Yesterday we posted short profiles on our most anticipated acts for Day 2 of the 2013 Pitchfork Festival so today we’re covering Day 3. Before we get started though I’d like to address some comments Nathan made on the last post. Yes it is true that Nathan wrote the post on Lil B today and it’s also probably true that he loves Lil B way more than I ever will. That is not what disturbs me. What disturbs me is that Nathan insinuates that he can tell the future. “I love Lil B, probably way more than JJ ever will,” says Nathan. No living man can predict the future, contrary to what he would like you to believe. Ten years from now I could be married to Brandon McCartney, meaning I would offer him the kind of unconditional love Nathan (who will likely marry Jenny McCarthy on a dare) can not. I have no further comments. Check out our most anticipated acts for Day 3 of the 2013 Pitchfork Festival after the jump. See you guys there! – JJ Posway
DAY 3
R. Kelly
The man of the hour. The Pied Piper of R&B. R. Kelly is the biggest act playing Pitchfork this year and with a list of hits this huge, it should be one hell of a way to close the festival on Sunday night. I took it upon myself to listen all 14 of R. Kelly’s albums in preparation for this set (12 solo albums, 2 awful collaboration albums with Jay-Z and 1 collaboration album with his former backing group The Public Announcement) and believe me when I tell you he has more than enough great material to fill up 90 minutes. Recent live sets have seen Kelly running through a medley of his biggest hits, Jay-Z style, cramming as much material as he can into a short amount of time. While I’m sad some of my lesser-known favorites probably won’t get their fair shot in the rapid-fire nature of a set like this, I think a run-through of his greatest material should please just about everyone. I mean, who is better at picking singles than R. Kelly? From party starter “Ignition (Remix)” to most likely to close the festival candidate “I Believe I Can Fly” the amount of crowd pleasers in his catalog is nearly infinite. I’m truly expecting to have the time of my life. – Nathan Kerce
TNGHT
You probably know TNGHT by now but in case you don’t, TNGHT is composed of Scottish producer Hudson Mohawke and Canadian producerLunice. Their debut EP dropped last year and songs like “Higher Ground” found their way into DJ sets everywhere. The first song the duo composed, “R U Ready,” was posted briefly on Soundcloud and quickly taken down at the request of one Kanye West. That song appeared finally on West’s most recent LP Yeezus, lending tremendous weight to the mid-album pick-me-up, “Blood on the Leaves.” Produced with the intention of entering the hip-hop mainstream, TNGHT’s songs are beginning to fulfill that intention and if 2013’s “Acrylics” is any indication of the future, the duo is just getting more brazen. I might be skipping a large chunk of R. Kelly to see them and Nathan is mad about that. – JJ Posway
M.I.A.
With a new album (hopefully) arriving later this year I’m sure we can expect a few new songs from M.I.A. as well as a political rant or two. With the recent NSA controversy pretty much validating the intense paranoia of her last album MAYA, I would expect to hear more material from that album than you would initially think. Also, with all of her recent video aesthetics involving insane car/motorcycle tricks and extreme video manipulation I’m also expecting/hoping for pretty fantastic visuals to accompany her hyped up performance. – Nathan Kerce
Evian Christ
Twenty four years old, Joshua Leary (Evian Christ) only has a few production credits and songs under his belt but apparently Kanye and company were listening to his first release Kings and Them during the production of Cruel Summer, prompting an email to his label Tri Angle requesting a meeting. He ended up co-producing Yeezus cut, “I’m In It.” His most recent release, the single-track EP DUGA-3,originally an all-original Dummy Magazine mix, he experiments with Hecker-ish drone to mesmerizing results. I’m going to try to catch some of Leary’s set before M.I.A. performs. – JJ Posway
Lil B
My previous experience with seeing Lil B could only be described as deeply spiritual and moving (I’m serious). I was in the crowd at Coachella a few years ago when The Based God announced his next album would entitled I’m Gay and preached the power of positivity to a crowd full of adoring and intensely devoted fans. Then his pants fell down and he jumped around screaming “ELLEN DEGENERES” over and over. That’s the art of Lil B, that push-and-pull between stupid fun and genuine enlightenment. I hope that his set at Pitchfork will offer further meditations on what it truly means to be based. – Nathan Kerce
Waxahatchee
I’ve had the pleasure to catch Waxahatchee before at SXSW, and her live show adds another layer to Waxahatchees impressive catalog. Debut LP American Weekend showcases her emotive songwriting, this year’s Cerulean Salt mixes that songwriting with some Breeders-y full-band instrumentation and her live show (at least with her band) is a full transition from bare-bones lo-fi singer-songwriter to borderline grungy live outfit. It should be a nice way to wind down after El-P. – JJ Posway
Killer Mike/ El-P
Killer Mike and El-P are both doing separate sets on Sunday but I think it’s inevitable that they will take the stage together at some point to perform material from their excellent (and free) new collaboration album Run the Jewels. No matter which set you attend, expect a series of bangers from two of the best and most humble hip-hop showmen in the game right now. If I had to pick just one to see it might be El-P (only because Killer Mike tours more often and I’ve already seen him twice) but whichever set you attend, it will be the most fun you have all weekend. – Nathan Kerce
Autre Ne Veut
This year Autre Ne Veut (real name Arthur Ashin) graduated from making soulful bedroom music to crafting full-on R&B epics that fit in right alongside mainstream tracks from the genre’s recent renaissance men like Miguel and Frank Ocean. His sophomore album Anxiety is full of anthems and ballads that would benefit from a large crowd. I saw him at SXSW at a set that was both sparsely attended and tragically cut short (they spent twenty minutes sound checking a grand piano that never got used). I’m looking forward to a set that will hopefully do his material more justice. – Nathan Kerce
DJ Rashad
As Chicago’s footwork scene becomes more and more visible, so does pioneer DJ Rashad. His latest release on Hyperdub, his Rollin’ EP,showcases a more expansive take on the music he helped popularize. Why he is slated to appear at 1 in the afternoon I do not know but you can bet I’ll be there. – JJ Posway
Tree
Chicago rapper/producer Tree is fresh off the release of his excellent new mixtape Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out which features his hard-as-rocks, raspy verses over distinctly Chicago-sounding chopped up soul samples. Pitchfork as a media entity has always been supportive of their city’s rap scene and I’m thrilled to see them bringing someone like Tree to the festival stage. – Nathan Kerce
Alright, we’re off to Chicago. See you guys next week for our festival recap. Also, follow us on twitter for live updates from the festival grounds.