At 36 years of age, William Tyler has arrived at an enviable artistic space.He is a writer and performer who combines the inventiveness of youth with the confidence and singular expressiveness of somebody who has found his voice after decades of practice.  An oft unsettling combination of fearlessness and wisdom, it is embodied in...

Beyondify is our periodic feature which features new music before it hits Spotify.  As usual, we mine Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and YouTube for the goods. While our last edition was of super high quality but didn't feature may big names, this one has so much star power you might want to...

Photos: Heidi Peters PhotographyFans of British riff-rock take note, it's likely you're about to hear a lot more about Band Of Skulls.  Photojournalist Heidi Peters was able to catch up with them on a recent stop at Chicago's Metro.It seems the fever has already caught on with the folks in attendance.  It...

Words: Robin Zimmerman | Photos (and experiences): Phil & Nancy DuffinOn September 2nd, 2016, all 17 albums released by the Tragically Hip were listed on the Canadian Billboard charts. This was on the heels of a Canadian tour where tickets sold out almost immediately in the wake of the news that lead singer, Gord Downie, had terminal brain...

Words: Alex Wood | Photos: Heidi PetersAndrew Birds performance at Pritzker Pavilion was one of the best shows in Chicago this summer.Its a bold statement, but hear me out.I saw countless shows in the last four months. From big names like Phish, LCD Soundsystem, Pearl Jam and Wilco to small, equally impressive performances...

Photos: Tara Gracer Design & PhotographyIn the social media age, one way to keep your brand into the public's mind is to constantly have something new to share.Since Umphrey's McGee touched down at Chicago's Concord Music Hall for a North Coast Music Festival after show, they've had more than enough to keep fans --...

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...