Author Archives: Taylor Nettnin

On the second day of Pitchfork Music Festival 2024, the party was in full swing! The park was packed with fans waiting to sing their hearts out to their favorite artists. It was even hard to walk between stages because if someone wasn’t standing in the crowd, they were sitting down towards the back for a more relaxed viewing experience. The day was filled with tons of acts that had everyone moving and signing along.

We started off the day with local folk musician Kara Jackson. Kara’s sweet vocals feel like honey in your ears as she recites her poetic lyrics for everyone in Union Park to enjoy. She dazzled on stage with bright pink hair and a gorgeous denim dress. Her performance was enhanced by her backing band of all-star Chicago musicians, many of whom have graced the Pitchfork stage with their own projects.

After easing into the day with Kara Jackson, it was time to get angsty with Wednesday. The energy from front woman Karly Hartzman was intoxicating, with many fans in the crowd matching her energy and thrashing around. During the set, Hartzman reflected on the state of uneasiness some people have been feeling lately due to politics, lamenting that a lot of the crowd had “anger and sadness you want to let out and I do too; we can do it together,” calling for the crowd to unleash any of their pent up feelings by screaming along with them. And that they did!

For all of the old school hip-hop heads, getting to see De La Soul live was a special treat. Their Pitchfork performance was their first since the passing of original member Dave Jolicoeur in 2023. This highly anticipated set delivered, with guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch and Talib Kweli. Seeing the passion radiating from the surviving members, and how strong their bond is as they riff off one another on stage, proved why De La Soul are legends and will continue to be.

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Pitchfork Music Fest started its 18th year at Chicago’s Union Park with a bang. The sun was shining, not a single rain cloud was present, and smiles were plastered proudly on attendees faces. This year’s festivities brought promise that anyone and everyone was sure to have a great time, with artists from multiple genres being represented across the board. Whether you wanted to dance, to cry, to thrash, or something in between, there was a set for you.

Tkay Maidza, a 28-year old Australian R&B/Hip-Hop artist, travelled over 40 hours to perform for her packed crowd, and if she was feeling any effects from her long travel time, it certainly did not show. Donning a black leather outfit with stars and the word “fame” fashioned on the back, Tkay commanded the crowd with her infectious rhymes and mesmerizing stage presence. Switching between quickly timed rhymes and euphoric poppy tracks, the crowd was treated to a set that was sure to wake them up and prepare them for the rest of the weekend.

Continuing with the Hip-Hop theme, billy woods & Kenny Segal, the collaborative act comprised of the rapper and producer respectively, performed a selection of tracks from their highly revered albums Hiding Places and Maps. A visceral listening experience on its own, hearing billy woods recite his relatable perspective of traveling over Kenny Segal’s jazz inspired backing tracks is even more impactful live.

Yaeji packed a punch during her slot, bringing on two backup dancers to help get the crowd jumping to her house infused electronic set. Between having a dancer push Yaeji around the stage on a rolling chair while pretending to drive a car, to synchronized movements that had Yaeji and her dancers hit their feet on every inch of the stage, there wasn’t a dull moment during her hour long set. The dancing crescendoed during the last track, “raingurl,” with many fans continuing to sing the song long after the set concluded.

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After a brief hiatus and tour cancellation last year, Chicago was treated to a night full of boot stompin’ with Orville Peck as he brought his Stampede Tour through the Aragon Ballroom. In support of his most recent collaboration album, the Stampede Tour brought out a mixture of the soothing yet soulful sounds of Peck’s country crooning.

Country music is currently on a rise in popularity with artists like Beyoncé and Post Malone venturing into the genre, and Orville Peck is a front runner for helping diversify the country fan base. Looking around the packed Aragon Ballroom, you see some fans that are old and some that are young, some that are wearing complete neon outfits and some that are wearing Western wear, and some that are belting back the lyrics to every song, and some that are comfortably dancing along in their own world. Peck looks proudly over the crowd many times throughout the night.

Walking across the stage with a huge smile plastered on his partially masked face, Orville Peck starts the show with the first single he released back in 2018, “Big Sky.” He follows this with “Roses are Falling,” and takes the time to grab a rose from a bouquet he has at the back of the stage and pass it out to a fan in the front row—an act that he continued to perform with various fans throughout the night.

Performing a healthy mix of tracks from each of his releases, the highlights of the night were his performances of the newest tracks, all of which were released as duets: “Conquer the Heart,” “How Far Will We Take It?,” “The Hurtin’ Kind,” and “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other,” the latter being a collaboration with Willie Nelson.

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Little Big brought the heat to a packed house in Chicago, performing a slew of their viral tracks, as well as soon to be classics from their latest record Lobster Popstar.

