On November 22nd a new event will take place inWest Town event called Savagelands, described as an "immersive art exhibit and concert experience aimed at bringing several Chicago subcultures together." Twin Peaks will headline the music, and proceeds will go to non-profit the Rebuilding Exchange. See more details on the poster to the right and RSVP here.
Gapers Block reviewed the November 13th show at Double Door featuring Albert Hammond Jr. and Rathborne. Check out the photos and thoughts from the show here.
Chicago's Audiences released their debut record Roam last week. You can check it out via Bandcamp and all the usual music purchasing outlets.
Great Divide recently appeared on the Artie Lange Show in NYC, and you can watch a video of them performing the track "Holiday" here. The band will headline Subterranean on Friday, November 22nd.
Fort Frances recently decided to pay tribute to our city with a cover of Sufjan Stevens' "Chicago." Take a listen and download below.
Disappears premiered the new video for their track "Power," lead single off their newly-released fourth album, Era. Give it a look and listen over at Spin.com.
The Hudson Branch have been working on a new album, and as many bands do, are looking for some help to bring it into the world via a Kickstarter campaign. You can learn more about the campaign and hear some of the new material here.
Young Chicago rockers The Orwells--who played Lollapalooza earlier this month--have signed a publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis US. The band will release a new EP, Who Needs You, in September.
A new pop-up music event called "ChillFest" will hit Wicker Park and Bucktown on November 16th. The free event will find over 100 local musicians pop-up gigging with live, acoustic sets in area storefronts. You can find out more here.
Gapers Block has an article on the upcoming 17th annual Hideout Block Party--coming up on September 6 and 7--including details on the lineup and what specifically some of the Hideout's staff are most looking forward to.
Ready or not, Lollapalooza is nearly upon us. If you've been slacking and don't have your days planned out yet, check out the Tribune's hour by hour guide.
And if you're interested in planning your weekend beyond the festival grounds, check out Gapers Block's Lollapalooza Party Guide.
Local label Tandem Shop is celebrating its 5th year anniversary. In honor of it, they've got a show planned at Lincoln Hall on August 15th featuring Many Places, Project Film, The Oarsmen and more. Check out the full details and get tickets here.
The Chicago Reader wrote about the Chicago Underground Music Archive, a project which has the goal of recording "as many live sets around town as possible and share them, for free, with the world."
Greg Kot of the Tribune reviewed Mavis Staples' new album, One True Vine. So did Abigail Covington of Gapers Block.
Have you seen New Girl's Jake Johnson and Parks and Recreation's Aubrey Plaza in the latest JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound music video, "Rouse Yourself?" Check it out here!
An evening celebrating the life and music of Jay Bennett is coming up on Sunday, June 30th at the Empty Bottle. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Jay Bennett Scholarship with Rock for Kids. More details and a list of who will be performing here.
In other music video news, Scott Lucas & the Married Men have a new one out for their take on the '80s Bananarama hit "Cruel Summer." You can watch it here and get the song as the title track on their new six-song Cruel Summer EP, out June 25th.
Tim Ellis, former singer/songwriter for Chicago band Skybox, has a new project by the name of Outsides. Give a listen to the bright, lively track "Seesaw" here:
Smith Westerns came out with a video for their new track "Varsity," the first single off their upcoming June 25th album Soft Will. Take in the song and video's chilled out, romantic vibes here.
Anne Holub of Gapers Block wrote about Howl, the new album from Chicago funky soul act JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound.
The Chicago Reader has a handy list of upcoming Chicago street festivals to help you plan out your summer. Thomas Conner of the Sun-Times detailed some of them as well as other summertime music happenings in the city in this article.
Daytrotter announced an update to its subscription service that will allow those who subscribe to the site to see some of the money from the sign-up fee go directly to their favorite artists. Read more about it here.
Noise-pop/shoegaze band Whales, whose debut album we reviewed back in 2011, are at work preparing the release of their second full length, Size and Scale. As a preview, the band have offered up the dreamy, spacey first single, "On the Floor," via Bandcamp. Take a listen:
On his wbez.org blog, Jim DeRogatis covered the Congress Theater's possible shut-down due to hazardous conditions, then followed it up with news of the venue being allowed to stay open for the time being because of sufficient progress so far in addressing the violations. There is another inspection scheduled, so DeRogatis will do doubt keep us up to speed on future developments.
Whether or not you participated in Record Store Day festivities on Saturday, you can read about a couple writers' RSD experiences over at Gapers Block. Check them out here and here.
