Music

Drunk teenagers pass each other pills and fix up Swishers next to couples giving each other deep-tissue tongue massages. Yuppies with VIP wristbands bop along to the music, splashing their beer on nearby feet. And it’s all really loud. On three stages, bands pump out blaring waves of noise.

The Pitchfork Music Festival doesn’t seem like the best place in the world to bring a baby. But that didn’t stop scores of chill parents from toting their tykes to Chicago’s Union Park, where kids under 10 years old got in for free.

The organizers of the Pitchfork Music Festival have been dabbling in the non-music arts for a while. From the festival’s hilarious stab at having a comedy stage to its much more successful attempts at a poster fair and a craft tent, it’s never limited itself to just music.

This year, two fine art installations found a home at the festival. Giant letters made of plywood spelled out “THESE MOMENTS” near one of the stages. And in the gated VIP section, colorful inflatables of different shapes and sizes hung up in the trees.

What: Record release show for “Space”

Who: The Tribe & Big Cats!, F. Stokes, Meta, Jimmy 2 Times

Where: The 7th Street Entry, 701 N. First Avenue, Minneapolis

When: 8 p.m., July 14

Cost: $8 in advance, $10 at the door

A friend recently described Japandroids to me as a self-actualized garage band: they have all of the raw nerve energy, the fuzzed out sound, and the youthful desperation of every high school or college band, but with enough talent to make it all listenable and occasionally transcendent.

What: Local Current Live — The Chalice, Chastity Brown, Van Stee

Where: Cedar Cultural Center, 416 S. Cedar Ave., Minneapolis

When: 7 p.m., WednesdayCost: Free

The local music scene is sometimes derided for being insular, but it’s also heavily collaborative. Bands are constantly dissolving and reforming with what’s left behind. Musicians move from project to project quickly, releasing solo efforts between collaborations.

The Twin Cities have a lot hanging on River’s Edge. The new music festival isn’t just replacing the defunct Taste of Minnesota — St. Paul and Live Nation hope to groom River’s Edge into a festival rivaling giants like Lollapalooza and Coachella.

This weekend’s fest, the first in a five-year deal, was a solid start for River’s Edge. It made a good case for why the Harriet Island festival might stick around past 2016. There are a few kinks to work out, but the framework is there.

What: Anytown: Stories of America

Where: Guthrie Theater, Dowling Studio, 818 S. Second St., Minneapolis

When: June 21-24

Cost: $22-$30, students save $5