Words: Carter Stirtz | Photos: Ben Bowen (@benhertz)With perfect fall weather, a tailor-made venue, and two noteworthy bands, jam enthusiasts couldnt have possibly asked for more than what they got over the first weekend in November in Chicago.Expectations were high for this run from seasoned veterans Lotus and the recently exploding Spafford.Seemingly...

 You don't have to like jazz (though it helps), you just have to appreciate something that is legitimately authentic and you'll fall in love with the venerable Green Mill in Uptown.Continuously operating since 1907 as a bar and jazz club, you'll see in this video how it's current owner, employees, performers and customers view...

By: Alex WoodJames Blake- The Colour In Anything [5/6]Clocking in at a massive 76 minutes, electronic mastermind James Blakes third proper album, The Colour In Anything, is an extremely elaborate work of art, presenting every trick in the songwriters eclectic repertoire side by side. The music is heavy whether its dense keyboard and synthesizer harmonies, moody...

I saw Louis CK last night at the Chicago Theater and I had a great seat in the very first row.The show itself was enlightening, challenging, and extremely funny -- but thats not the reason why Im writing this post.Sure, I did get a little bit lucky -- but the mere opportunity to...

After announcing the expansion of Lollapalooza into a four day festival with more than 170 musical acts for its 25th anniversary, fans expectations were unsurprisingly high for the festivals notorious aftershows.Beginning Tuesday night and ending Sunday night, the list of official Lollapalooza aftershows was announced today, with an exhausting 58 performances set to take place in...

By Ryan Mannix | Photo: carmelocorn InstagramA Thursday night tradition,Family Groove Company is somehow the first band I see at Summer Camp every year. It's fitting that the Illinois based outfit gets the weekend started for the quintessential Illinois festival, having played the festival since its earliest days as a small jam-band gathering.The group...

By: Philamonjaro StudioBen Folds -- along with the Brooklyn-based chamber ensemble yMusic -- is seeking totake his music in a new and different direction.That was the case on Friday, May 13th when these musicians got together at Chicago's Riviera Theatre.Ben Folds used this format to combinehis familiar sarcastic-pop, piano-driven style weare familiar with...

Jeff Tweedy performed two shows at Chicago's Vic Theater this weekend to benefit youth scholarships. After the 2015 event was reduced to a single show, it's great to see him pack to the pair, especially since each show gave a different look.Of course, the same house rules from years past still apply. The first 30 people...

We're starting to learn more about what will godown for Grateful Dead Night (July 5th) at U.S. Cellular Field. The confirmed stuff is pretty cool, and the speculation is even cooler.As previously reported, Terrapin Flyer will be your live entertainment, featuring special guest muicisian Tom Constanten.The band will perform a setprior to...

Beyondify is our periodic feature which features new music before it hits Spotify. As usual, we mine Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube for the goods.Here's what we came up with recently. The enigmatic Bob Dylan is set to release his second record of standards. Especially given the declining quality of his live performance lately, the...