Much attention has been given to a Chicago weekend that featured both UMBowl IV and an unpublicized fan-organized  (Bill Graham for a day) Umphrey’s show at Lincoln Hall on Saturday.  But half of the band also appeared at a Thursday pre-party at Abbey Pub as a part of the fifth installment of the ongoing Full [...]

There have been hiatuses, New Year’s Runs, Wood Tours, and gigs En La Playa, but there hasn’t been a full on electric TOUR from Widespread Panic, since they stepped off the stage in Chicago on Halloween 2011.  That changes this week in St. Louis, but the first weekend stop finds them bunking down in our [...]

It was with certain amount of amusement, and shameful delight, that I watched the “reviews” roll in for the Umphrey’s McGee “Chicago tourist anthem” last spring.  Admittedly I was excited to hear a band that I liked pay tribute to the city I love, but the final product was a bit of a head-scratcher. It [...]

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 [...]

The stars came out to shine once again on Friday at The Abbey Pub and it proved to be another well documented event.  We are pleased to be able to feature a substantial photo set from Mike Kaiz Photojournalism as well as a 5 song, 33 minute video playlist shot by Charles Izenstark, to recap [...]

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 [...]

Today is the last day to get pre-sale tickets for the 2012 edition of Shoe Fest.  The concept behind this local festival is a simple one: build the lineup like an invite to a family reunion.  Bring together friends and like minded musical spirits from around the Chicago area and Midwest.  These are the 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 [...]