchfork Fest 2012 was a humid but fun time that was definitely not short on memorable moments." [LoudLoop]

"In a sharp programming shift, Day 1 went from the psychedelic pop of Olivia Tremor Control into the mixtape hip-hop of A$AP Rocky. The only similarity I can think of between the two acts is that there are higher than average odds that both their listeners partake of illicit substances." [Jim DeRogatis]

"Dirty Projectors, a six-piece New York band with some highly acclaimed albums in its resume, demonstrates seriously accomplished chops during a set full of art-pop songs. [Greg Kot]

We already posted up one set of pictures from the first day of Pitchfork Fest up on BrooklynVegan. Here is a BV Chicago exclusive set and it continues below....

Continue reading "#P4K Festival 2012 pictures (part 2) -- ASAP Rocky, Japandroids, Big K.R.I.T., Dirty Projectors, Clams Casino, Flatstock & more)"

Pitchfork Fest (more by Dominick Mastangelo)

The Pitchfork Fest 2012 schedule has arrived. Over 45 acts will be performing on three stages (Green/Blue/Red) in Union Park throughout the weekend of July 13. Single-day passes are still available for all three days.

Check out the full 2012 schedule below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork Fest schedule revealed, single-day tix still available"

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire @ Bamboozle Festival (more by Dana (Distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned, the 2012 edition of North Coast Music Festival is set to take place from August 31 - September 2 in Union Park. The festival's initial lineup has now expanded to include Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, ProbCause, Yelawolf, Umphrey's McGee, and many more acts. General admission and VIP 3-day passes are still available, with more lineup additions to come.

NCMF lineup-so-far below...

Continue reading "North Coast Music Festival 2012 expands lineup"

The Rapture @ Bowery Ballroom in NYC earlier this month (more by Joe McCabe)

The North Coast Music Festival is set to return this year from August 31 - September 2 in Chicago's Union Park. General admission and VIP three-day passes are on sale now for the initial lineup of Pretty Lights, Axwell, Atmosphere, Big Boi, Steve Aoki, Excision, The Rapture, Alesso, Modestep, Mord Fustang, Felix da Housecat, YACHT, Dan Deacon, King Khan & the Shrines, Rebirth Brass Band, Van Ghost, Maya Jane Coles, Com Truise, and Auto Body. More acts including headliners are TBA.

The currently lineup and a summary clip from 2011's festival, below...

Continue reading "North Coast Music Festival 2012 - initial lineup, tix & details"

Beach House at Sasquatch 2011 (more by Josh Darr)

Beach House, Wild Flag, Real Estate, Atlas Sound, Big K.R.I.T., Nicolas Jaar, Cults, Chavez, Ty Segall, Oneohtrix Point Never, Youth Lagoon, Thee Oh Sees, King Krule, Lotus Plaza, Dirty Beaches, Lower Dens, Milk Music, the Psychic Paramount, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Outer Minds, and A Lull were all just added to the lineup of Pitchfork Festival 2012, taking place from July 13-15 in Union Park.

Single-day passes are still available.

With today's announcement, all of the above join: AraabMUZIK, A$AP Rocky, The Atlas Moth, Willis Earl Beal, Danny Brown, Clams Casino, Cloud Nothings, Dirty Projectors, Feist, The Field, Flying Lotus, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Grimes, Tim Hecker, Hot Chip, Iceage, Kendrick Lamar, Liturgy, The Men, Olivia Tremor Control, Purity Ring, Schoolboy Q, Sleigh Bells, and Vampire Weekend on the grounds of Union Park.

Lineup-by-day below..

Continue reading "Beach House, King Krule, A Lull, Outer Minds & more acts added to Pitchfork Festival 2012"

The Atlas Moth @ BV-SXSW 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

The Atlas Moth, Danny Brown, Dirty Projectors, Clams Casino, Flying Lotus, Iceage, The Men, Olivia Tremor Control, Purity Ring, Schoolboy Q, and Sleigh Bells were all just added to the lineup of Pitchfork Festival 2012, taking place in Chicago's Union Park from July 13-15. Three-day passes are now sold out, however single-day tickets are still available.

20+ acts are still TBA. Current lineup below..

Continue reading "The Atlas Moth, Danny Brown, Dirty Projectors & more added to Pitchfork Festival 2012"

Pitchfork have just announced the initial details of their 2012 festival, taking place July 13-15 in Chicago's Union Park.

The fest's initial lineup includes: Vampire Weekend, Feist, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Hot Chip, AraabMUZIK, A$AP Rocky, the Field, Liturgy, Kendrick Lamar, Grimes, Cloud Nothings, Tim Hecker, and Willis Earl Beal (who we recently hosted at Cole's Bar). Over 30+ more acts TBA.

Tickets go on sale NEXT Friday (March 9), at noon CST.
$45 per/day or $110 for a 3-day pass.

Stay tuned for any/all lineup additions.

