Jessica Nikolich was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. After going to journalism school in Columbia, Missouri, and working at a small-town Michigan newspaper on the banks of Lake Huron, she’s back for good to soak up as much live music, culture and craft beer as humanly possible. Her writing can be found in Chicago magazine and Chicago Innerview Magazine. In the real world, Jessica is a marketing specialist at a law firm and survives her CTA commutes binging podcasts.
[soliloquy id=”66532″] When Mikaela Straus appeared, a vision in red Jordan 23 jersey, the sold-out Riviera crowd was ecstatic—and out of breath, after several moments of cheer-screaming to friend of […]
It’s a treat when you connect with two opening acts but quite rare for both to give you chills. It says a lot that they left a mark at all […]
Lucy Dacus opened Thursday’s Park West set with “Trust,” a cut off her first album No Burden that she wrote when she was 16. It’s unfathomable how a teenager could […]
“For those of you in the back, this motherfucker’s got one arm!” guitarist Andy Mosiman shouted to the packed house at Empty Bottle for his band The Hecks’ record release […]
The bright, infectious numbers by Aly Spaltro were backlit by citrus-colored lights and a neon green “Even in the Tremor” sign on a recent Wednesday night at Lincoln Hall. Spaltro, […]
A three-bill lineup of explosive energy and raucous fun properly helped usher in the 2019 Tomorrow Never Knows festival Wednesday night at Lincoln Hall. Few bands can bring the level […]
Makaya McCraven, the 35-year-old Chicago jazz drummer, composer and producer, is making waves crossing free jazz with hip hop. Collaboration and spontaneity are pillars of his cause, as demonstrated on […]
Tom Krell, the 34-year-old singer/producer behind How to Dress Well, an electronic outfit he’s been sporting for close to a decade, is never still on stage. Between manning projections, soundscapes […]
On a blustery November night in Chicago, Young Chicago Authors (youth literary arts organization and host of Louder Than a Bomb poetry slam) opened its doors to Red Bull Radio […]
I recently had a conversation comparing bands to food. If Dirty Projectors were edible, I decided they would be Pop Rocks, that explosive candy you melted on your tongue as […]
Part country-rock, part alternative-pop and all-around joyful creature, Jade Bird has the voice of a legitimate songbird and the stage presence of a seasoned musician. The tiny-but-mighty British rocker is […]
Bathed in a stream of light in a quiet, dark room at Constellation, the legendary Glenn Jones removed his red-framed glasses and sat with a tilted head, a propped-up foot […]