“ Why raise ticket prices if you don't need to, right?
” Seven years in, this independently run three-day event has consistently proven to be one of the most welcoming, comfortable, reasonably priced and singular weekends of music around.

Two more bands have just been added to this year’s fest — Japandroids will be playing Friday, and Chromatics will perform on Saturday!

The Pitchfork Music Festival returns to Chicago’s Union Park Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 15 to celebrate an outstanding range of music from around the globe.

This year, we are excited to introduce “The PMF Upgrade Challenge.” 2012 attendees are invited to participate for a chance for them and a friend to be upgraded to VIP for the entire festival weekend. Enter To Win The PMF Upgrade Challenge

Vampire Weekend (photo by: Getty Images)

Photos: The People Of PitchforkLast year at Pitchfork we experienced the sweet harmonies of Fleet Foxes and (among other great sets) killer performances from tUnE-yArDs and Thurston Moore.

The Pitchfork Music Festival returns to Chicago’s Union Park Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 15 to celebrate an outstanding range of music from around the globe.View The Pitchfork Music Festival Line-Up

Photos: The People Of PitchforkLook, nobody’s going to dispute that Chicago-based festivals in the summer are always ungodly hot. It could be a street fair celebrating the culture of Antarctica hosted by Mr. Freeze and it there would be a 104 degree heat index. As unforgiving as Chicago winters are, the summers are just as cruel, with a humidity that chokes the very life out of even the most hydrated of men. Now imagine standing the middle of a giant crowd of sweaty, drunk, dancing individuals on a cloudless day. Congrats. You’re at Pitchfork. You can also simulate the experience by trying to make out with a plastic bag in hell, but that’s considered SLIGHTLY more of a health risk.Video Interviews & Photos From The Pitchfork Music Festival

As I rolled by the Addison Red Line stop on the L, passing by the lowly Cubs drawing a lowly attendance for a day game, like Martin Sheen witnessing the “horror” of Vietnam in Apocalypse Now, the singular thought on my mind concerned theoretically how much I had to bribe the CTA worker to speed along and turn this train into an express train. I nervously anticipated my late arrival. While I transferred to the Green Line, I sped up the stairs, trying to move along the cattle like parade of apathetic youths dressed in skinny jeans and Converse. I kept checking the clock on my phone. I was running low on time, sweating and panting from my constant movement. It was Day 3 of the Pitchfork Music Festival, and there was one show in particular I did not want to miss: Odd Future Wolfgang Kill Them All. It was not necessarily because of what they would play that intrigued me so much; rather, it was what they would do, and how the people would react.More From The Pitchfork Music Festival

Photos: The People Of PitchforkOn the opposite end of the intensity spectrum at the Pitchfork Music Festival was chillwave artist Toro y Moi. For those of you unfamiliar with chillwave, imagine sitting on the back porch with a cold beverage and without a care in the world. Toro y Moi is that oasis, keeping the crowd in a cool groove despite the otherwise punishing heat.Watch Toro y Moi Backstage At The Pitchfork Music Festival

Photos: Superchunk At The Pitchfork…Just minutes after his set, Mac McCaughan — vocals, guitar of Superchunk/lastfm] and founder of Merge Records talked with Marty Lennartz backstage at the Pitchfork Music Festival. Hear the full conversation:

Watch Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan Backstage At Pitchfork

People in the mood to dance might have ventured to the red stage for DJ Shadow, or to the blue stage for Twin Shadow‘s more introspective synth-tunes (no word on who scheduled both “shadow” bands at the same time). But of course there was no choice to make after the sun set and all festival goers meandered to the green stage to catch the day’s headliners, Fleet Foxes. Watch Twin Shadow Backstage At Pitchfork

For many, Pitchfork weekend is all about the music. For people like myself, the big draw to the weekend is Flatstock, a rock poster show. At Flatstock, artists from around the country come out to sell their work and get a chance to meet some of their fans. As a poster collector and a screenprinter myself, I was especially excited to see what was out there this year.

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Photos: Fleet Foxes Perform…Every good indie fest needs a healthy dose of brilliantly simple folk rock, and the Portland Oregon-based Fleet Foxes provide that dose and so much more to Pitchfork this year. Known for their distilled and refined lyrics and well-rehearsed vocal harmonies, the Fleet Foxes have received much critical acclaim since their second EP, Sun Giant, was released in 2008, leaving folk fans poised and waiting to see what they would do next; and Fleet Foxes’ recent release, Helplessness Blues, left absolutely no one disappointed.
Watch Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes Backstage At Pitchfork

Photos: Tune-Yards Performs At Pitchfork… tUnE-yArDs is the moniker of musician Merrill Garbus who performed a killer set Friday afternoon at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival. After her performance,Merrill stopped by for a chat about her music, her connection to Chicago, and her shoes.Watch Tune-Yards Backstage At Pitchfork

Photos: Battles Perform At The Pitchfork…This year Battles released their second full-length album, Glass Drop and stopped by after their set at Pitchfork to talk with XRT’s Marty Lennartz backstage in the Heineken Hideaway.Watch Battles Backstage At The Pitchfork Music Festival