After years playing backup to major indie acts, Nora O’Connor steps out solo
The Evanston musician has toured with the likes of the New Pornographers, the Decemberists and [...]
How Chicago put Louis Armstrong on a path to jazz greatness 100 years ago
The 21-year-old trumpeter from New Orleans stepped off a train at Illinois Central Station in [...]
The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective refreshes the sounds of the city’s postbop era
by Mark Guarino June 27, 2022 Since 2018, the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective has made waves [...]
Pravda Records goes the distance
Chicago’s longest-running independent rock label throws the first Pravdafest, celebrating 38 years of rolling with [...]
Wilco’s folk-driven double album Cruel Country gives long time fans something fresh to love
by Mark Guarino May 26, 2022 In 1997, Wilco’s double album Being There became a fundamental pivot for [...]
Beau O’Reilly keeps the folk cabaret alive
His weekend bookings upstairs at Jimmy Beans Coffee preserve the intimacy, smarts, and daring of [...]
Will Chicago voters back a candidate for Ill. governor who bashes the city?
By Mark Guarino September 24, 2022 at 2:08 p.m. EDT Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee for [...]
The race for Illinois governor is a battle of billionaires
The wealthy Democratic governor and the state’s richest man have poured tens of millions into [...]
In Chicago, march highlights unsolved cases of missing Black women
By Mark Guarino Updated June 15, 2022 at 1:15 p.m. EDT|Published June 15, 2022 at 1:01 p.m. EDT [...]
New Orleans again embraces Mardi Gras — with constraints
One year after a pandemic-wary city canceled its famous carnival, the parades and at least [...]