Late last night the first wave of artists were announced for the third annual North Coast Music Festival. The three-day event, which takes place in Union Park over Labor Day Weekend, features a mix of electronic, hip-hop, and jam bands. The first wave of artists announced includes Pretty Lights, Big Boi, The Rapture, Steve Aoki, YACHT, Dan Deacon, Maya Jane Coles, and Com Truise. more ›

Pitchfork Music Festival will transform Union Park into the latest installment of their indie rock weekend paradise on July 13-15 this year. The initial line-up includes, to no one's surprise, site favorites like Vampire Weekend and Feist. Personally we're more excited that the expansive sounds of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and the sludgy crush of Liturgy is included in this initial announcement. And recent local discover Willis Earl Beal's in here too, leading us to hope that this year's fest is willing to uncover new delights instead of depending on relative heavy hitters. more ›

As festival season comes to a close, Chicago still has one big punch it’s packing. The second annual North Coast Music Festival kicks off tomorrow for three days of a wide range of music. more ›

Day three of the Pitchfork Music Festival is now behind us so let's reflect on the hits and misses yesterday's line-up and the fest in general more ›

Day two of the Pitchfork Music Festival is now behind us so let's reflect on the hits and misses yesterday's line-up and the fest in general more ›

Day one of the Pitchfork Music Festival is now behind us so let's reflect on the hits and misses yesterday's line-up and the fest in general more ›

The 2011 edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off tomorrow in Union Park and continues through Sunday. One of the little joys of a bill like Pitchfork's is that we look forward to discovering new groups or finally having "ah-HA" moments with groups we thought we weren't all that into. One of the big joys, though, is the anticipation that builds up to see the acts on the bill that you're already excited about, be they fresh young talents or old friends coming through for an indie rock victory lap. After you've read our picks we recommend downloading the fancy new Pitchfork Music Festival app to help you map out your own weekend and then snag the free music sampler the site produced with the help of eMusic to help you get acquainted with any bands you're not already familiar with. more ›

Though its future might have seemed questionable just a few months ago, especially amidst the shaky landscape of festivals in Chicago, North Coast Music Festival will return for its second year, again in Union Park on Labor Day weekend, September 2-4. With a bent distinctly different than other Chicago-based fests like Lollapalooza and Pitchfork, North Coast's return is surely welcome to music fans looking for more electronic, hip-hop and jam in their festival experience. Our reports last year were wholly positive, as North Coast put a nice cap on a festival season full of different experiences. For those looking to re-live that experience, or to experience it for the first time altogether, North Coast tickets will go on sale April 16th, the same day the lineup will be announced. more ›

While we think it's CRIMINAL to have Guided By Voices play before Animal Collective, we're still happy the Ohio-based stalwarts have been added to the Pitchfork Music Festival bill. Other notable additions include ex-Hideout bartender Neko Case and Chrissy Murderbot's juke to be reckoned with. We admit we weren't toally stoked about the line-up for the festival, taking place in Union Park from July 15 through 17, but now we're ready to head out and save a prime seat on the lawn right now! Tickets for each day are still available, though three-day passes are sold out. more ›

Now that we've gone for the easy, lazy hipster-hating joke in the header, let's dispense with the real news. Pitchfork announced on its venerable, taste-making site the dates for the 2011 version of annual music festival: July 15-17 at the usual bat station, Union Park. Tickets go on sale next Friday, March 4th, and they'll set you back $110 for three-day passes, and $45 for single day passes. more ›

On its Twitter feed late Tuesday night, the North Coast Music Festival tantalizingly promised that more acts for the fest would be announced and, as of midnight Wednesday, they did not disappoint. North Coast tweeted that joining the already in-place likes of De La Soul, Jakob Dylan, Flying Lotus, The Chemical Brothers and Disco Biscuits will be Lupe Fiasco, The New Deal, Holy Ghost, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Calude VonStroke and The New Mastersounds. All of these acts will no doubt be dropping serious sonic science on the masses set to invade Union Park over Labor Day weekend. more ›

While Pitchfork Music Fest gets all the Union Park attention, another music fest will move in on Labor Day weekend. The North Coast Music Fest will be held September 3rd through 5th at the park, closing out another Chicago summer in funky style. Via Time Out Chicago, the lineup is now out. It's not too shabby and features a few names we've heard of. Notable headliners include The Chemical Brothers, jam-band The Disco Biscuits, and a DJ set from our pal Moby. Other acts of note include De La Soul, Jakob Dylan, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Flying Lotus. While not exactly a mind-blowing lineup, it's still solid with enough talent to woo us back down to Ashland and Lake. Plus, three-day passes are currently being sold for a very affordable $65 making it one of the better mega-fest deals of the summer. more ›

2009 Pitchfork Music Festival tickets go on sale Friday, March 13, even though no bands have beeen announced yet. We assume that means we're going to get at least a taste of the line-up in the next week? Is it too much to ask for a little Jesus Lizard? Or -- heavens crack open -- Pavement? This year's fest takes place in lovely little Union Park on July 17 through July 19. more ›

The Pitchfork Music Festival rolled to a triumphant close yesterday with a much-delayed set by Cut Copy literally stealing the show from the headlining Spoon. A few scheduling changes led to minor confusion between crowds from time-to time, but the organizers did a good job of trying to constantly remind people where they should be and when from the various on-stage announcements delivered by either Tim Tuten or Damon Locks throughout the day. It was also the dryest and warmest day of the weekend, but folks were looking out for each other and helped each other cope with the bright heat that settled over Union Park. more ›

