Top 10 Performances of Pitchfork Music Festival 2016

/ By / Lists, Music, POD Exclusive

Pitchfork Music Festival took place over the weekend and it was another fine edition of the annual fest. We saw all the dope sets on our checklist, and then we added some more to round out the whole experience. Needless to say, all three days played out like one big highlight reel, with performance after performance more than delivering on our expectations! Lowkey, you’ll find that the majority of these were on that original must-see list, but I take that more as a testament to how good we pick ’em ?.

So check below to find out our picks for the dopest sets of #p4kfest 2016.

Take a look at our daily photo gallery of Pitchfork Music Festival 2016:

  • Day 1 feat. Twin Peaks, Mick Jenkins, Shamir, Broken Social Scene, Beach House
  • Day 2 feat. BJ The Chicago Kid, Blood Orange, Super Furry Animals, Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys), Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Sufjan Stevens
  • Day 3 feat. HOMME, Empress Of, Holy Ghost!, Neon Indian, Jeremih, Miguel, FKA twigs

**Keep scrolling after the list below to see additional images from throughout the festival weekend that weren’t included in the galleries above.

Top Pick

Anderson .Paak

Anderson Paak_PITCHFORK
Photo Credit: Johnny Fan

Hands down, this year’s MVP!! No other set can fit the description of “lit” quite like .Paak’s. The Blue stage was almost too small to hold all the dopeness that surrounded this show, led by Anderson .Paak’s rhymes and elevated to greater heights by his band The Free Nationals. It was a party up at Union Park, and it was a shame this man didn’t get to command a bigger stage and with a headlining slot… So coming off a performance like this, and at a prestigious fest like this one, be prepared to see this guy absolutely blow up.

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Twin Peaks

The Twin Peaks dudes were spectacular, coming out with cigarettes and instruments in one hand, Goose Island beer in the other, the Chicago band were here to party and the crowd was invited to do the same. The vibes that these guys delivered to the Red stage were felt throughout; a cool balance of the band’s more recent, chill material and their more lively songs off albums 1 and 2. Fists pumped, feet stomping, crowdsurfing galore. Everything you want from a dope concert experience rolled into one!

 

Mick Jenkins

Photo Credit: Johnny Fan
Photo Credit: Johnny Fan

Drinking more water on you… Mick Jenkins had a super dope set on the Blue stage, that got many a Pitchfork Fest attendee extra hyped. Backed by theMIND and live instrumentation, Mick took full control of the crowd with his mighty word. There’s something positively chilling about seeing a guy rule a crowd with a mic, and observing them as they vibed to the beats and rapped back Jenkins’ lyrics. What’s not to love about feeling political/social empowerment through the art of Hip Hop?

 

Broken Social Scene

This band already has a storied reputation for putting on a good show wherever they go, so I took advantage of my photo pit access to not only capture some dope content, but to also get a better-than-first-row look at what they can offer. As it is, the multi-instrumentalist members of this band were amazing from a purely visual standpoint as they seamlessly traded from horns to 6-strings to whatever else they could play, but then hearing this group tear through those jams made for one awesome multi-sensory experience.

 

Blood Orange

This man Dev Hynes is just cool. The soulful vibes on a hot summer were just perfect as we hit the midpoint of the weekend! So wavy, so smoove.

 

Sufjan Stevens

This guy knows how to put on a show! If we have to pick our top choice for best combination of stage production and performance, it would easily be sir Sufjan Stevens. It was like a carnival at the Green stage as Stevens headlined this past Saturday night. The stage was filled with elaborate props, exciting choreography, and costumes, that created quite the visual spectacle. The music itself delivered spine-tingling moments too, including the crowd-wide singalong of “Chicago” and not to mention the tribute to Prince via a set-closing live cover of “Kiss.”

 

HOMME

This felt like it was a big moment in the career of HOMME. Not only did Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham really step up to the plate after being a late addition to the lineup, but they played as a band that deserved a slot when this year’s roster was first created. Their music is, for lack of a better phrase, just plain cool. The harmonizing vocals, the raw power of Macie and Sima’s guitars, were just the right amount of Rock for 30 minutes-plus to balance out a Sunday lineup that was leaning more for the Electronic and R&B genres. This duo is well on its way to bigger things, and we’re more than ready to follow that trek.

 

Neon Indian

My favorite surprise of the weekend, by far. I am by no means a fan of Neon Indian, per se, but after seeing them perform I seriously began thinking that I need to turn my eye onto what they’ve got coming up next because that show was pretty groovy. Upon a personal recommendation to see this group, I joined their crowd a few songs into their set and though I started off mostly taking pictures, I quickly found myself putting away all of my gear to instead take my “press” cap off and become more of a spectator. I dig dancing… Neon Indian made me dance… I dig Neon Indian now.

 

Miguel

My pre-fest pick for #p4kfest MVP really made a Sunday feel like a Saturday night. Inhibitions were a non-factor at the Red stage when the clock had barely surpassed the 7pm mark, and unless we were all about to call off work on Monday, basically we were among the people who just don’t give a fuck what time or day it is cuz we’re here to party and jam, and do everything that feels right. Miguel’s got the moves that get you moving, and the songs that get you singing, so there’s no better way to enjoy life than by singing and moving. Also, congrats to all the ladies that probably got pregnant that night, inspired by and thanks to Miguel’s audacious R&B stylings!

 

FKA twigs

I’m still mesmerized by this performance. FKA twigs seems like some out-of-this world being, whose music can put you in a trance and whose dance moves can draw even the most distracted person’s undivided attention. No better way to close out the fest than with this enigmatic British singer.

More pics of #P4kfest 2016

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