By: Tara Gracer Design & PhotographyAter hopping off the green line at the Ashland station and squeezing into the security line waiting to be searched, Chicagoans waited patiently for entry to the concrete jungle's musical escape for Labor Day Weekend.Located at Union Park, a green diamond-shaped oasis just a short distance from downtown,...

Photos: Kristine Condon PhotographyLesson #3 from our How Vulfpeck Hacked the Music Industry feature was "Sell Out Every Show".Given that the band had an upcoming show in Chicago at the time of publication, and it had yet to it sell out, you'd think we'd be sweatin' it.Sure it was as big a room...

Photos: Ashley Hamm Photography | Video: Don OlkerLots of music festival attendees claim that their experiences are "just like going away to summer camp".  Hell, there's even a long-running Illinois festival called Summer Camp, so yeah... there's some trying to capture that barefoot, worry-free magic of childhood summers.But Shoe Fest may actually have...

This edition of Notes From The Jazz Underground was inspired by the September 2nd (and final) playlist.Yes, it was a bittersweet goodbye.  We've enjoyed featuring these playlists here weekly, but with a schedule change for show host Paul Abella, he's going to press the pause button on what was undoutably the most diverse...

By: Aaron Stein (@neddyo) | Photos: Adam Miszewski (@adjomi)Go To: Full Photo Gallery | Setlists & Media - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - SundayEvery year they play an NBA All-Star game and every year basketball fans look at the line-ups -- the amassed talent almost incomprehensible in its limitless possibilities -- and...

By: Philamonjaro StudioSunday at Ravinia, Seal performed a two hour set with a stripped down back up band (just keyboardists and his guitarist).With no recent or upcoming material to anticipate or promote -- not even any merchandise, T-shirts or other souvenirs available for purchase -- the night was...

By: Philamonjaro Studio | Video: Wyatt BrakeEx-Deep Purple bassist brought his brand of 70's hard rock to Chicago's South loop for two special sold nights on his 2016 world tour.With sound production worthy of large concert halls, Hughes and his bandmates filled up every square inch of the club with their riveting, hard rocking, bluesy jams....

Photo via ryantg23 InstagramBruce and the E-Street band managed to squeeze an arena-sized visit to Chicago inside a few massive stadium-sized appearances in his home state of New Jersey.No matter the size, he managed to pull off a show featuring the standard fireworks and a handful of special treats.  From the string ensemble...

Photo via dayofthedead InstagramOne difference between a jamband festival and an indie rock music festival:  there are eleventy billion recordings available (video, audio, audience pro-shot) online for something like Lockn, but you'll be lucky to find a couple of portrait-shot Vines and archived Periscopes from Eaux Claires, its indie counterpart.One thing they have...

By: Philamonjaro StudioYES fans of all stripes were thrilled with the band's set at Chicago's Copernicus Center on Saturday night.  Greying temples and longer hair dotted the audience as well as the stage, but younger fans got a glimpse of what has been delighting fans for decades.One thing the enire...