Ah, the rain. In previous years we've always half jokingly call the Pitchfork Music Festival "Sweatfork" due to the usually oppressive heat, but this year the afternoon storms brought about "Mudfork" and the attendant rise of the mud people. Saturday is usually the most crowded day of the festival and this year was no different, although we must admit we're seeing less and less of the ironic gym suited American Apparel crowd and more and more of, well, normal folks. more ›

The Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 2008 edition this weekend at Union Park, and we've been highlighting some of the "can't miss" acts of the weekend on Chicagoist over the next few days. Today we'll tackle eight acts from the sold-out Sunday line-up. But before we do, you should know that Saturday and Sunday are completely sold out and there are only a few walk-up tickets that will be available for tomorrow's show. If you waited too long though, you can still catch a few of the acts -- Fleet Foxes, Extra Golden, Boban Markovic, and A Hawk and a Hacksaw -- for FREE starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Now on to Sunday's highlights. more ›

The Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 2008 edition this weekend at Union Park, and we're going to highlight some of the "can't miss" acts of the weekend on Chicagoist over the next few days. Today we'll tackle eight can't-miss acts from the sold-out Saturday line-up. more ›

The Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 2008 edition this weekend at Union Park, and we're going to highlight some of the "can't miss" acts of the weekend on Chicagoist over the next few days. Today we'll tackle the Friday night line-up, filled with nostalgia, brio, blood, sweat, tears, and louder than a Bomb Squad production. more ›

Pitchfork announced another batch of acts appearing at its festival in Union Park this summer from July 18 - 20. The biggest hoopla surrounds the news that Mission Of Burma will be performing it's legendary Vs. album in it's entirety on Friday's bill. Other big names include Dinosaur Jr, Jarvis Cocker, and the team-up of Ghostface & Raekwon. more ›

If “d-bag” or other words relating to female cleansing products came to your head when you first heard about English opening in the Clark/LaSalle/Ontario corridor, you’re not too far off. The weekends are a sure bet for sceney types and well, so is a Monday after work apparently. So why even go there? If you like that sort of stare-down beautiful people watching, you’re in luck here. If not, stick to the sidewalk patio... more ›

Chicagoist had the foresight to divide the days of the Pitchfork Music Festival amongst ourselves, so as to offer you, the reader, consistent, non-sunburned coverage of as much of the weekend as possible. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the breakfast-slot hits and misses from the past two days: SATURDAY Voxtrot surprised with a buoyant set of danceable candy on Saturday afternoon. On record their synth-pop is passable but not extraordinary,... more ›

We have a confession to make: we've never been to Pitchfork before. Considering the festival's only been going on officially for two years, it's not all that surprising. Still, being music lovers, we wanted to shed the "Pitchfork virgin" connotation and take the plunge. The only other big music fest we've been party to was the Touch & Go 25th anniversary at Hideout last year, along with the occasional street fest. We picked Saturday for... more ›

The air couldn't have felt better in Union Park for the first day of the Pitchfork Music Festival. The format of not having bands play all day the first day was perfect, it's nice to see the headliners sans really full porto-o-potties and there were far less people passed out for you to trip on. Seriously, those people are like land mines. Anyway, we will, of course, be bringing you in depth coverage and reviews... more ›

While most Pitchfork Music Festival coverage will undoubtedly focus on the headliners, we think it would be a shame to not mention our favorite part of the festival: the side stage. The Balance Stage, aka “the tent,” has been our escape at the past two Pitchfork-involved festivals. During the afternoon, much of the Union Park field is full of immobile patrons only half-interested in who’s on the stage, making walking around the festival a mile-long... more ›

Last night Chicagoist was among a few hundred people who attended the Goose Island brewing facilities on West Fulton. The occasion was to celebrate the official launch of their new "312unes" music sponsorship program. The concept behind 312unes is to show continued support of the local rock music scene while simultaneously promoting one of Goose Island's two flagship brands, according to Goose Island marketing director Darrell Jursa. "Goose Island has been supporting local acts for... more ›

Chicagoist didn't want to keep all the techie fun to ourselves so we thought we would share with you that we are heading to Web Ascent tomorrow night at Union Park. Web Ascent is an event that recognizes technology communities and is a perfect place for entrepreneurs, developers, designers, undergraduate and graduate students interested in the Web 2.0 space to mingle. The event is sponsored by one of our favorite blogs, Mashable the world's largest... more ›

Part of an international movement, Chicago’s fourth-annual World Naked Bike Ride is set for this coming Saturday. Check-in will be from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. in Union Park, near 100 N. Ashland, at the statue of former Mayor Carter Henry Harrison, Sr. He would be so proud. The official e-mail announcement arrived in Chicagoist’s mail box today, and warns non-participants and disruptive people will be turned away, suggesting you’re not welcome if you’re just... more ›

As you read this, thousands of people are preparing to march from Union Park to Grant Park, past the Federal Center in the Loop, hoping that they can impress upon the rest of the nation the importance not only of their struggle, but the impact and significance that their lives have had upon our nation. Around the US today, immigration rights activists, immigrants, and yes, natural born Americans, will be carrying American flags in marches... more ›

The rumors had been swirling about who else would play Friday night at the Pitchfork Music Festival and those rumors turned out to be true for Slint and GZA joining up with Sonic Youth to play a full album. We never heard a peep about Saturday’s headliner of Yoko Ono. Love her or hate her, for a myriad of reasons, John Lennon’s widow is quite the accomplishment for Pitchfork’s Fest in July. Ono is more... more ›

This week when emptying our wallet, it’s either the old guys getting back together or the new guys still climbing their way to the top. This is probably scarier visually than it used to be: Heaven and Hell Live with Black Sabbath, Megadeth and Machine Head. We say scarier because we just saw Ronnie James Dio in Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny, and we’re not sure we’d want to be in the front... more ›