Every summer, interesting festivals overtake the music landscape in and around Chicago. While the festival calendar dries up after Labor Day, leave it to the area's best venues to make our holidays seem like mini-festivals of their own. And with Thanksgiving more of a homecoming style occasion, the program leans delightfully local. We've already seen [...]

There’s so much to like about a festival that celebrates the best of American music that has run for 32 (!) years.  The 2012 edition of the American Music Festival at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn combines top notch national acts and homegrown Chicago area favorites in a multi-stage lineup with discounts for those who get out [...]

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 [...]

We’re still not over the loss of Adam Yauch, but Lincoln Hall and a smattering of Chicago’s coolest bands are doing their part to help the healing process, paying tribute to MCA’s legacy and furthering his humanitarian mission in the process. One Monday, July 2nd, Lincoln Hall will host Time For Livin’, a one-of-a-kind multi-media [...]

I was recently turned on to Fort Atlantic by a friend.  Turns out they are releasing their new album on  modded NES cartridge A big screen showing of Martin Scorcese’s seminal Band Documentary The Last Waltz will go down at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn on May 3.  There will also be an additional 30 minutes of [...]

We’ve been spotlighting city shows a bit more than suburban fare these days, but when something this good comes our way, it’s time to give it some love.  Downers Grove becomes Downers Groove for one night in February.  Take advantage of the extra day in the calendar on the 29th by checking out this classic [...]

The curator of our the I Love Charts tumblog offers his top ten song charts – Beatles, Clash, Ramones all make the list My Morning Jacket jams out a little on their newest tune Whoever writes the FAQ pages for Phish festivals certainly knows how to tickle my funny bone.  the latest for Super Ball [...]

We love this fairly scholarly article from NPR on how musicians get paid.  Morale of the story: go see live music (especially in clubs).