World Goth Day is going to feel very different for Pixel Grip this year. The international celebration of dark culture — held every year on May 22 — is a holiday fit for the Chicago synth pop act who takes heavy cues from the city’s Wax Trax era with vibe music that could be played at Neo, if it were still around.This year, there’s even more reason to celebrate the holiday, though: It’s the same weekend Pixel Grip will perform at Salt Shed’s Warm Love Cool Dreams Music and Arts Festival. And it’s also the day the band is expecting to finally get paid by Travis Scott.Last July, the Logan Square/Humboldt Park trio — singer Rita Lukea and producers Tyler Ommen and Jonathon Freund, all of whom initially met as high schoolers in Crystal Lake — were plucked from the local circuit and thrust into national headlines after calling out the rapper for sampling the song “Pursuit” in his 2025 track “Kick Out” without proper clearance or permission. Warm Love Cool Dreams Music and Arts FestivalWhen: May 23-24 (doors at 1 p.m.)Where: Salt Shed, 1357 N. ElstonTickets: $75.20 for 1-day pass; 134.75 for 2-day passInfo: warmlovecooldreams.com “My cousin texted me and he was like, ‘Hey, am I tripping or is this ‘Pursuit’?” Lukea said of how the band first found out about the placement, which she had mixed feelings about. “So many songs I love are based on samples, and I can't really say that I don't appreciate or respect sampling in music. It's hard for me to be mad because it's a cool song. But just give me my bread. That’s all I f- - - - - - care about.”As legal teams on both sides worked out the details, and with the matter now settled, Freund said, “I think it was the best press we could have gotten for our album.”Just weeks prior, Pixel Grip had announced its self-released third album, “Percepticide: The Death of Reality,” and a flurry of interest followed — and hasn’t stopped since. On Spotify, the band’s latest darkwave singles, “Reason to Stay” and “Stamina,” are nearing 2 million streams. This fall, Pixel Grip will open for nu metal stalwarts Korn in Europe. Even Trent Reznor requested a meeting last summer when Nine Inch Nails stopped by the United Center. Playing the Warm Love Cool Dreams festival feels like an important next step for Pixel Grip. It’s the band’s first time taking the Salt Shed stage (or really any stage of that size).Giacomo Cain/Sun-Times “Someone really close to him is a fan of what we do and was sharing our music, and Trent took an interest. He invited us to say hi and chat a little bit,” said Ommen. But not just chat. Reznor also asked Pixel Grip to contribute a remix of “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” for the “TRON: Ares Divergence” companion album that dropped in February. “I literally almost walked away,” Lukea joked about her reaction to Reznor suggesting the collaboration. “I was like, ‘I can’t handle this right now.’” It was also meaningful that the Pixel Grip song that drew Reznor into the group’s orbit in the first place was the “Percepticide” track “Jealousy Is Lethal,” which Lukea wrote in 2022 after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.At the time, Pixel Grip had also just come off a tour with fellow locals Dehd, and Lukea was inspired by bassist and vocalist Emily Kempf’s “folky, lullaby-esque songwriting,” she said. “I was also thinking about the power of having a womb and creating people and how much power it actually is to be the gender that births your soldiers and your consumers and the people who are going to vote for you. It comes down to women.” Pixel Grip’s newfound success brings a feeling of vindication that has eluded the band for a decade. Before “Percepticide,” Pixel Grip even pondered breaking up after toiling through the challenges that come with being a self-funded indie DIY band.Giacomo Cain/Sun-Times The brazen track “Stamina” also came from a similar place of “experiencing a lot of sexism and patriarchal bullshit in the music industry,” said Lukea, who likes to sum up the band’s hard-hitting music, visuals and stylized clothing as “confidence core.”“These guys in suits were trying to make or break me, and that song came out of believing that it doesn't matter how many times you f- - - me over. If that's the best you got, you're gonna have to try harder,” she said. “I am not going out of this industry. I deserve to be here.” Pixel Grip’s newfound success brings a feeling of vindication that has eluded the band for a decade. Before “Percepticide,” Pixel Grip even pondered breaking up after toiling through the challenges that come with being a self-funded indie DIY band.“We work extremely hard at what we do,” said Freund, who is proud of the fact the band has never had to cancel a date, even when he broke his finger last year before the kickoff of the “Percepticide” tour and the band had a friend fill in. “I think that speaks to the amount of effort we put into it. We've been dedicated to this project, the three of us, for years,” he said. “It's what we do, and it's what we will continue to do.”Playing Warm Love Cool Dreams also feels like an important next step — it’s the band’s first time taking the Salt Shed stage (or really any stage of that size). “Pixel Grip was a no-brainer,” said 16 on Center music director Brent Heyl, who booked the festival lineup as part of the Empty Bottle Presents portfolio. The weekend also includes the Jesus and Mary Chain, Courtney Barnett, and locals Whitney and Tortoise with an aim to “amplify boundary-breaking artists,” according to media materials. “I needed something visceral and high-energy, and Pixel Grip just hits on so many levels,” he added. “It’s been rad seeing them develop. We've been booking them since they were playing Empty Bottle, and now it really feels like they've developed into where you see them going places. This was a great opportunity to put them on a bigger stage and showcase them.” This is the second year of the event, though it’s been expanded to use the full venue with both indoor and outdoor stages, as well as DJs outside Elston Electric Arcade and smaller performances at the Three Top Lounge. There’s also the Oddball Market and Arts of Life attractions, and the festival is partnering with a local pontoon provider to offer free boat rides along the river to festival attendees for even more entertainment.For the members of Pixel Grip, though, they’re just pinching themselves that they get to play alongside heroes like the Jesus and Mary Chain. “I love ‘Psycho Candy.’ It's just such a good album that was so important to me as a teenager,” said Freund. “If you’re reading this, Reid brothers, I love you both.”“I'm also a huge fan of Smerz and Kumo 99; I listen to both of those artists regularly,” added Lukea of the electronic duos performing earlier in the day. “I'm beside myself that we get to share a bill.”Correction: This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Jonathon Freund.