Psych-rockers Secret Colours released the second single from their upcoming new LP, Peach, following the first single "Blackbird (Only One)." The new track is titled "Blackhole" and can be streamed via SoundCloud.
Wicker Park's Green Music Fest, set from June 22-23, unveiled the first wave of artist lineup announcements. So far, you can expect to see Manchester Orchestra, Into It. Over It, Everest, This Must Be the Band (Talking Heads tribute), Joe Pug and Ha Ha Tonka. Check out the fest's site for more info.
The Kickback posted a new single called "Please Hurt," which they'll have available in cassette form this Friday when they play Lincoln Hall with Free Energy. For now, take a listen to the track below.
Chicago indie rockers Hemmingbirds recently put out a new video for the track "Toxic Noise" off their latest album The Vines of Age. Check it out here and see the band at their next show on May 3rd at Beat Kitchen.
A few Chicago bands are offering the chance to take in local sounds while at the same time helping to promote the humane treatment of animals. "Kittypalooza," set for Thursday, May 9th at Martyrs', features My My My, Save the Clocktower and Love and Radiation playing a charity show for the Tree House Humane Society. More details here.
Speaking of Love and Radiation, Richard Giraldi over at LoudLoopPress.com shared his thoughts on the band's debut, You Will Know Me.
Gapers Block has the lowdown on lineup announcements from a couple of Chicago's upcoming summer street festivals. Take a look at who you can plan on seeing so far at Do-Division Fest and Taste of Randolph.
Fort Frances debuted a new track called "I Had Love," a song bound to put you in a good mood that's taken off their new EP Harbour, out on April 23rd. Listen below and see the band at Schubas on May 5th.
After selling out its 3-day passes last week, today Lollapalooza officially released its 2013 lineup, including the Cure, Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Nine Inch Nails and many more. You can check out the full lineup here, and pick up single-day passes starting this Wednesday, April 3.
Pitchfork Music Festival rounded out its 2013 lineup announcements last week, revealing that M.I.A., Low, Solange, Wire and more will play the fest along with a list of previously-announced artists. The complete list is here.
Chicago Mixtape announced a new premium membership option called "The KOKO Club," which will provide members with tickets to certain Hideout and Empty Bottle shows each month. Full details are here.
Underground Bee has a writeup and photos from Friday night's Empty Bottle show featuring Thurston Moore's new band, Chelsea Light Moving.
Chicago psych-pop four-piece Secret Colours have their sophomore album, Peach, set for a May 28 release, and are offering a taste with the track "Blackbird (Only One)." Stream it below.
Scott Lucas, frontman of Local H and Scott Lucas & the Married Men, has unfortunately had a rough month that has forced the cancellation of Local H tour dates. Lucas suffered damage to his vocal cords after he was assaulted after a show in Russia last month. Check out this article for more information.
Casey over at Chicago Mixtape posted a "State of the Mixtape Address" where he talks about recent goings on and talks about things to come with the site.
Bailiff successfully received funding to record their second full-length album through a Kickstarter campaign, which ran for just 30 days. Head over to the campaign page for additional details about the project.
Check out LoudLoopPress.com to keep up on The Kickback's SXSW Tour Video Diary, which is currently up to its fifth installment.
This year's Lollapalooza's secret sale discounted souvenir passes went up for sale at an unannounced time last week and sold out in the blink of an eye, once again prompting some to wonder if they're an actual thing obtainable by actual people.
Lost in Concert has a writeup and photos of the March 21 Local Natives show at the Vic.
Indie-blues-rock trio Bailiff are planning to record their sophomore album (the follow-up to 2011's Red Balloon) in April, and are looking to help fund it via a Kickstarter campaign that will run until March 22nd.
Geronimo! are set to release the third tape in their "Buzz Yr Girlfriend" cassette series on March 29th (which also happens to be the fifth anniversary of their first show). The tape is called "Buzz Yr Girlfriend Vol. 3: The Metal David Byrne," and as a bonus the band will also be making their 2012 LP Exanimate available for free download via Bandcamp for 5 days starting on the 29th.
The Kickback have debuted a new tour manager, who also happens to be a puppet. They'll also be out with a pair of new singles at the end of the month.
It's March Cover Madness in the Archie Powell & the Exports camp. Not only are the band posting videos of their favorite covers to their Facebook and Twitter pages every day of the month, they're also posting their own covers on Fridays. Check out the first, a take on J Geils Band's "Centerfold," here.
