After 19 Years, Pitchfork Music Festival Will Not Return to Chicago

After finding a home in Chicago for the last 19 years, Pitchfork Music Festival is leaving the city.

The festival in 2005 took over Chicago’s Union Park for its debut and has since returned each year except for 2020, when most of the live music industry shuttered due to the impact of COVID-19. Sadly for fans looking to celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary, its organizers have announced that it won’t return to the Windy City next year.

“This decision was not made lightly,” the festival’s organizers said in a statement shared across its website and social media. “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.”

Little did they know at the time, but attendees of last summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival were the last to enjoy it in Chicago. The 2024 event featured performances by Jamie xx, 100 gecs, Carly Rae Jepsen, Yaeji, De La Soul and Grandmaster Flash, among others.

With no specific reason given for the move, the future of Pitchfork Music Festival is uncertain at the time of this writing. Organizers claim they will continue to host events next year and beyond, but have not yet confirmed whether or not their flagship fest will take place at all in 2025.

You can read Pitchfork‘s full statement below.

Nineteen years of music and memories. Thank you, Chicago. pic.twitter.com/SmNEXHwKiV

— Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago (@pitchforkfest) November 11, 2024