Jeff Tweedy continued touring with his new band TWEEDY over the weekend, performing mostly new songs off his forthcoming solo debut Sukierae.Videos of the first several songs have begun to emerge on YouTube, including these two from Three Rivers Art Festival in Pittsburgh on Friday.First was "Low Key", a standard issue rocker that...

Blown away.I'll write up a full recap of Saturday's show when I have a bit of time to catch my breath (It's been two days and still can't quite process how incredible it was).But here's the rundown on Friday and Saturday's set lists and links to audio via archive.org. Three nights with...

Words & Photos: Ashley M DowningAfter taking a hiatus and implementing some innovative adjustments, Particle is back as a musical force that cannot be ignored. They have played a handful of shows over the past few months, gearing up to fully takeover the scene that they once helped to create.Within the jam-electronica world there...

Conor Oberst is leaning in a folk-rock direction for his latest release,Upside Down Mountain under the guidance of producer/musician Jonathan Wilson.To recreate the laid-back Laurel Canyon sound on the road, Southern Califnornia's finest, and Barn favorites, Dawes have been backing him on tour. The musicians found themselves in the Upper Midwest during...

Jackie Greene and his band of stormed Chicago's Lincoln Hall on Saturday night (but not before celebrating their drummer's birthday at nearby Fiesta Americana).Highlights included Greene's originals "So Hard To Find My Way" and "Prayer For Spanish Harlem". But the true show stopper was the set closing sequence of covers, segueing from the Beatles ("...

The notorious FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island opened its season under clear skies last weekend with a pairing of Jack Johnson and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes.The acts shared the stage for a pair of covers of The Beatles and The Band and Johnson and his band reeled off additional takes on...

Contributed By: Ashley M. DowningI have always heard that birds of a feather flock together. This was recently proven to me first-hand when The Ragbirds and Birds of Chicago gathered together in the windy city for an intimate evening at City Winery. I arrived to the venue just before the sold out show began; eager...

Words: Alex WoodPhotos:Eujin KwakKishi Bashis set at the Metro balanced expressive violin performance with a creative use of effects. Though only three band members backed the violinist, their sound was massive, achieved through looping techniques and well-composed songs.Kaoru Ishibashi has released only two records under the Kishi Bashi moniker, but the set list...

Given the format and its inherit lack of spontaneity, I was in "no spoilers" mode and had shut myself off from the flow of information about the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration featuring Warren Haynes prior to the Chicago stop on the short spring tour.So it was a bit strange that the only bit of (...

You may have seen the high praise I gave Cabinet in our recent jambands-of-tomorrow feature. I won't rehash everything I wrote over there in this post, but there is no doubt I believe the future is bright for this band who is mining some unexpectedly new territory in the jamgrass space.They swung through Chicago...