@colekincart

Well folks, the end is near.

And what better way to round things out than abroad, far away from Chicago and in a city entirely unfamiliar to me, but surrounded by sounds I’ve spent years obsessing over.

To keep the sentimentality at a manageable level, I’ve officially begun one of my final assignments for WIIT 88.9 FM. A station that has somehow served as a second home since 2021. Over the years I’ve bounced around a handful of titles: Music Director, Business Director, Program Director, Station Manager, Assistant Station Manager, and perhaps most importantly, “a guy who can help with that.”

Now, as my time at Illinois Tech and WIIT starts winding down, I’m spending the weekend covering Primavera Sound Port and honestly, I can’t think of a better way to do it.

College radio has shaped nearly every part of my life these last five-ish years. It introduced me to artists I would’ve never found otherwise, gave me an excuse to write and geek about music, and somehow convinced people to let me take photos of concerts throughout the Chicago-land area. If this weekend ends up feeling like a victory lap, I think I’ve earned at least a little bit of that.

While you’ll see me running the Instagram and posting updates throughout the weekend (follow @wiitchicago, shameless plug), I’ll also be reporting daily on the blog, where an alarming amount of my concert write-ups have accumulated over the years.

Now enough about my own coming-of-age narrative. Let’s do some music journalism.

My day started around 7 a.m. in Porto.

Customs ended up being surprisingly painless, despite my mom sending me approximately fifteen Portugal-related reels warning about airport delays and travel chaos. To her credit, that might still become relevant on the way home. For now though, a roughly 45-minute customs line felt like a win.

Armed with nothing more than a carry-on, three pairs of headphones, 2 set of earplugs, and a carefully curated wardrobe that lands somewhere between “timeless” and “trying a little too hard,” I made my way into the city.

After dropping my luggage at the hotel, I grabbed breakfast. In a move that felt slightly performative, even by my standards, I landed on overnight oats, berries, and a cinnamon latte.

Still working on my Portuguese, by the way. This may take some time.

With a few hours to kill, I figured it was time to address the main topic of today’s dispatch: who am I actually excited to see this weekend?

At first I approached the exercise seriously. I downloaded the Primavera Sound app and began carefully selecting favorites.

About ten minutes later I had favorited nearly every artist on the lineup.Go figure!

To keep things brief, here are a handful of artists I’m especially excited for:

The xx
2000s and 2010s indie music has never been more back. Romy and Jamie xx remain some of the greatest to ever do it.

rusowsky
I embarrassingly missed his sold-out Thalia Hall show this spring, so this feels like redemption. Bedroom pop? R&B? Electronic music? All of the above? Whatever he’s doing, I’m in.

Gorillaz
A genuine childhood-core-memory artist. The new record rules. I’m also choosing to believe guest appearances are possible until proven otherwise.

Mark William Lewis
After seeing him at Three Top Lounge during Warm Love Cool Dreams a few weeks ago, I’m fully locked in. Curious to see how the set translates to a European festival crowd.

Annahstasia
One of my favorite records from last year and, in my opinion, one of the most underrated names on this lineup. I’ll be there front and center.

Mike D
A last-minute addition to my schedule after Dijon dropped off the bill. I’m intrigued. Questions will be asked. Notes will be taken.

Amaarae
Fountain Baby. BLACK STAR. Enough said.

Of course, every festival comes with its own tragedy. Schedule conflicts. The true villain of live music. A few that are already causing emotional distress:

Thursday: Big Thief vs. Oklou
Friday: Black Country, New Road vs. Viagra Boys
Saturday: Amaarae vs. Smerz

Some decisions will need to be made. Some sets will be split like children of divorce. My heart will not recover.

I’ll report back with my final rulings as the weekend unfolds.

Later in the day, I hopped on a bus to collect my press credentials (highly classified information, obviously). As we approached the festival grounds, the excitement finally started to feel real.

Not a problem in the world. Well, except maybe the jet lag. We’ll see how long I last.

Either way, I already know I have a date with the beach tomorrow. Consider it preventative maintenance before three straight days of running around Primavera Sound Porto. More soon. Talk tomorrow.