Words: Tim Kelly | Photos: Michael LepekStarting at the end? If you missed our prior coverage, check out Day One,  Day Two, Day Three and Day Four.Ok, we made it.This post covers the bittersweet final day of Jam Cruise. Your mind is saying, "I can do this...

Words: Kevin Kelly | Photos: Michael LepekFor a chilly night in Chicago, it didn't take long for the Riviera Theatre to heat up as Galactic hit the stage.  Shortly after 9pm, Stanton Moores ever-consistent rhythm signaled a punchy start to the show, as each of Galactic's core members grabbed at least one shining moment...

Ravinia Festival in Highland Park has announced its extensive calendar of musical acts for the summer.Running from June 1 to September 16, the outdoor venue will host a wide range of bands, artists, movies and orchestral performances.Highlights for the season include Roger Daltrey, ZZ Top with John Fogerty, Trombone Shorty with Galactic and Preservation Hall...

The Hip Abduction is touring behing their latest studio album Gold Under The Glow, their third since forming in Florida in 2010.  It is a recording that has propelled the group onto bigger stages, bringing music that reflects the sunny climate of their hometown -- possessing distinct pop sensibility merged with a reggae /...

Words & Photos: Michael LepekAt its core Galactic is Stanton Moore on Drums, bassist Robert Mecurio  guitarist Jeff Raines, Hammond organist Rich Vogel, and saxophonist Ben Ellman --  but it is the continuous rotating cast of vocalists and sidemen that keep this band fresh after 23 years of...

We've already gone on-and-on about why we're excited about this year's North Coast Music Festival. Now there areseventeenmore reasons.First, there are sixteen awesome after-shows that are at some of the city's best venues, stretching from the Thursday night before the festival to the Monday after it closes. These feature tribute sets (to Daft Punk &...

Chicago's North Coast Music Festival has in past years been a bit of a jam purist's puzzle. There has always been a smattering of jam-friendly acts in its lineups, but EDM and flavor-of-the-minute bands tended to cast a long shadow for those looking for improv in Chicago over Labor Day Weekend.The scales seemed to...

You can point to the first Bonnaroo as a potential Ground Zero for the music festival explosion that has gripped America in the dozen or so years since its inception. While many festivals that have emerged in its wake -- both big and small -- have chosen to replicate its key elements, very few, not...

On Saturday Night at the Park West, I started to keep track of how funky Galactic's tunes were by counting the number of times drummer Stanton Moore leaped off his stool to emphasize a beat or dramatically finish a fill.Cutting their teeth as one of the most party-ready bands of the nineties, it is...

When a band has been continually on the road as much as New Orleans' Galactic, major cities become more than just stops on a tour, they become wrapped up in aspects of the band's narrative. After the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, Chicago became the temporary (to the tune of seven years!) home of Galactic's original...