Former Pitchfork Booker Launches New Chicago Festival “Sound and Gravity” This Fall

Mike Reed, longtime Chicago musician and former Pitchfork Music Festival booker, is launching a brand-new music festival this fall called Sound and Gravity. Set to take place from September 10 to 14, the festival is presented by Constellation, a local venue and artist-run organization Reed operates. It will unfold across a range of venues in the city’s Bricktown district, including Constellation, Beat Kitchen, Rockwell on the River, Rockwell Patio, Hungry Brain, and Judson & Moore.

Sound and Gravity distinguishes itself from mainstream festivals with a focus on creative, genre-defying artists, appealing to listeners who are, in Reed’s words, “adventurous and eager to support an organization founded and run by artists.” Rather than booking acts to appease corporate interests, the festival centers on musical integrity and experimentation.

The inaugural lineup reflects that mission. Artists include critically acclaimed figures such as Bill Callahan, Mdou Moctar, Body/Head, Helado Negro, Mary Lattimore, and Irreversible Entanglements, alongside avant-garde jazz and experimental performers like Ken Vandermark, Fred Moten & Brandon Lopez, Zoh Amba Sun Ensemble, and Third Coast Percussion.

Other featured performers include:

• Jeff Parker Expansion Trio

• Tarbaby

• The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis

• Steve Gunn

• William Tyler

• Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis

• Elias Rønnenfelt

• Glenn Kotche

• Rafiq Bhatia

• Saccata Quartet

• Chicago Underground Duo

• Darius Jones Trio

• Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore

• Sam Prekop

• Eucademix

• ganavya

• Geologist

• Nabihah Iqbal

• Hannah Cohen

• BASIC

• Jeremiah Chiu

• Anna Webber’s Simple Trio

• Cooper Moore

• Glyders

• Maria Somerville

• Olivia Block & Lea Bertucci

• JJJJJerome Ellis

• Lia Kohl / Macie Stewart / Whitney Johnson

• Luke Stewart’s Chicago Quartet

• Magic Tuber Stringband

• Nadah El Shazly

• Tara Clerkin Trio

• James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg

• Edsel Axle

• Ana Everling

• Hanging Hearts

• Michael Zerang’s Puzzle House

• Mute Duo

• sinonó

• Andreas Røysum Ensemble with Marvin Tate

In a nod to Chicago’s DIY spirit, the festival will also include “Surprise Sets Programmed by Electrical Audio,” the renowned studio founded by Steve Albini.

In a recent interview, Reed shared his relief that Pitchfork Festival will not be returning to Chicago this year, expressing frustration over creative limitations and industry pressures since the publication’s acquisition by Condé Nast. Among those pressures, he noted, was being pushed to consider major pop acts like Justin Bieber—decisions at odds with his artistic vision.

With Sound and Gravity, Reed returns to his roots—presenting challenging, soulful, and boundary-pushing music for engaged audiences, in the kind of intimate spaces that define Chicago’s vibrant underground scene.