Music and masks: COVID protocols abound on first day of Pitchfork festival
COVID protocols abound as first-day headliner Phoebe Bridgers delivers rousing Pitchfork set
This year’s Pitchfork Music Festival kicked off Friday in the West Loop, where thousands of mostly masked festivalgoers converged on Union Park.
A nearly 15-year-old summer tradition typically set in July, Pitchfork Fest organizers canceled last year’s iteration due to the pandemic and pushed this year’s back to September, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
In the months and weeks leading up to the festival, Pitchfork announced its own COVID protocols, similar to those announced by venues and other festivals in the last few months. Festivalgoers are asked to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test obtained within 24 hours of each day they attend.
Organizers also recommended and encouraged attendees to wear masks “except when actively eating or drinking.” Signs were posted at entrances to emphasize the message. A line for the festival had stretched down Ashland Avenue by noon Friday, as a majoritymasked crowd waited to be let in.
Security checked proof of vaccination or testing and IDs multiple times, before sending festival-goers on to another lineup of security checking bags and frisking, while Pitchfork volunteers scanned tickets and handed out schedules.
Here’s a look at some of the sets from Day 1 of the festival:
Phoebe Bridgers
“I hate you for what you did,” sang Los Angeles-based singersongwriter Phoebe Bridgers, breaking into the beginning of her 2017 breakout single “Motion Sickness” and setting the tone for her headlining set at Pitchfork on Friday night.
Bridgers and her band — all clad in skeleton onesies — were greeted by an enormous crowd, eager to see the 27-year-old artist perform her blend of emotive indie folk-rock after a year’s worth of pandemic-forced canceled tour dates and virtual performances.
From the cheery Christmas lights wrapped around her mic stand contrasted with the skulland-bones imagery of her outfit, Bridgers leaned into her knack for embracing irony to reach emotional clarity.
Set highlight “Kyoto” made the crowd swell as fans danced to the upbeat song while singing deeply personal lines.
The artist ended her set with her song “I Know The End,” building up to a climax that prompted the crowd to jump and scream as Bridgers and her band did the same, sounding like a powerful, melodic exorcism. The song’s abrupt ending also meant the end of her set, as she and her band rushed off the stage.
Kelly Lee Owens
Welsh producer and musician Kelly Lee Owens brought her meditative electronic techno-pop
sound to the Blue Stage Friday, easing the crowd of festival-goers into a sort of tranquil trance as the sun set on Day 1.
Many members of the crowd closed their eyes and swayed to the low, feel-it-in-your-chest frequencies pushed through the subwoofers, while others nodded to the ethereal beats with their eyes transfixed on the artist working on stage.
Owens was in constant motion throughout the whole set, playing keys, turning nobs, pounding a sample pad and singing into a mic. The effect was an engaging performance, where Owens’ production was accented by her breathy vocals floating above shimmering arpeggios.
Her setlist boasted a number of tracks from her latest release, last year’s “Inner Song,” a dreamy and introspective album.
Dehd
The three-piece group kicked things off by bursting into “Lucky,” serving their brand of jangly, moody indie-rock to the delight of hundreds gathered to see the home team.
Drummer Eric McGrady worked as the band’s backbone standing center stage, flanked by bassist Emily Kempf and guitarist Jason Balla positioned just ahead, who both jumped and swayed while trading vocal duties.
Kempf ’s guttural wails Friday on set standouts like “Baby” sounded as if they were drenched in reverb, creating the illusion of a once-empty hall filled with her powerful voice.
Balla’s guitar lines on tracks like “Flood” came through crisply, sailing through the speakers without the anchor of a rhythm guitar.