Pitchfork Fest was set to celebrate its milestone 15th anniversary this year. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Pitchfork Fest 2020 has been canceled.
The Chicago festival, organized by the digital music publication and scheduled to run July 17–19, said it was "heartbroken" as it broke the news to festivalgoers in a statement on Tuesday, May 6. Pitchfork said the fest would come back in 2021 if the circumstances are right.
"It can be pretty daunting to think about the future of live music right now, but know that we are fully committed to bringing Pitchfork Music Festival back in 2021, if the public health situation allows for it," organizers said.
The 2020 festival rendition was set to feature Run The Jewels and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as headliners. Big Thief, Thundercat, Tierra Whack, Caroline Polachek, Waxahatchee, Danny Brown, Maxo Kream, Kim Gordon, Angel Olsen and Yaeji were among other performers set to take the stage at Union Park.
The festival organized kick-off parties on Feb. 19 and 20 in celebration of its 15 years running.
Last year, Pitchfork Fest's executive director Adam Krefman spoke to the Recording Academy ahead of the 2019 festival about how it stands out from the rest, its diversity inclusion in its lineup, how much it values being a festival monetarily accessible to fans and how it likes to highlight Chicago's culture.
"We like to support our own and people are kind of self-made here. And so, that part is just important as the annual celebration of Chicago music and art and culture," Krefman said.
The festival reiterated in their statement that this was not the end for them and that in the meantime, they would continue to support artists in other ways.
"We’re not going anywhere—stay tuned, stay positive, and see you soon," the statement ended.
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