We had a ball at last year’s Whippersnap Festival, a fine mid-summer destination which married great regional talent with an emphasis on improv with some top notch national headliners.  The festival is back in 2013, though moving closer to Chicago, at HideAway Lakes campground in Yorkville, IL.  The lineup was released over the weekend on [...]

Last month's Live Music Blog feature, the five part What Bands Should Be Bigger Than They Are was one of the most enjoyable reads of November. Equal parts validation of some of my favorite under-the-radar acts, controversial picks that make you think, and short list of new bands to check out, I eagerly awaited each [...]

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 [...]

We were out-of-our-minds-with-joy when last January’s Strange Arrangement / Greensky Bluegrass co-bill at the Park West was announced.  Not surprisingly, the gig itself more than lived up to the hype, with the closing encore of “The Shape I’m In” featuring members of both bands totally bringing down the house. Though Wednesday, November 21st will be [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Welcome to summer in Chicago. Nobody denies it’s the best time of year and, of course, there are tons of musical options. We are home to mega-festivals in Grant and Union Parks — offering intriguing lineups but lacking intimacy and coming with a commiserate ticket cost. Swing a dead cat and you’ll hit a street [...]

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 [...]