Already thinking ahead to another summer filled with music festivals? Check out some recent announcements for Pitchfork festival's lineup, including Joanna Newsom, Breeders, Swans and more (joining previously announced headliners Belle & Sebastian, R. Kelly and Björk).
Pet Lions are about to release a new EP titled Popular Nature on February 26th, but until then you can stream all five tracks their entirety at earmilk.com.
Notes and Bolts are putting out a new 7" from Chicago shoegazers Videotape, but you've only got until this Friday to grab one. "Static," off the band's 2012 album This Is Disconnect, will only be produced in whatever number of pre-orders is received before the order page is taken down after Friday.
Been longing for more bizarre, random Billy Corgan news? Never fear. Today it was announced that the Smashing Pumpkins frontman appears in the new Walter E. Smithe commercial. It involves a wrestling ring and Billy in a blue cardigan. See for yourself here. "You dream it, we build it."
New three-night Americana/folk music fest Dun Dun Fest will be kicking off this Wednesday night at Tonic Room, Schubas and Lincoln Hall, and Loud Loop Press has a few lineup picks for your perusal.
Like the sound of Chicago-based experimental folk band Califone playing at your place? If so, you'll be glad to know the band announced a "living room tour" for the spring instead of playing typical club shows, and will be taking host submissions until February 26th. Find out more here.
Head over to Gapers Block to catch up on some of the sets from this past week's Tomorrow Never Knows fest, including write-ups on Chelsea Wolf, Free Energy, The Amazing and more.
LoudLoopPress.com posted about the new single, "Stones," from rowdy local rockers Vamos. Click here to see what they had to say and give the track a listen.
The Chicago Reader interviewed Chicago electronic producer Mister Lies (aka Nick Zanka), who played this year's Tomorrow Never Knows fest Sunday night and has a debut album coming out next month.
You might have seen posts about The Bright White here on WCR before, but if you want to get better acquainted in under three minutes, check out this promo video the band just released.
Are you up to speed on the current legal issues surrounding The Congress Theater? If not, Jim DeRogatis has plenty of words for you about it here.
Chicago Mixtape shot the breeze with Anthony Cozzi of Radar Eyes. Take a listen to the interview here.
To end 2012, LoudLoopPress.com took at look at some of the year's finest music videos to come from local bands.
This week LostInConcert.com put up some photos and a writeup of December 19th's Tegan and Sara show at the Cubby Bear.
As they do each year, the Deli Chicago has set out to identify the "best emerging artists of the year.
The Tribune's Greg Kot interviewed rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson, who was in town on New Year's Eve to headline the Double Door.
Chicago dream-pop/shoegaze band Panda Riot have a new album, Northern Automatic Music, set for release on February 19th, and are offering a preview on Soundcloud via the track "Black Pyramids." Check it out below:
Early bird tickets for North Coast Music Festival 2013, set once again for Labor Day weekend, went on sale this morning and sold out within 30 minutes.
Were you able make it out to the Empty Bottle and WCR's Rock for Kids Charity Jam? Gapers Block did, and wrote a review.
Conductive Alliance--who you might have read about here on WCR before via this interview--are releasing a new album called Opticks. You can listen to four tracks on Soundcloud, and watch the video for first single "Deep Sea" here.
It seems Mannequin Men are in need of a bass player. They posted about it on Facebook.
Could you use a little more Dastardly in your life? The Chicago alt-rock-Americana favorites recently released a collection of demos titled Songs for Sad Clowns. Get it for a buck on Bandcamp.
My Gold Mask announced a new album, Leave Me Midnight, set for release on February 13th. Take a listen to the first single off the 10-track album, "Further It Gets," below.
The 4th annual Chicago Roots Collective festival is set for this Friday and Saturday, November 16th and 17th, at Beat Kitchen. The lineup includes the Ewing Theory, Molehill, The Future Laureates, Jackpot Donnie, Cobalt & the Hired Guns and more. Full details are here.
Late last month Rick Rizzo of Chicago's Eleventh Dream Day interviewed Chris Stamey of the dB's for the Chicago Reader. You can check it out now here, and see both Chris and Rick with their respective bands in town this month; the dB's play the Hideout this Thursday and Friday, and Eleventh Dream Day will take the same stage November 27th.
ChicagoMixtape interviewed Adam Jennings of Winters in Osaka.
Chicago band My My My are putting a twist on raising money to record music. On December 4th they will launch a Kickstarter campaign that will see them pledging community service hours to help improve Chicago for every $100 that's pledged to help them record. The campaign will coincide with the release of a new singe, "Starting to Change," which will also be offered with every pledge.
