Feb. 19--Beach House, Carly Rae Jepson, Brian Wilson, Savages, Sufjan Stevens, Miguel, Shamir, the Sun Ra Arkestra and Super Furry Animals are among the acts scheduled to perform at what is shaping up as a wildly eclectic Pitchfork Music Festival July 15-17 in Union Park.
This year's lineup, announced Friday, has a deeper, more diverse feel than some of the more top-heavy bills of recent years, which saw major stars such as R. Kelly, Kendrick Lamar and Beck headline.
The 44 performers represent an array of genres: R (FKA twigs), hip-hop (Mick Jenkins), electro-pop (Neon Indian), jazz (Kamasi Washington), art-pop (Julia Holter), indie-rock (Savages, Twin Peaks), singer-songwriters (Moses Sumney) and veteran innovators. Wilson is scheduled to perform his Beach Boys masterpiece "Pet Sounds" in its entirety, and the recently reunited Digable Planets will revisit their '90s jazz-inspired hip-hop heyday. The Sun Ra Arkestra carries on the sumptuous, futuristic legacy left by its late legendary namesake.
Two key contributors to Kendrick Lamar's acclaimed "To Pimp a Butterfly" album are scheduled: jazz-funk bassist Thundercat and Washington, the protean saxophonist who released a three-CD 2015 album, "The Epic."
Rising star Shamir played last year's festival, and is likely destined to perform on one of the two bigger stages with his ace band (he was confined to a smaller stage in the southwest corner of the park last summer). Similarly, U.K. innovator FKA twigs is likely to have a bigger showcase than her sparsely attended Lollapalooza performance last year.
In Pitchfork's world, Broken Social Scene represents something of a heritage act. It was one of the bands championed in the e-zine's early years, and gave rise to the now-flourishing Canadian indie-rock scene that includes Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Feist and others.
Pitchfork will return for its 11th year in Union Park, where it typically draws sell-out daily audiences of 18,500. Though much smaller in scale than Lollapalooza, which returns July 28-31 to Grant Park, Pitchfork has developed a strong niche as a tastemaker on a crowded national festival scene. It is booked by promoter (and Chicago jazz drummer) Mike Reed and the long-running Pitchfork e-zine.
Tickets ($65 per day or $165 for three-day pass) are on sale at ticketfly.com.
Here is the full lineup:
FRIDAY, JULY 15
Beach House
Broken Social Scene
Carly Rae Jepsen
Girl Band
Julia Holter
Mick Jenkins
Moses Sumney
The Range
Shamir
Twin Peaks
Whitney
SATURDAY, JULY 16
ANDERSON .Paak the Free Nationals
BJ The Chicago Kid
Blood Orange
Brian Wilson performing Pet Sounds
Car Seat Headrest
Circuit des Yeux
Digable Planets
Holly Herndon
Jenny Hval
Kevin Morby
Martin Courtney
Oneman
Royal Headache
Savages
Sufjan Stevens
Super Furry Animals
SUNDAY, JULY 17
Empress Of
FKA twigs
Holy Ghost!
The Hotelier
Jeremih
Jlin
Kamasi Washington
LUH.
Miguel
NAO
Neon Indian
Oneohtrix Point Never
Porches
RP Boo
Sun Ra Arkestra
Thundercat
Woods
