Tag: featured
Spins: The Cranberries • Uncertain 35th Anniversary EP
The Cranberries Uncertain 35th Anniversary EP (Island/UMe) Two years before rocketing into public consciousness with their first full-length album Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, Irish quartet the Cranberries released a short run of their now-coveted Uncertain EP. It was the quartet’s first release under their new name, having originally been known […]
Stage Buzz: Jessie J, Lord of the Lost, Atmosphere
After some much-needed rest and recovery following her battle with breast cancer, Jessie J is bringing her “No Secrets” tour to Chicago. The intimate evening will feature acoustic renditions of new songs and classics like “Nobody’s Perfect,” “Do It Like a Dude,” and “Who Are You.” Catch Jessie J at the House of Blues on […]
Stage Buzz Q&A: Wednesday 13 at Concord Hall
For Wednesday 13 [Joseph Michael Poole], horror and spooky things aren’t just a hobby. It’s his full-time job. There’s a reason he’s known as The Duke of Spook. For the past three decades, he’s been making music about hideous creatures, evil monsters, and all things horror. He’s a modern-day Alice Cooper. He lives and breathes […]
Stage Buzz: Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Cutthroat, Perfume Genius
Chicago’s own Brigitte Calls Me Baby is going back to where it all started. The band will preview new music from their upcoming album, Irreversible, during a special, intimate hometown show. The sold-out performance takes place at Schubas this Wednesday, January 21st. If you can’t make this one, the band will be back in April […]
Spins: Oasis • Familiar to Millions 25th Anniversary 3xLP
Oasis Familiar to Millions 25th Anniversary 3xLP (Big Brother) As part of the juggernaut Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour selling out stadiums worldwide, Oasis’ stop at Soldier Field was the hottest ticket in town last summer. Fans can relive some of the energy generated that night by spinning this 3xLP audio reissue of 2000’s live […]
Spins: Tears for Fears • Songs from the Big Chair 40th Anniversary 2xLP
Tears for Fears Songs from the Big Chair 40th Anniversary 2xLP (Mercury/EMI/UMe) Tears for Fears emerged with a milestone debut album in 1983’s The Hurting, but the band’s rapid creative evolution soon exceeded that success. 1985 sophomore effort Songs from the Big Chair would become one of the decade’s best-loved albums and cement Tears for […]
Stage Buzz: State Champs, Mavis Staples, Bill Murray
Pop punk staples State Champs are celebrating ten years of their 2015 album, Around the World and Back, with a series of special headlining shows in select cities. And lucky for us, Chicago is one of the stops. Rock out to classics like “Losing Myself,” “Shape Up,” and “Back and Forth” when the band plays […]
Cover Story: Kenny Wayne Shepherd • 30 Years of Ledbetter Heights
Growing up, blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd was privy to a wealth of musical knowledge, as his father, Ken, was a local radio personality, a part-time concert promoter, and an avid music collector. These behind-the-scenes experiences led the youngster on the path to a future in the music business. “I would say yes, although I […]
Media: January 2026 • In Remembrance
2025 was an especially cruel year for this media writer because I lost two personal friends, Harry Teinowitz and Tony Fitzpatrick. Harry passed away in July, and Tony died in October. If the crowd you draw at your memorial is any indication, both men had a significant impact on the people who knew them. Harry’s […]
Gear: Gift Guide: D’Addario Tour-Grade String Change Kit
Gear: Gift Guide Tour-Grade String Change Kit (D’Addario) Here’s a practical, high-quality, and reasonably affordable gift for the musician or instrument tech in your life. D’Addario’s Tour-Grade String Change Kit offers a premium upgrade to three everyday tools. A tuning peg winder with smooth ball-bearing action speeds the process for bringing new strings to concert […]
Spins: The Rolling Stones • Black and Blue Super Deluxe LP box
The Rolling Stones Black and Blue Super Deluxe LP box (Interscope/UMe) Featuring Billboard Hot 100 #10 ballad “Fool to Cry,” 1976 album Black and Blue found the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band continuing a transition away from its reliable foundation of blues and roots rock that it undertook with 1974’s It’s Only Rock ‘n’ […]
Feature: FYC at 40 – Roland Gift’s Holiday Look Back…
For most revelers, the Holiday Season automatically triggers warm, comforting feelings, filled with sensory delights like the fragrance of pine trees, the taste of cocoa, eggnog, or mulled wine, or the orange glow of a winter hearthside fire. But Roland Gift is not so easily moved by surface aesthetics. At 64, the former Fine Young […]
Rock of Pages: Gift Guide 2025 • Tom Petty: The Life & Music • Bruce Springsteen & Born to Run: 50 Years
Tom Petty: The Life & Music by Gillian Gaar Bruce Springsteen & Born to Run: 50 Years by Sean Egan (Quarto) Finding the perfect gift to impress and delight the obsessive music fans in your life can be tricky. Chances are that these folks already have every album or single released by their favorite artists. […]
Feature: Limahl • So This is Christmas
For many, one of the main comforts of Christmas is tradition, reliable rites, rituals, and touchstones that kick in annually and give form and function to said season. There’s a tangible hearthside warmth to it all — you just instinctually know that it’s upon us once again, as you buy your tree, spice up the […]










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