Gapers Block has a review and photos of last Wednesday's Sharon Van Etten show at Metro.
2013's Tomorrow Never Knows festival, set for January 16th-20th, revealed initial lineup details. A few acts on the list are Freelance Whales, Wild Belle, Free Energy and Born Ruffians. For the full list so far plus more details, go here.
LoudLoopPress.com spread the word on Bailiff's video of a cover of the Bruce Springsteen staple "Dancing in the Dark." Bailiff join A Lull on the growing list of Chicago bands taking on the Boss's hits.
ChicagoMixtape interviewed Eli MacLaughlin and Corey Brekher of Conductive Alliance.
LostInConcert.com published photos and a writeup of the October 13th Lemonheads show at the Vic.
Gapers Block previewed Cat Power's upcoming show on October 28th at the Vic.
The Chicago Reader ran some questions by Shawn Rosenblatt, a.k.a. Netherfriends, and got some answers. Check out the interview here.
Windy City rockers Michael Lux & the Bad sons put up a video of a live performance of a new song, "What to Expect," from a recent Empty Bottle show. You can probably hear it in person this Friday, October 5th, when the band plays Subterranean with Crocodiles.
The Empty Bottle kicked off its 10th annual "Adventures in Modern Music" festival this week, which runs until Sunday as a "celebration of outsider sounds." Artists scheduled to play during the remainder of the festival include Demdike Stare, Supreme Cuts, Micachu & the Shapes and more. Head over to the Bottle's site for full details.
Santah released a new video trailer to preview their soon-to-come EP, You're Still A Lover (out October 16th). Take a look here.
Gapers Block has a review of Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall's September 29th show at Logan Square Auditorium.
Chicago's The Coop started an indiegogo campaign to release an EP for charity. Beginning on October 1st, the band is releasing material from their new Accopstic EP little by little, as more and more money is raised for the Children's Oncology Services, Inc. of Chicago. Check out the campaign page here.
Chicago Mixtape interviewed Rebecca Scott and Melissa Harris, the duo behind the sweet sounds of Architecture.
Logan Square record store saki announced the first release on their new in-store record label, saki records. The store has teamed up with Chicago band Santah to put out a vinyl version of the band's new EP, You're Still a Lover, complete with a vinyl-only bonus track and digital download code. The 12" is due out November 13th. More details here.
Gypsyblood released a new video for their track "Endless Summer" off their 2011 debut Cold in the Guestway. Check it out here and catch the band live at Liar's Club on October 12th.
Chicago Mixtape talked to locally-based band Blizzard Babies.
LoudLoopPress.com reviewed Local H's latest release, Hallelujah! I'm a Bum. Also, this week the band released a video for the album's first single, Cold Manor.
Gapers Block has a slideshow of photos from last weekend's Riot Fest, which you can check out here. Also take a look at part one of a review from WCR's Gene Wagendorf III here.
LostInConcert.com has photos and a writeup of On and On's (the band born out of Scattered Trees) September 11th show at Lincoln Hall.
Chicago's Santah released details for their upcoming EP You're Still a Lover (out October 16th) along with a stream of the first single, "Indigo." The EP follows last year's full-length White Noise Bed. Find out more and take a listen to the track here.
LoudLoopPress.com has a preview of this year's Riot Fest, which is set for this Friday through Sunday.
Save the Clocktower, who released their latest album Through the Glass earlier this summer, were featured on NPR's World Cafe. Check it out here.
Brighton MA released a video for "Touch," the lead track from their upcoming album Oh Lost. They'll also be playing at Lilly's on September 21st as part of Tom Schraeder's "Chicago I Love You" festival.
Chicago Mixtape interviewed Mark Messing, bandleader of Chicago's favorite 30-piece "circus punk marching band" Mucca Pazza.
Chicago's California Wives are releasing their full-length album Art History on September 4th, and are offering a full stream of the album early via SoundCloud. Take a listen here and check out their CD release show September 12th at Lincoln Hall.
Liturgy recently stopped by the A.V. Club's Chicago headquarters and performed a cover of Shellac's "Prayer to God" as part of the A.V.'s "Undercover" series. See/hear it here.
My My My will be filming a new music video in Chicago on Thursday, September 6th and are looking for extras to appear in a concert scene. Shoot a note to them here if you're interested, and catch them live tonight at Metro.
The second annual Cultivate Chicago festival is coming up on Saturday, September 15th in Lincoln Park, and will feature a music lineup consisting of G. Love & Special Sauce, Allen Stone, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound and more. Check out more information on the festival here.
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