Laura Emerick –

Ruido Fest is still making a delightful noise, but in a new location with a broader lineup

June 20, 2019 at 8:06 a.m.

For its fifth anniversary edition, the Latin-music themed Ruido Fest has added more acts, booked a more diverse lineup and moved to a new location: Union Park. Situated on the...

Ruido Fest and its big, alt-Latin noise, is back

December 13, 2018 at 6:44 a.m.

Ruido Fest, billed as the nation’s largest alternative-Latin music festival, will be bringing the noise a little earlier this year. For its fourth edition, Ruido — which means “noise” in...

Nick Cave has been singing about mortality for decades, and he's really good at it. Whether the narratives are biblical or pulpy, the victims innocents or death row convicts, the circumstances comprehensible or cruelly random, Cave's songs are on intimate terms with the infinite ways a life can be extinguished. And yet, "Skeleton Tree", his latest album with his estimable band, the Bad Seeds, is a relatively concise song cycle shadowed by death that feels different than all the rest. <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/kot/sc-music-nick-cave-skeleton-tree-ent-0916-20160916-column.html" target="_blank">Read the full review.</a>

Latin rock colossus Enrique Bunbury wants to find a place for music that is rooted in reality

December 13, 2018 at 9:23 a.m.

LOS ANGELES — In "Todo el Mundo," one of his many signature songs, Spain's Enrique Bunbury declares: "I am a vagabond/ Always passing from here to there, away from everyone."...

Ruido Fest is here to stay

June 3, 2018 at 10:36 a.m.

Now in its third season, Ruido Fest has reached a milestone. "This is the year we can say we're here to stay," said Eduardo Calvillo, the festival's curator. "We've proven...

Mana, after so many years, still believes in the power of music

December 17, 2018 at 5:31 p.m.

Latin rock group Mana believes strongly in the power of music to generate social change. Since its birth 30 years ago in Guadalajara, Mexico, the group has advanced the causes...

Ruido Fest must-sees

June 10, 2018 at 10:33 a.m.

Latin reggae, one of the most popular genres on the Spanish-language rock scene, will be well represented at Ruido Fest. Three giants of the genre will perform at the three-day...

Ruido Fest brings the noise, alt-Latin style

June 10, 2018 at 12:03 p.m.

With 50 acts on three stages over three days, Ruido Fest returns for its second season, bringing the noise, alt-Latin style, to Pilsen. "Ruido" means "noise" in English, and there...

Ruido Fest is rock en Espanol’s Lollapalooza

December 17, 2018 at 7:24 p.m.

With Lollapalooza, Pitchfork, Riot Fest, North Coast Music Festival, et al., Chicago can claim to be the capital of destination music festivals. Now the presenters of the first-ever Ruido Fest,...

Lila Downs gets a spark from being a serial collaborator

April 5, 2019 at 11:35 p.m.

Lila Downs likes to collaborate. Her last disc, the Grammy-nominated "Raiz" (2014), teamed her with Argentine folk singer Soledad and Spanish flamenco vocalist Nina Pastori. For earlier albums, she recruited...

Cafe Tacuba celebrates 25 years of music

December 17, 2018 at 8:44 p.m.

The alt-Latin rock group Cafe Tacuba wouldn't seem to be big on anniversaries. Its lead singer goes by a series of nicknames, the quartet often favors chicken-head and lucha libre...

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