Before Chicago’s summer music festivals take over the parks and streets, organizers need to let us know which acts will be performing via a barrage of festival lineup announcements. Tomorrow (February 27) at 10:30am, Pitchfork Music Festival will be announcing a portion of its lineup through a mural on the front of Wicker Park cocktail bar the Violet Hour. The announcement appears to be similar to the way in which the festival revealed its headlining acts (and, later, the rest of the bill) in 2017, which were presented through a live-stream of a mural being painted on the side of Soho House in West Loop.
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So, which acts can you expect to see on tomorrow’s lineup announcement? We've got four educated guesses about the bands that will show up in Union Park from July 20 to 22 this summer:
The War on Drugs
Somehow, the Philly rockers have never played the Pitchfork Music Festival, despite receiving three back-to-back “Best New Music” nods from the publication for their past three albums. Aside from a show in Milwaukee on July 22, they’ve got a free weekend between the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Kentucky and Panorama in New York City that just happens to coincide with P4K, so count these guys in as headliners.
Courtney Barnett
One of our favorite Aussie musicians has a gig beneath the Chicago Cultural Center’s Tiffany Dome on May 21 (that sold out very quickly), but don’t count her out as a Pitchfork performer. Barnett has a show booked nearby in Minneapolis on July 21 and an open schedule on July 20 and 22, so you’ll likely see her make a return to Union Park.
Fleet Foxes
It’s been seven years since Fleet Foxes headlined the Pitchfork Music Festival—a feat that the group probably doesn’t have the clout to pull off in 2018. Nevertheless, we expect to see Robin Pecknold and company return to Union Park ahead of the band’s appearance at Panorama in New York City from July 27 to 29.
St. Vincent
Modern guitar hero Annie Clark hasn’t played P4K since 2014, when she sat atop a throne, walked the stage like an android and gave everyone in attendance a lesson in shredding. She is also confirmed for this year’s Panorama fest in NYC, but doesn’t seem to have anything scheduled for the weekend before…
Check out some photos of the Violet Hour mural being prepared for tomorrow’s lineup announcement below—and don’t be too disappointed if none of our predictions end up being correct.