Music festivals are dropping like flies. In the past 24 hours alone, festivals have been cancelled because of heat, ICE, and birds. And now Pitchfork Music Festival 2019 is being evacuated due to dangerous weather conditions; as if the heat wave sweeping the nation wasn’t enough, it’s supposed to thunderstorm in Chicago tonight and tomorrow.
The announcement was made during Parquet Courts’ set, cutting their performance short. Kurt Vile, Amber Mark, Stereolab, Freddie Gibbs, Belle & Sebastian, Jeremih, and the Isley Brothers were all scheduled to perform later in the evening. In a statement, festival organizers say that they are “watching the weather and will let you know soon if we are re-opening the festival.”
Today is the second day of Pitchfork Music Festival; yesterday saw performances from Sky Ferreira, Haim, Low, and more.
Update (7:25pm EST): Pitchfork Music Festival organizers have announced that the event is continuing into tonight. Sets from Stereolab and Freddie Gibbs will continue according to the original festival schedule. Find Twitter updates from festival organizers below.
Gates will re-open shortly. Stay tuned for more updates.
— Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago (@pitchforkfest) July 20, 2019
Gates will open in 5 minutes. You can enter at the main gate on Ashland, Ogden/Washington, or at Ashland/Washington. Music will resume as soon as possible with Stereolab and Freddie Gibbs and then will continue as previously scheduled.
— Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago (@pitchforkfest) July 20, 2019
Due to dangerous weather conditions, @PitchforkFest is evacuating. Please calmly and quickly leave the festival grounds and find shelter.
— Pitchfork (@pitchfork) July 20, 2019
Looking for shelter? Head to one of the many businesses on Randolph Street. Continue to follow along here for updates.
— Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago (@pitchforkfest) July 20, 2019
We’re watching the weather and will let you know soon if we are re-opening the festival. Thanks for your patience!
— Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago (@pitchforkfest) July 20, 2019
Ummm that can't be good…#P4Kfest pic.twitter.com/jWWrMfQV93
— B.G.M. (@BGMLive) July 20, 2019
An earlier version of this article originally appeared on Stereogum.