----
Feist played the Riv in November.
Grimes plays the bottle on March 14.
Cloud Nothings play Schubas on April 6.
GY! BE-related project Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra played Lincoln Hall in January.

Of Montreal crowd rafting @ NCMF (photo by Laura HoneyBadger)

In its second year, the three-day North Coast Music Festival brought an estimated 50,000 people to Union Park over Labor Day Weekend, eclipsing its draw from last year by 10,000 and selling out Saturday and Sunday in advance. Like last year, the fest featured an eclectic lineup of DJs, hip-hop, jam bands and groups straddling the lines between.

LED lighting flanked DJ platforms and served as backdrops at two of the four stages, which was an improvement from last year, though the sound-bleed issues remained. The lights added needed visual interest during DJ sets such as during Wolfgang Gartner's fresh, hard-driving mix wizardry. The same could be said for SBTRKT, who wore a teal mask, and performed a seamless and pleasing set that featured dubstep grooves with some honeyed vocal loops. No matter for the audience, who were often more riveting than what was happening on stage. Many young fans wore outrageous outfits and mirrored the diversity onstage, wielding sticks topped with various items, from stuffed animals to handmade robots, like totems. [Chicago Tribune]

Continue reading "North Coast Music Fest brought an estimated 50,000 people to Union Park..."

The 2011 North Coast Music Festival is set to take place this upcoming holiday weekend (9/2 - 9/4) in Chicago's Union Park.

Gogol Bordello, Lotus, Of Montreal, Little Dragon, SBTRKT (DJ), Wiz Khalifa, Rusko, RJD2, Common, The Budos Band and many more will play the city's unoffical end of summer celebration over the course of three days.

Download the festival map HERE, and check out the full 3-day schedule below..

Continue reading "North Coast Music Festival - Schedule, Festival Map, & details"

The 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival is less than a week away, taking place (as always) at Chicago's Union Park from July 15th - 17th.

Tickets for Sunday (7/17) of the festival are now sold out, however ones for Friday, and Saturday are still available.

For festival-goers, they've designed a free iPhone app. Grab it here.

If you can't make it at all, there is now the option to live stream the festival via their website.

To view more details including lineup and set times, click through to a previous post.

You can also view all official/unofficial festival afterparties here.

Sailor Jerry has just announced that they are hosting their own 3-day music festival at The Cobra Lounge in Chicago..the same weekend as the 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival.

Given that The Cobra Lounge, and Union Park are blocks away from each other..the weekend will be nothing short of interesting.

Sailor Jerry's '3 Days Of Music' is FREE w/ RSVP, and will feature White Mystery, Mannequin Men, and Gypsyblood as headliners.

Head below for the flyer.

Continue reading "Sailor Jerry to host a 3-day music festival @ Cobra Lounge (during P4K..)"

The 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival, which takes place on Friday, July 15th through Sunday, July 17th at Chicago's Union Park, is pleased to announce this year's schedule. Plan accordingly; there are so many must-see acts this year that sitting beneath a shady tree all day is simply not an option.

Also, if you still have not purchased tickets, single-day passes are going quickly! While the initial batch of Sunday tickets have sold out, we've released a final batch for sale, to make sure you don't miss TV on the Radio, Deerhunter, OFWGKTA, Cut Copy and 14 other artists. So get your tickets today! Tickets for all three days can be purchased here.

You'll find the schedule for all three days, with stage assignments below..

Continue reading "Pitchfork Festival announces set times"

Labor Day Weekend (9/2 - 9/4) will see the return of the North Coast Music Festival to Chicago's Union Park.

They've previously released the amazing, initial lineup of:

David Guetta
Wiz Khalifa
Thievery Corporation
Common
Gogol Bordello
Lotus
Wolfgang Gartner
Little Dragon
Neon Indian

NOW, comes the full schedule which you can view below.
Notable additions include: Fatboy Slim, Of Montreal, Major Lazer, and more.

Three-day passes are currently on sale for $95 a piece (plus fees), and single-day passes will become available within the next week or so, for $40 each (plus fees).
We'll keep you updated with an on sale time and date.

Continue reading "North Coast Music Festival 2011 - completed lineup & details"

As previously announced, North Coast Music Festival is slated for its September 2nd - 4th return to Chicago's Union Park.

The initial lineup includes:

David Guetta
Wiz Khalifa
Thievery Corporation
Common
Gogol Bordello
Lotus
Wolfgang Gartner
Little Dragon
Neon Indian
+ 40 more acts TBA

Three-day passes are available for $95 (plus fees), and single-day passes will be sold for $45 starting in June.

Stay tuned for updated lineup information.

Pitchfork Festival isn't the only big thing happening in Union Park this summer, North Coast Festival is slated for its September 2nd - 4th return to Chicago's West Loop.

Tickets & initial lineup details for the jam, and electronic-centric festival are to be released on Saturday, the 16th (time TBA). Single day passes are $40, and you can grab a 3-day pass for only $95 (imagine that).

Stay tuned right here for more North Coast info in the coming weeks!