Words: Ryan Mannix | Photos: Mandy Pichler Photography | Audio: J. Frank Hard Working Americans opened their summer tour at Park West on Friday night. For a relatively "new" band, the crowd certainly skewed older, and could appreciate the the spacious and comfortable venue. Park West is a beautiful place, and definitely one of my favorite...

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...

Photos: Howard Greenblatt | Video by dreadnickmonWhile full band Little Feat shows may not fill the calendar like they used to, Paul Barerre and Fred Tackett still collaborate, carrying the torch of that great band to points far and wide.On Friday, May 13th, the duo arrived at Fitzgerald's for a typically great night of roots...

It's been a week, and I'm still going to try to put some thoughts together on the Widespread Panic Chicago Theatre run. But until then, how about a little media to keep you going.We posted audio from Thursday's show already, and here's two more great pulls via Z-Man: FRIDAY and SATURDAY.There's also a...

This edition ofNotes From The Jazz Undergroundwas culled from the May 6thbroadcast.For me, this show is what drew me to this program to begin with, even with a little self promotion from host Paul Abella.Let's start with Grateful Dead. "King Solomon's Marbles" is a triumph and just hearing those opening notes clues you...

What I love about music: I've probably cycled through about fiveor six Album Of The Year choices since January. But Sturgill Simpson's A Sailor's Guide To Earth just might end up sticking.After a few late night talk show and other promotional appearances where he brought a horn section (featured prominently on the album) to...

We'll always cover the old favorites, but it's also worth keeping a lookout for artists that may be on their first few swings through Chicago. This new feature, 8-UP, showcases eight acts on the way up-- catch 'em before they're big.Check them out in this Spotify Playlist and check out when they'll be in...

This a new band for me, and a little research shows it's a relatively new band period. But I like what I'm hearing, and felt that these two videos were more than worthy of a post.We recently sharedvideocaptured byseijinleeof Ryley Walker and Charles Rumback's Record Store Day performance. It turns out they weren't the...

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...

By: Heidi Peters PhotographyCerebral punk. Intellectual aggression. No matter how you describe it, Bob Mould brought it to the Metro on Friday night, mixing up the thoughtful and emotional to the crowd's approval.He and the band powered through thee evening's setlist with a short break only to introduce the band and to say thank...