Tag: featured
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 […]
Cover Story: Cheap Trick • Won’t Slow Down
It’s not a cautionary tale exactly, nor is it an Abandon-All-Hope-Ye-Who-Enter-Here warning. But for any bright-eyed, optimistic young artists out there currently considering a career in music, Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson has a few wise words to offer that might, at the very least, give you pause. Or, at worst, stagger you as senseless […]
Media: December 2025 • The Museum of Broadcast Communications Pop-up Exhibit
Many of us worried it might never return after shuttering its previous location, but in October, the Museum of Broadcast Communications made a triumphant comeback in a new location, with an assortment of new exhibits. The date wasn’t chosen randomly. It was the 100th anniversary of Johnny Carson’s birth, and Johnny Carson is the big […]
Live Review & Photo Gallery: Paul McCartney at United Center • Chicago
Paul McCartney United Center Chicago, IL November 25, 2025 Review by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Ed Spinelli. Can it really have been eight years since the last time Sir Paul McCartney performed in Chicago? The still-fab former Beatle was a relatively regular presence during the 2010s in the town he first visited with his old […]
Stage Buzz: Smoking Popes, Billy Corgan, Better Lovers, Atreyu, Mickey Dolenz
This is the last week to experience the Smashing Pumpkins’ iconic album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in a new way. Billy Corgan closes out his “A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness” anniversary shows with the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus (James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin are also contributing . Hear the […]
Live Review: Pixel Grip at Metro • Chicago
Pixel Grip Metro Chicago, IL November 14, 2025 Review by Ashley Perez-Hollingsworth It’s been a big year for Chicago industrial-pop trio Pixel Grip. Releasing a successful new album. Fighting with Travis Scott over uncredited samples. Hanging out with Trent Reznor. Opening for Peaches on her highly anticipated 2026 tour. To cap off the year, their […]
Photo Gallery: Wednesday at the Riviera Theatre • Chicago
Wednesday Riviera Theatre November 17, 2025 Chicago, IL Recap and photos by Curt Baran Not unlike its predecessor (2023’s Rat Saw God), don’t be surprised to see Wednesday’s Bleeds on numerous 2025 year-end, best-of lists. It’s a massive step forward in both songwriting and musicianship. The tour supporting it touched down at The Riviera Theatre […]
Stage Buzz: Mario, Smashing Pumpkins, Luke Spiller, Paul McCartney
R&B singer Mario is bringing his electrifying stage show to intimate theaters for a rare, up-close-and-personal experience. The singer will serenade fans with hits like “Let Me Love You,” “Just a Friend,” and “Crying Out for Me” during his show at Concord Music Hall this Friday, November 21st. Find tickets here. Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie […]
Live Review: The Saints ‘73 -‘78 at Metro • Chicago
The Saints ‘73-‘78 Metro Chicago, IL November 11, 2025 Review and Live Photos by Jeff Elbel Fans of classic punk rock arrived at the Metro on Tuesday night for a rare opportunity to see originators of the form when founding guitarist Ed Kuepper and original drummer Ivor Hay brought The Saints ‘73-‘78 from Australia […]
IE Record Store Day – Black Friday Guide
Record Store Day Black Friday takes place on Friday, November 28. Our guide includes complete RSD listings, release previews, album reviews, and local RSD locations, plus advertisements and RSD info from your favorite local stores: Rolling Stones Records, Laurie’s Planet of Sound, Blue Village Vinyl, Bob’s Blues & Jazz Mart, Scratched Vinyl, Hoarders Records […]
Cover Story: John 5 and Richie Kotzen • Dual Shredders
The exceptional guitar artistry of one John William Lowery, professionally known as John 5, is internationally celebrated. The guitarist’s musical resume includes a wide range of diverse artists, such as k.d. Lang, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and Meat Loaf, while also contributing to projects with rockers like David Lee Roth, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, Lynyrd […]
Spins: Frank Zappa • Halloween ’78: Live at the Palladium, NY Super Deluxe
Frank Zappa Halloween ’78: Live at the Palladium, NY Super Deluxe (UMe/Zappa) Spooky! Scary! I am, of course, referring to the compositional skill and dazzling technical chops on display by Frank Zappa and his top-flight band on the Halloween night of 1978 in New York City. This is the fourth Super Deluxe costume box […]
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