Beach Slang album review: James Alex doubles down on his Replacements love
James Alex is one of those true believers stuck in a rock 'n' roll past that never got better than the Replacements in 1985. He's been an indie-rock mainstay for...
Home > Reviews
All Stories
Lollapalooza’s Charlie Jones leaves fest producer C3, no immediate changes anticipated
Charlie Jones, one of the key players in bringing Lollapalooza to Chicago in 2005, has severed ties with the festival's promoter, C3 Presents. Jones' departure — first reported Thursday by...
Verboten, the musical: The story of how punk changed the lives of four Evanston kids and went on to inspire Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl
The new musical "Verboten" is named after a punk band formed by a bunch of kids in Evanston, circa 1982-83. That may not seem like a big deal. But then...
Top winter concerts in Chicago: Raphael Saadiq, Sturgill Simpson, Billie Eilish
Winter is in full swing, but so is the indoor concert season. Here are 10 of the more notable rock, pop and R&B shows in the next few months (listed...
Chicagoans of the year in music: Tim and Katie Tuten, Jim and Mike Hinchsliff and the Hideout community that make it more than just a concert venue
The Hideout is the little club that could. It's one of the smaller clubs in a city saturated with music venues, but few have had a bigger impact on their...
Best concerts of 2019: Lizzo, Ric Wilson, Robyn, Idles
Here are my favorite concerts of 2019: Lizzo at the Riviera, May 3 The singer, aka Melissa Jefferson, didn't always fit in as a flute-playing, genre free hip-hop artist. But...
Top Chicago indie albums of 2019 led by Jamila Woods, Twin Peaks
It's been another strong year for independent music in Chicago. Here are my favorite local indie albums of 2019: 1. Jamila Woods, "Legacy! Legacy!" (Jagjaguwar): Woods has made her mark...
A new music venue is coming to Pilsen early next year: 3,800-capacity Radius
Pilsen's music scene has been booming in recent years, and that growth is getting an exclamation point in the next few months: Radius, a 3,800-capacity concert venue, is scheduled to...
Chicago rapper Juice Wrld and his musical legacy of vulnerability and heartache
Only hours before Juice Wrld's death Sunday after going into cardiac arrest at Midway Airport, the 21-year-old rapper's record label officially released "Let Me Know (I Wonder Why Freestyle)." In...
Concert review: Whitney makes small moments count at Thalia Hall
With Whitney sometimes even more can be less. The Chicago band expanded its already flush seven-piece lineup with a string section, and turned itself into a mini-orchestra Wednesday at Thalia...