Pitchfork Festival not happening in Chicago in 2025

PitchforkAmanda Hatfield
Pitchfork Festival not happening in Chicago in 2025

Pitchfork Festival has announced that it won’t hold a 2025 edition in its home town of Chicago. In a statement, organizers write, “As the music festival landscape continues to evolve rapidly, we have made the difficult decision not to host Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in 2025,” adding, “This decision was not made lightly.” Read it in full below.

To our Chicago festival community: As the music festival landscape continues to evolve rapidly, we have made the difficult decision not to host Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in 2025. This decision was not made lightly. For 19 years, Pitchfork Music Festival has been a celebration of music, art, and community—a space where memories were made, voices were amplified, and the shared love of music brought us all together. The Festival, while aligned with the taste of the Pitchfork editorial team, has always been a collaborative effort, taking on a life of its own as a vital pillar of the Chicago arts scene. We are deeply grateful to the City of Chicago for being our Festival’s home for nearly two decades, to the artists who graced our stages with unforgettable performances, and to the fans who brought unmatched energy year after year. Thank you to At Pluto and the rest of the hardworking Festival team whose dedication and creativity were the backbone of every event, and to the broader community whose spirit and support made the Festival a truly unique experience. And thank you to Mike Reed for founding the Festival and for your inspiring vision. Pitchfork will continue to produce events in 2025 and beyond. We look forward to continuing to create spaces where music, culture, and community intersect in uplifting ways—and we hope to see you there.
Pitchfork curated the 2005 edition of Intonation Festival in Union Park, and held their own festival in the same location each year afterward, except for 2020, when it was cancelled because of covid. Condé Nast, which purchased Pitchfork in 2015, brought the site’s team “into the GQ organization” back in January, and laid off numerous staff members, including then-editor in chief Puja Patel. A new head of editorial content, Mano Sundaresan, was appointed in July.

This year’s Pitchfork Festival featured Jamie xx, Alanis Morissette, Black Pumas, Jai Paul, Brittany Howard, Jeff Rosenstock, 100 gecs, Yaeji, Carly Rae Jepsen, Bratmobile, De La Soul, Jessie Ware, MUNA, Mannequin Pussy, Les Savy Fav, Jessica Pratt, Grandmaster Flash, and more. See pictures below.

Tags: Pitchfork, Pitchfork festival