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Photo Gallery: Wild Hearts Tour featuring Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen and Julien Baker – The Salt Shed • Chicago
The Wild Hearts Tour featuring Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, and Julien Baker The Salt Shed Chicago, IL August 10, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran On paper, The Wild Hearts Tour presented itself as one of the summer’s most intriguing live music events. Under an almost full moon on another perfect August evening, it […]
Stage Buzz: Little Italy Fest, Incubus, Ludacris, Pop 2000
Grammy award-winning rapper turned actor Ludacris is coming through to disturb the peace! Before the rapper (hopefully) drops his long-awaited follow-up to 2015’s Ludaversal, he’ll play some of his biggest hits like “Move” and “Roll Out” at The Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, IL on Thursday, August 11 at 7:30 PM. If you wanna “Act […]
Photo Gallery: Fleet Foxes at The Salt Shed • Chicago
Fleet Foxes The Salt Shed Chicago, IL August 3, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran The music of Fleet Foxes is perfectly suited for smoldering summer nights. So when they made their debut at Chicago’s newest venue (The Salt Shed), it felt as though the planets had aligned. Their brand of folky, melodic storytelling […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day One • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day One Grant Park Chicago, IL Thursday, July 28th Recap and photos by Curt Baran The big dog was most decidedly not curbed this past weekend in Grant Park. Lollapalooza returned to its summer home in Chicago’s front yard, and it boasted a thick lineup of up-and-comers, as well as repeat offenders Metallica as […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day Two • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day Two Grant Park Chicago, IL July 29, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran Day 2 of Lollapalooza offered just as many choices for music as its predecessor. Headliner Machine Gun Kelly kept things minimalist (Dua Lipa declined our photo request), bringing only ONE giant helicopter on stage with him. Most everyone else […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day Three • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day Three Grant Park Chicago, IL July 30, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran It seemed like Saturday at Lollapalooza was custom-made for lovers of loud guitars. It was also arguably one of the rare moments when the bands on the undercard seemed to outplay the headliner, J. Cole. The impossibly great back-to-back […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day Four • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day Four Grant Park Chicago, IL July 31st, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran Lollapalooza 2022 wrapped up by making history. J-Hope, part of the BTS collective, became the first South Korean performer to ever headline a major U.S. festival. On the opposite end of Grant Park, Green Day was repeating another appearance […]
Stage Buzz: The Wailers, Rob Zombie, Coheed and Cambria
Goo Goo Dolls started life as a way for John Rzeznik and Robby Takac to hang out and make noisy punk rock together. 36 years later, they’re a Grammy award-nominated alternative band with several number hits under their belt. They’re still going strong, with their next album, “Chaos in Bloom,” on the horizon. In […]
Photo Gallery: Roger Waters at United Center • Chicago
Roger Waters United Center Chicago, IL July 26, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran “…if you’re one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd, but I can’t stand Roger’s politics,’ you might do well to fuck off right to the bar!” This was the message that greeted concert goers on an arena-length video screen […]
Stage Buzz: Anvil • Reggies • Chicago
Canada’s heavy metal trio, Anvil, returns to Reggies on their Impact Is Imminent tour with White Wizzard and Midnite Hellion on Sunday, July 31. Featuring guitarist/vocalist Steve “Lips” Kudlow, drummer Robb Reiner and bassist Chris Robertson, Anvil has been pumping out the same trademark tunes for over 40 years now. Formed in 1978, the band released a […]
Stage Buzz: Chicago Domination Fest • Brauerhouse • Lombard
After six successful years of Chicago Domination Fest (CDF), the 7th edition is back after a two-year hiatus (due to the global pandemic) from July 28 to 30 at Brauerhouse in Lombard. With three days of intense, non-stop brutal death metal with 32 bands confirmed, CDF7 promises to be even more crushing than previous fests. […]
Live Review: Adrian Belew at City Winery • Chicago
Adrian Belew Tuesday, July 19, 2022 City Winery, Chicago, IL by Steven Kikoen Gallery photos (at Arcada Theatre) by Jeff Berger To experience Adrian Belew is to watch perpetual motion. His importance in the music world cannot be overstated. Belew creates music without borders – music that in all of its sophistication, all of its intricacies, […]
Stage Buzz – Lollapalooza 2022 Preview: Undercard Picks
The Wombats: Thursday, July 28 (3:15 PM Coinbase Stage) It’s a cliché by now. A huge, critically acclaimed U.K. band comes to the US with only marginal success; add the Wombats to the list. They appear on Day One (Thursday) at Lolla, bringing smart indie rock and five albums of great music to the […]
Lollapalooza Preview: Hello My Name is “Murph” from The Wombats
The overnight popularity of Liverpool power trio The Wombats back in 2007, via its post-ironic breakthrough hit “Let’s Dance to Joy Division,” was a welcome post-Britpop surprise. Bandleader Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy and crew proved to be clever, shrewd-hooked songwriters who pinballed through multiple music genres, from pop to punk, folk, R&B, and even vintage disco, […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Fest 2022 – Day One • Union Park • Chicago
Pitchfork Music Festival Day One Union Park Chicago, IL July 15, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran If the return of the Pitchfork Music Festival has proven anything, it’s that Pitchfork, the music website, has consistently been excellent at curating and recognizing emerging talent. Bands that have previously played more miniature stages early in […]
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