Looking around the concert hall, you can spot fans in a variety of costumes, such as a full Adidas tracksuit akin to the ones worn in many of the band’s videos, Lobster headbands, head to toe neon, a fur suit, and overall graphic t-shirts with funny images of the band. The crowd knew they were going to be in for a night of dancing, and they did it in style! Little Bis also donned their own costumes, such as the Sailor Moon outfit front man Ilya started the show off with, and the all white, bedazzled Adidas tracksuit styled to look like an Elvis suit that he changed into mid-set.

Infusing quick witted lyrics with high energy techno rave beats, the Saint Petersburg natives are able to voice their stance on world matters while still having fun. Their track “Generation Cancellation” is a take on their condemnation of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. This was highlighted during their set by projecting “NO WAR” on the LCD screen behind them while they performed the high energy track, spinning around while they did so.

Highlights from the set included referring to the unborn child of Ilya and front-woman Sonya as “Little Little Big” directly after introducing themselves as Little Big, performing their viral track “Skibidi,” and evoking the crowd to follow along with the accompanying dance, and commanding the entire crowd to crouch down to the floor before springing up and jumping around in time with the music.

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Two Door Cinema Club sold out the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on Thursday, March 7th in support of their 2022 album Keep On Smiling. Joywave was brought along to provide support for this leg of the tour.

Fresh off the release of their new single “Brain Damage,” Joywave stormed the stage to an audience full of fans dancing along to their catchy tracks. Looking into the crowd, you see attendees instantly start bobbing their heads, whipping their hair, and letting their hands fly up. Some fans have even put on the tie-dyed shirts that they freshly purchased at the merch table. Starting off their set with the dance heavy “Somebody New,” Joywave instantly proves that they’re here for a good time. Towards the latter half of their set, they announce that they will be back in Chicago on a headlining tour in September, and tickets go on sale in May.

Two Door Cinema Club was up next. With riffs that make it feel like it’s summer, it’s hard not to dance around and have a carefree mood while their set goes on. They open their set with a track off their most recent album, followed by a track from their first album. They play this back and forth through their entire set, mixing in old with the new, perfectly balancing their body of work for all to enjoy. They even performed their recently released single, “Happy Customers,” for the first time live, which was promptly followed by deep cut “Costume Party.” Both tracks elicited a positive response from the crowd, with many attendees trying to push forward so they could get even closer to their favorite band.

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On Wednesday, November 8th, actor, comedian, and musician Zack Fox had the crowd laughing and dancing at the same time while he performed at the Metro in Chicago, IL. Storming the stage shortly after finding out that the SAG-AFTRA strike had come to an end, Fox was in rare form, giving the crowd his all and even commenting about how the crowds in Chicago can get a performer very pumped up.

Fox calmly walked on the stage, stopped at his looping machine, and proceeded to tell a joke about how he liked how white women get zen at yoga classes. Continuing with that joke, he started to play meditation music and led the crowd through a breathing exercise, laughing while doing so. He kept with the joke, playing the meditation music between some of his songs throughout the night.

Eloquently delivering a smooth flow over carefully crafted beats, you can’t tell that Fox interpolates comedic lines into his lyrics, such as “This the trap game Abraham Lincoln / Four score and 16 bars ago” from his collaboration with Kenny Beats “Jesus Is The One (I Got Depression).” Ending the night with crowd favorites “dummy” and “fafo,” everybody in attendance left the venue smiling and wanting more.

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What started out as a one time collaboration for an album by two hip-hop juggernauts, Run The Jewels celebrated 10 years as a super duo with four album releases under their belt, by performing in four different cities for four nights, each night consisting of a full play of one of their four albums. Chicago fans were in for a treat as they were one of the four lucky cities chosen for these special performances, and we were present for night three of this epic event.

El-P reminded the crowd at the beginning of the show that they were going to be playing their third album all the way through. Meaning, they weren’t only playing “just the bangers” from each album, but they were going to get through every single track, including the ones that they never put in touring rotation.

Run The Jewels are infectious when they perform live, which is a huge part of why they’ve been together for 10 years and why the fans keep coming back for more. Each night of their four show run in Chicago was completely sold out, and that included special four packs of tickets for super fans that wanted to attend every single night.

You can tell while watching El-P and Killer Mike on stage just how much they love performing together in front of their fans. There is never a moment when a smile isn’t plastered on one of their faces. The energy that they exude onstage feeds the energy of the crowd, and getting to watch this amazing spectacle from the outskirts of the crowd is exhilarating. El-P and Killer Mike run and jump around the stage, while the fans are banging their heads and bouncing around in the crowd.

