Unless you are a theater nerd (guilty) or above a “certain age” (ahem, also guilty), you may not know that before they were global mega-stars, Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett […]
Although originally hailing from Cleveland’s vivacious DIY indie scene, Smut set up shop in our little town of Chicago, earning their keep by releasing one of the greatest Chicago indie […]
Expectations always run high when Chucho Valdés heads a bill. With well over a half century creating and performing superlative music, the legendary multi-Grammy winning Cuban pianist, bandleader and composer has […]
Beauty School Dropout has packed more into its first five years than most bands do in their entire careers. Championed by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, […]
This article was written by Wendy Davis. Bermuda Search Party made their anticipated return to the Windy City in June, supporting their friends Cat Empire on their current tour run. […]
The Grant Park Orchestra gave another lovely concert on another lovely evening at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park on Wednesday. This time, however, it was led by Osmo […]
Before I even stepped onto the Ravinia Festival grounds, everyone around the area felt the energy that would be filling up the Pavilion stage Friday night. “Who’s playing tonight?” a […]
In a day-long festival of new music, Grammy Award winner Third Coast Percussion celebrated 20 years of making magical music in Chicago. In hosting Rhythm Fest, this percussion quartet of […]
I grew up with the sounds of the O’Jays’ “Love Train” with its soulful groove. Along with them, Al Green was another joy in my musical repertoire; his lyrics fascinated […]
“Oh, the joy to being bathed in beautiful music,” I wrote while listening to Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major in the Martin Theatre at Ravinia on Wednesday. At many […]
With the summer solstice just hours away, Giancarlo Guerrero led the Grant Park Orchestra through a program of contemporary music with a Latin American flavor and a Viennese masterpiece at […]
You don’t think of the blues as a music style that incites euphoria, but in the right hands that outcome is practically guaranteed. It was certainly true over the weekend during […]