Digital Tape Machine played a late night show on Saturday night to cap a short Midwest run, and several choice videos have emerged. With sporadic shows due to commitments of its principals, its always nice to have a record of what the all-star team has to offer. We're lucky to have them call Chicago home [...]

In 2011, Umphrey’s McGee New Year’s Eve experience was snatched away from Chicago, but the band played a pair of holiday shows at the Aragon Ballroom on Thanksgiving weekend.  This year’s Labor Day gig at the Congress will serve as the final time hometown fans get chance to catch the band in 2012. But… Chicagoans [...]

The fourth edition of the Abbey Pub Full Court Press Jam series is back next week (October 5th to be exact, click HERE for a chance to win tickets) and with it comes all the great things we love about the previous all star jam sessions. a full complement of talent from the top bands [...]

Update (7/30): We have learned lineup of one of the bands at FCP3 (and it looks great): Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGee, Ray White of Frank Zappa, Jesse Clayton of MathGames, Bryan Doherty of Digital Tape Machine, Nicholas Gerlach of Cosby Sweater One of the trademarks of the Abbey Pub’s Full Court Press series, whose [...]

Words & Photos: Dave Weckstein The best Super Jams are representative of what can be achieved on a whim when you mix together the right ingredients –  classic songs performed by some of your favorite musicians in a truly collaborative setting.  While the concept was just getting its legs for its first installment this past [...]

We’ve creeped past the solstice marker and are entering the heart of festival season in the Midwest.  The oddest trend for 2012 seems to be festivals moving locations, which no less than five of the fests that we are tracking declaring a new home this year.  Here’s our roundup of the most intriguing camping and [...]

North Coast Music Festival, the Labor Day weekend event entering its third year in Chicago’s Union Park has staked its reputation on eclectic lineups and an outside-the-mainstream sensibility. But while the inaugural festival in 2010 seemed to carve out a spot for edgier and crossover jambands, last year’s lineup seemed heavily tilted towards EDM. It [...]

Stonehouse Park came under quite a bit of fire regarding noise and crowds in the festival off-season.  While the Dekalb county park will see the addition of Camp Terrapin come, Barefoot Fred Productions think they’ve found an even better location for their mid-July Whippersnap Music and Arts Festival. For 2012, Whippersnap moves to Lyran Park [...]

If you thought Matt Butler and the Everyone Orchestra had cornered the market on large-band improvisational experiments, clear a spot on the calendar for Thursday, February 9th at the Abbey Pub. That marks the debut of Full Court Press, an improvisational experiment, drawing from an all star lineup of jam-friendly musicians sourced from right here [...]