It’s weird looking back at Union Park now. For three days in July 2024, that patch of grass in the West Loop felt like the center of the indie universe, but nobody knew it would be the last time Pitchfork hosted its flagship event in Chicago. The Pitchfork Music Festival 2024 Chicago lineup wasn’t just a list of bands; it was a vibe check on where alternative music stood before the brand decided to pull up stakes and move on.
Honestly, the weather was actually decent. Usually, you’re melting into the pavement by 3:00 PM, but 2024 gave us a bit of a break.
The lineup itself felt like a love letter to the people who have been reading the site since the MP3 blog days. Black Pumas, Jamie xx, and Alanis Morissette headlined. It was a mix that felt both nostalgic and weirdly current. People were arguing about whether Alanis "fit" the brand, but then she played "You Oughta Know" and everyone basically lost their minds. That’s the magic of Union Park. It’s small enough to feel intimate but big enough to catch a legend.
The headliners that defined the weekend
Black Pumas kicked things off on Friday. They brought this heavy, soul-drenched energy that felt perfect for a Chicago summer evening. Eric Burton is a force. He spent half the set practically in the front row, connecting with people in a way that felt real, not staged.
Saturday was a total pivot. Jamie xx turned the field into a massive, sweaty dance floor.
If you weren’t there, it’s hard to describe the shift from the midday indie-rock sets to the thumping electronic pulse he brought. It was loud. It was colorful. It was exactly what everyone needed after a long day of standing in the sun.
Then came Sunday. Alanis Morissette.
There was this collective realization during her set that Jagged Little Pill is essentially part of the DNA of modern indie music. You could hear her influence in half the younger acts on the bill. Seeing her belt out those songs while a sea of people in thrifted oversized shirts sang along? Pure catharsis.
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Deep cuts and the mid-day magic
The thing about the Pitchfork Music Festival 2024 Chicago lineup that most people forget is that the best stuff usually happens before 5:00 PM.
Take Brittany Howard. She isn't exactly a "deep cut," but her set on Friday was a masterclass in vocal power. She has this way of commanding a stage that makes everything else feel small. Then you had 100 gecs. They are polarizing, sure. Some people hate the noise, others live for the chaos. But watching a guy in a wizard hat jump around while thousands of people lose their collective grip on reality is what music festivals are actually for.
Carly Rae Jepsen also performed on Saturday. It was pop perfection. There’s no irony there—just pure, unadulterated joy.
- Sudan Archives brought the violin back to the main stage in the coolest way possible.
- Muna proved why they are the current champions of queer synth-pop.
- Amen Dunes delivered a set that felt like a hazy, beautiful dream you didn't want to wake up from.
The Blue Stage—the one tucked back in the trees—is where the real nerds hang out. It’s shaded, which is a plus, but the sound there is always a bit more experimental. You had acts like Model/Actriz just absolutely tearing the place apart with this industrial, high-tension energy. It was a sharp contrast to the more polished sounds on the Green and Red stages.
Why this specific year matters now
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. Shortly after the 2024 edition wrapped up, the news broke that Pitchfork as a standalone entity was being folded into GQ, and later, that the Chicago festival was being discontinued.
This makes the 2024 lineup a historical artifact.
It was the final curated statement from a team that had spent nearly two decades defining "cool" in the Midwest. The diversity of the 2024 bill—featuring everyone from the jazz-fusion of Jeff Parker to the experimental rap of Billy Woods—showed a festival that was still willing to take risks even when the industry was playing it safe.
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Chicago festivals are usually corporate behemoths. Lollapalooza is great, but it’s a different beast entirely. Pitchfork felt local. It felt like it belonged to the neighborhood. You could walk out the gates and grab a beer at a dive bar on Lake Street without feeling like you were leaving the vibe behind.
Breaking down the daily flow
Friday was the chillest day, honestly. Besides Black Pumas, you had Tkay Maidza bringing high energy early on, and Yaeji turning the afternoon into a club set. It set a high bar for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday was the heavy hitter. Between Jamie xx, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Jessie Ware, it was basically a marathon of movement. Jessie Ware is a literal queen on stage. Her "Pearl" dancers and the disco-inflected set were arguably the highlight of the whole weekend for anyone with a pulse.
Sunday felt more introspective, at least until Alanis took the stage. Grandaddy played their classic Sophtware Slump tracks, and it felt like a warm hug for the Gen X and elder millennial crowd.
The logistics and the "Union Park" factor
Union Park isn't huge. That’s the secret sauce. You can get from one stage to another in five minutes, which means you can actually see the music you paid for.
In 2024, the food was actually pretty good too. Chicago staples like Billy Goat Tavern were there, but the vegan options were surprisingly solid. It’s those little things—having a decent place to sit in the shade for ten minutes—that make or break a festival experience.
The crowd was also notably different from the Lolla crowd. Fewer glitter-covered teenagers, more people in vintage band tees talking about vinyl pressings. It was a community.
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How to find that 2024 energy today
Since the festival in Chicago is gone, fans are looking for where that spirit moved. Some of it has drifted toward smaller festivals like Tomorrow Never Knows or the various block parties in Logan Square and Wicker Park.
But if you’re trying to recreate the feel of the Pitchfork Music Festival 2024 Chicago lineup in your own listening habits, you have to look at the curators who left. Many of them are still active in the scene, booking shows at venues like the Empty Bottle or Thalia Hall.
To really dig into what made that 2024 lineup special, you should:
- Check out the archives of the Chicago-based labels that were represented, like Drag City or International Anthem.
- Follow the individual artists like Mannequin Pussy or L'Rain, who are carrying the torch for the kind of "independent" spirit the festival championed.
- Support local Chicago venues that continue to book the mid-tier acts that were the backbone of Union Park every July.
The 2024 lineup wasn't perfect—no festival is—but it was a fitting goodbye to a city that embraced it for 19 years. It was a weekend of high highs, a few rain clouds, and a lot of really, really good music. It reminded us that even as the media landscape shifts and brands disappear, the actual songs and the people who gather to hear them aren't going anywhere.
The Chicago music scene is resilient. It existed before Pitchfork moved in, and it's thriving long after the last stage at Union Park was packed away.
Actionable Insights for Music Fans
If you missed the 2024 festival or want to keep that discovery engine going, start by exploring the discographies of the "middle-card" artists from that year. Look into Muna's self-titled album or Brittany Howard's What Now. These records capture the exact intersection of soul, rock, and pop that the festival excelled at highlighting. Additionally, keep an eye on the schedule for Thalia Hall and The Salt Shed in Chicago; these venues have effectively become the year-round spiritual successors to the Pitchfork stage, booking the same caliber of boundary-pushing artists. Finally, follow the independent radio station CHIRP Radio (107.1 FM) in Chicago, as they continue to champion the local and indie acts that made the 2024 lineup a landmark event.