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Fall Out Boy kicked off their So Much For (Tour) Dust summer tour in Chicago, IL on Wednesday, June 21st at Wrigley Field. This marks the third time that the Illinois natives have played at Wrigley Field, a feat that lead singer Patrick Stump admitted they never could have imagined would ever happen. To mark the momentous night, they brought along their friends The Academy Is… and Alkaline Trio who also hail from Illinois, to make the show even more special.

When The Academy Is… played “Snakes On A Plane (Bring It),” a song that was unfortunately cut for time when they last played a show at Riot Fest in 2022, the crowd was being set for a show that will likely be talked about by fans for many years to come. Fall Out Boy treated the crowd to so many deep cuts—every time a song started, the crowd would scream even louder to show their shock at hearing their favorite songs live.

Patrick Stump even exclaimed that he “bet you never thought you’d hear this song being played at Wrigley,” before launching right into “Calm Before The Storm,” a track from their debut album Take This To Your Grave, which turned 20 years old this year. Stump also talked about how he was jogging around the neighborhood where the venue is located while they were writing that album, writing the song “Where Is Your Boy?” in his head. Bassist Pete Wentz quipped back “imagine us jogging,” to which the crowd laughed and cheered.

This show also saw the return of guitarist and co-founder Joe Trohman who announced in January of this year, following the announcement of the band’s eighth studio album So Much (for) Stardust, that he would be taking a hiatus to focus on his mental health. The entire band were well in sync with their guitarist back and better than ever, grooving all night with smiles plastered on their faces. They even played “G.I.N.A.S.F.S.,” a bonus from their third studio album Infinity On High, live for the first time ever.

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“We’re not gonna party like it’s Friday night, we’re not gonna party like it’s Saturday night, we’re gonna party like it’s Thursday night because that’s the night the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are in Chicago!” That’s how vocalist Karen O set off the Yeah Yeah Yeahs electric show in Chicago on Thursday, June 1st. And party is exactly what everyone did.

Decked out in sparkling sequins, backlit by a huge LED panel, and armed with the excitement of being on tour, Karen O brought the most intoxicating energy—everyone in the crowd was dancing, singing every lyric right back to the band. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are celebrating the 20 year anniversary of their groundbreaking album Fever to Tell, yet the seasoned band had the same energy and enthusiasm level as they did in 2003. It’s exhilarating to see a band full of world renowned musicians bringing the same intensity to the stage as they did when they were energetic 20-somethings.

The songs they performed from their newest release Cool It Down, “Burning” and “Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” brought the same soul and punch as some of their more well-known tracks from their earlier releases. Just as the audience went crazy when the band performed “Sacrilege” and “Heads Will Roll,” everyone in the outdoor theater had the same level of enthusiasm when the band performed their slower track, “Maps,” which included a special intro dedicated to those who celebrate Pride Month.

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Hitting the road in support of her latest Third Man Records release Raving Ghost, Olivia Jean and her talented backing band gave their all to Chicago, the last stop on the first leg of the tour. Gal Gun and The Knee-Hi’s provided support before Olivia took the stage.

Wearing her signature bouffant, paired with chic cat eye makeup, Olivia immediately began shredding on her guitar as soon as her set started. Shifting between surfer rock and heavy grunge effects, her music paired beautifully with her raw and powerful vocals. She even lended her talents to a stunning rendition of Enya’s “Orinoco Flow,” which the crowd immediately ate up.

The crowd was a mixture of equal amounts of jumping around and standing and admiring, with a general appreciation for the show unfolding on stage. One couldn’t help but notice how many attendees had a huge smile plastered on their faces. As the night came to an end, the crowd was left wanting more.

Olivia is an unmatched powerhouse on guitar, so whether you’ve been a fan since her The Black Belle days, or you’re hearing her music for the first time, you can’t help but be amazed at how she has honed her craft.

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Hot off the release of her debut album Let Her Burn, Rebecca Black played in front of doting fans in Chicago, IL on Friday, May 12th. Mazie helped pump up the crowd with an opening set.

Mazie, a pop artist featured on the soundtrack for Netflix’s Do Revenge, really brought the energy as she hit the stage and immediately got the crowd off their feet. Employing heavy bass lines, as well as a catchy electronic beats, it was hard not to bop around while she dazzled on stage.

The lights turned down and the strobes started to pop off, making it so you could only see quick glimpses as the dancers took the stage. Wrapped in a black sheet, Rebecca Black twirled to remove the sheet in an epic reveal to the crowd. As the crowd chanted her name, the beat dropped and everyone was fully immersed into the Let Her Burn era.

