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Remembering Aretha Franklin 1942-2018
Aretha Franklin, who passed away on August 16th of pancreatic cancer at age 76, embodied her title of âQueen of Soulâ in a wholly spectacular way but that name didnât fully capture all that she was. Aretha wasnât just a gifted singer, and she wasnât just a master of soul singing. She sang every American […]
Live Review & Photo Gallery: Jeff Lynne’s ELO at Allstate Arena
Jeff Lynneâs ELO Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL Wednesday, August 15, 2018 The famous Electric Light Orchestra jukebox spaceship descended upon the Chicago area for the first time in 37 years on Wednesday, when Jeff Lynne brought his innovative fusion of rock, pop and classical elements to Rosemont. Generations of fans packed Allstate Arena to capacity, […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza Chicago 2018 – Day One
The granddaddy of all festivals arrived in Chicago this past weekend, kicking off its annual residency in Grant Park. Tens of thousands of music fans infested the cityâs spectacular front yard, faced with the daunting task of choosing between an upwards of fifty or so acts on a daily basis. It makes a music junkie […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza Chicago 2018 – Day Two
Lollapalooza showed no signs of slowing down on Day Two, with early performances from Dream Wife, Mobley and Clairo as proof that musicâs future is in excellent shape. And there were continued affirmations from Post Animal, Dermot Kennedy, Lizzo, Lauv, Bebe Rexha, The Neighbourhood, Post Malone, Grew Van Fleet and north end headliners The National. […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza Chicago 2018 – Day Three
Grant Park started to resemble a Steinbeck novel on Day 3. Julyâs lack of rain and Saturdayâs suffocating heat and stiff wind gusts turned a previously lush oasis into a dust bowl. Bandannas were repurposed into Bandido-style face masks (including those inspired by anti-violence protests on Lake Shore Drive), and sunglasses became makeshift ski goggles […]
Photo Gallery: Godsmack with Shinedown and Like A Storm at HCA
Ed Spinelli made the trek to his summer home in Tinley Park to capture the more anticipated hard rock triple bill shed tours of the summer.
Photo Gallery: Jeff Beck, Paul Rodgers and Ann Wilson at HBP at Northerly Island
Rock royalty landed at the former Meigs field Sunday. Guitar pioneer Jeff Back along with Bad Company and Free vocalist Paul Rodgers, plus Ann Wilson of Heart. Ed Spinelli was on the runway (and the photo pit) next to the big X.
Photo Gallery: Greta Van Fleet and Dorothy and the Vic
Ed Spinelli caught up with two of Lollapalooza’s most rocking organic bands at a Lolla aftershow at Belmont and Sheffield in Lakeview on Friday.
Cover Story: Børns
Today Garrett Borns might be the foppish baroque-pop trendsetter who records as simply Børns, with three adventurous albums to his credit, including the new Blue Madonna, his second for Interscope. But there was a time not so long ago when the Michigan native was at the mercy of a pack of marauding masked bandits after […]
Media: August 2018
WDRV disc jockey Byrd is a rock jock out of central casting. He looks and sounds the part so much that you get the feeling if there was ever an injury to a band member of any group he was introducing on stage any given night, Byrd could fill in at the drop of a […]
Photo Gallery: Sylvan Esso at the Vic Theatre
It may not have been an actual weekend evening, but Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn sure made it feel like one. The Durham, North Carolina duo collectively know as Sylvan Esso sold out two shows in Chicago earlier this week. One at the Riviera in the cityâs Uptown neighborhood and night two at The Vic […]
Photo Gallery: Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field
Dave Grohl was quite the congenial host on Sunday night. The Foo Fightersâ frontman had gathered tens of thousands of guests and welcomed them into what felt like his backyard. Itâs just that on this particular evening his playground was the baseball temple that is Chicagoâs Wrigley Field. The former Nirvana drummer played the role […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Music Festival 2018 – Day One
The Pitchfork Music Festival 2018 officially arrived this past weekend in Union Park on Chicagoâs West Side to celebrate what is both new and old in music. Cultural and business participants included CHIRP’s massive record fair – as well as a bevy clothing, art and book booths. But the emphasis is always music at Pitchfork […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Music Festival 2018 – Day Two
At Day Two of the Pitchfork Music Festival the rain moved out and the park was in surprisingly good condition. Great news, because it was a day packed with performances from Paul Cherry, Berhana, Zola Jesus, Nilufer Yanya, Circuit des Yeux, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Kelela, Moses Sumney, This Is Not This Heat, Raphael Saadiq, Blood […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Music Festival 2018 – Day Three
The Twitter feed for Pitchfork said that the gates were being held on Day Three for âweather reasons.â That meteorological anomaly was actually better known as Ms. Lauryn Hill. Sundayâs headliner insisted that the park be closed during her afternoon sound check, leaving early arrivals to loiter about on the Ashland Avenue sidewalk. Her soundcheck […]
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