BY: Claire Borgelt
This weekend, Pitchfork Music Festival makes its return to Chicago’s Union Park. That means WSUM is gearing up for three days of excellent live music. Here are a few of my most anticipated acts!
Bratmobile
Emerging in 1991 as key players in the original riot grrrl movement, Bratmobile has spent more than three decades paving the way for women in music. Their discography is essential listening for any punk enthusiast. It’s fiery, frank social commentary thrown against jittering guitar and drum beats – conversational yet cutting, exuberant yet soberingly cynical. Brilliant, unapologetically honest, and above all fiercely feminist. After falling in love with Pottymouth in high school, writing an end-of-term paper on Ladies, Women and Girls as a college freshman and falling down the riot grrrl research rabbit hole during my own zine-making endeavors last year, I can say with certainty that few bands have ever had as much of an impact on my music taste as Bratmobile. This weekend, they’ve assembled an extra special lineup. Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, The Softies, Gaze) Audrey Marrs (Mocket) and Marty Key (Ted Leo & the Pharmacists) will join vocalist Allison Wolfe and drummer Molly Neuman. I’m looking forward to witnessing a piece of punk rock history!
Mannequin Pussy
On their fourth studio album Mannequin Pussy finds just as much power in moments of quiet, sunlit introspection as they do in raw, abrasive confrontation. I Got Heaven rips into themes of identity, desire and connection with refreshing vulnerability. Soaring harmonies, pensive lyrics and fuzzed out melodies play off of their turbulent, unflinching counterparts, combining to create a record which drips with adrenaline. It’s pure desperation and barbed self-assuredness at the same time. I can’t wait to hear tracks like “Loud Bark” and “Split Me Open” live!
Feeble Little Horse
Layering hazy, lived-in guitar loops, a crackling rhythm section and visceral, eclectic lyricism, Feeble Little Horse has perfected a trademark brand of offbeat indie-rock. They thrive on deadpan delivery and revel in strange samples. Carefully crafted chaos. I know they’ll be a crowd favorite this Saturday.
Jeff Rosenstock
While Hellmode took WSUM’s airwaves by storm in 2023, my first experience with Jeff Rosenstock’s music was through a live performance. At an aftershow for Riot Fest 2022, he played through SKA DREAM, a re-working of his critically acclaimed 2020 record, NO DREAM. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen – incredible stage presence, a pure wall of sound, and joy from everyone in the audience. I was hooked immediately. I can’t wait to catch him again this Friday!
100 Gecs
On 10,000 Gecs, Laura Les and Dylan Brady hack genre divisions as we know them to bits. They stitch elements of ska and pop-punk together, borrow death-metal breakdowns and blown-out drum beats, coat their creation in a layer of goofy samples and chronically online cadence, and bring it to life with a lightning bolt. It’s alive! It’s alive! It’s everything I loved about 1,000 Gecs, and yet it’s something else entirely! I can’t wait to catch this incredible hyperpop duo headline the Green Stage this Friday.
Keep up with our weekend at Pitchfork on the blog, and give WSUM a follow on Instagram for live updates!