Armed with the same choreographer as Lady Gaga and packing powerhouse vocals of well seasoned stars, Rebecca Black has proven that she is more than the tween who went viral in the early 2010s for a song about a weekday. Rebecca’s backup dancers, Charles Fournier and Cj Jensen, complemented her moves as they danced in sync to the music, even bringing out fun props like a fully rhinestoned chainsaw to hold her microphone.

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Riding high off their latest album release, 100 Gecs brought their hyper pop dance tracks to a sold out crowd at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on April 20th. With a setlist featuring new songs from 10,000 Gecs, as well as crowd favorites from the previous releases, 100 Gecs lit up the crowd for an hour and a half of pure bliss. New York electronic duo Machine Girl started the night off with heavy bass and trippy lighting, getting the crowd moving and dripping with sweat.

Keeping in theme with trippy lighting, 100 Gecs stormed the stage while all of their lights had a strobing effect that fit perfectly in time with their music. Donning their signature cloaks and wizard hats, they were met with an enthusiastic crowd screaming back every word to “Dumbest Girl Alive,” the opening track to their latest album and the song they opened their set with.

Laura Les often had a huge grin while performing, having the same amount of fun onstage as the crowd was on the dance floor. It’s endearing seeing an artist match the energy of the crowd, performing at the absolute highest capacity possible. Dylan Brady held it down, backing up Laura and hyping up the crowd.

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Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi brought his self-proclaimed “music for single people” to a sold out crowd at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on Wednesday, April 19th. Em Beihold served as the opener for the Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent Tour.

Capaldi’s sold out North American tour sees him at smaller venues than he normally plays, making these quite intimate shows for him and the crowd attending. As such, he often talks at length between songs, excited that he can see the crowd and interact with them. During one of these moments, he declared that the Aragon Ballroom was one of the weirdest venues he had ever seen, comparing it to the fictitious Agrabah from Disney’s Aladdin. The Aragon Ballroom has ornate structures resembling a castle, while the ceiling is painted to look like a starry night.

The accomplished musician made his way through his various hits that have earned him a spot on the Top 100 most listened to artists currently on Spotify. Capaldi was unable to sing some of the lines from his songs at times due to health issues, but the crowd was more than happy to sing loud enough to fill in the gaps. Even with the help, Capaldi was able to push through and still play his guitar and flawlessly sing, actively pushing through his tics. It was heartwarming to see.

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No backing band. No backing tracks. Just John Mayer and his instruments. That’s how near 20,000 Chicagoans spent their Friday night at the John Mayer Solo tour as it made its way through the midwest.

Embarking on his first truly solo tour, which has just announced new dates for the fall, Mayer showed just how talented he is without any theatrics or help from other musicians. Switching between various acoustic guitars, the piano, and a harmonica, John Mayer commanded the crowd for nearly 2 hours, playing some of his more well known hits, such as “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” and “New Light,” while also touching on classics and covers, such as “Heartbreak Warefare,” and the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil.”

Mayer often talked to the crowd between each song, sharing stories of how each song was created or where he was in life at that moment, as well as engaging with what concertgoers were shouting at him. Notably when Mayer heard someone repeatedly shouting for him to play “Vultures,” a John Mayer Trio song, he decided he was going to take a stab at playing it to show the person why that song doesn’t work acoustically and isn’t on the setlist. The result was a thrilling rendition that saw Mayer do a little bit of beatboxing, as well as on the spot transposing to guitar for all the instruments involved, and the crowd absolutely loved it. Mayer said that he’d would work on it as a result.

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Hitting the stage in front of his largest headlining show to date, JAWNY had every person in the room, from the floor to the seated area in the balcony, on their feet dancing along. If you weren’t at the sold out JAWNY show in Chicago, IL on St. Patrick’s Day, you truly missed out on an incredible night.

Fresh off of the release of his debut album on Interscope Records, JAWNY played nearly every track from It’s Never Fair, Always True, as well as several fan favorites from his previous releases, even intertwining a Taylor Swift cover in the middle of the set, in which the crowd sang along so loud they overpowered the band’s in-ear monitors. You could tell that this moment caught JAWNY off guard, as he was visibly amazed at the volume of the crowd and commented on how thankful he was that the fans helped him pursue his dreams.

As the band played to the self proclaimed “best city in America for music and shows,” when starting the rock heavy song “take it back,” you could feel the floor shaking from how much the crowd was jumping. This led JAWNY to recall a moment when he was opening the show for a different band several years ago at the same venue, and he sitting in the balcony during the soundcheck looking forward to when he would be able to play for a crowd this big on his own. He even mentioned that they were originally going to book a much smaller venue as they didn’t think they could sell out the show. The crowd cheered him on through his speech, proving that it was a good idea to pick a larger venue.

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