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 the band/drag performer Henry Metcalf, who amped everyone up. The 21-year-old queer…
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 after Jonathan Bree’s tightly choreographed, trance-inducing performance complete with eerie…
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 have been responsible for a song this rich and insightful—“If…
“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 show. He was referring to bandmate Zach Hebert, sporting a…
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, more recognizable as Lady Lamb—formerly Lady Lamb the Beekeeper—has, like…
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 of untamed, deliciously gleeful charisma to the stage like Brooklyn-based…
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 October’s Universal Beings double LP featuring improvised performances recorded live…
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 and singing into two different microphones, he’s constantly flitting from…
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 for part two (of three) of Peak Time Live from…
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 a kid and open-mouth crackled and sizzled in all its…
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 a mere 21 years old, but incredibly enough, she’s lit…
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 and a stringed instrument cradled in his lap. His only…
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