Latest Stories
Through costuming, Bill Crisafi accesses a new kind of power
The artist mixes Western folklore and witchy aesthetics with a queer sensibility.
Oddball hip-hop band Mother Fortune hit the stage to celebrate a new EP
Plus: Music journalist Tara C. Mahadevan throws an IRL birthday party for her online interview show.
The year of the sapphic
As understandings of gender and sexuality become more fluid, the term sapphic seems to be having its moment in the limelight.
The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash scores a historic headliner: Chief Keef
Fri 6/14-Sun 6/16 at SeatGeek Stadium
Orville Peck’s outlaw country spectacle stampedes into Chicago
Thu 6/13 at Aragon Ballroom
Sensor Ghost expand the bounds of D.C. punk with their skewed songs
Thu 6/13 at Burlington
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Lee’s Unleaded Blues rises from its own ashes
The revitalized south-side club has reopened in time for the biggest blues weekend of the year.
Critics Choice Association celebrates LGBTQ+ film and TV artists
Longtime Chicago journalist Jerry Nunn on representation within CCA and organizing its newest event
The Pearl Handle Band debut 40 years after breaking up
After these outlaw rockers cut their only album in 1980, their label folded and the recording got bootlegged. But it finally has a proper release.
News & INVESTIGATIONS
Illinois promised to help with funeral costs for children lost to gun violence. Only two families benefitted.
The sudden death of a child leaves families with unexpected costs. The Mychal Moultry Jr. Funeral and Burial Assistance Program is supposed to ease that burden for low-income families.
How to apply for funeral and burial assistance in Illinois
The state offers financial help to families of children killed by gun violence. Here’s our guide to the program.
Downtown curfew, DNC security, police surveillance lawsuit
A weekly column from the Chicago Reader covering the top stories on our radar and how they impact our communities.
Columns & Opinion
Web3 is here, but where’s the diversity?
Small business education from the 1980s holds keys for today’s women founders.
Ghostlight, the movie
Chicago talent shines in a film that’s a tribute to live theater.
Bugged!
It’s cicada party time.
Film
Review: Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza (Miniseries)
Lolla celebrates the fest’s glory days but (unsurprisingly) avoids serious critique.
Dr. Yvonne Welbon is a crucial storyteller
Through her filmmaking, writing, and nonprofit work, Welbon documents the history of Black lesbians in Chicago, as well as Black women filmmakers at large.
Arts & Culture
Dancing into summer
See Chicago Dance kicks off the 12th Chicago Dance Month; Theatre Communications Group names six Chicagoans as Rising Leaders of Color.
Meet Ciera McKissick’s latest enterprise: cam.contemporarie
The micro-gallery aims to cultivate holistic support for artists.
Transforming young lives through theater and journalism
Water People Theater’s NOTICIAS KIDS spreads good news.
Romance and regret, Sondheim style
There’s much to love in Theo’s A Little Night Music.
Breaking the code
The Enigmatist pays homage to cryptologists and cruciverbalists.
Music
Nourished by Time makes collage art out of funky, R&B-infused synth-pop
Mon 6/17 at Schubas
Monsieur Periné animate their cosmopolitan Afro-Colombian fusion with romance and humor
Mon 6/17 at Thalia Hall
CITY LIFE
Swappin’ Boots proves country has always been queer
The Queer Social Club’s popular two-step night is a safe space for hooting, hollering, and meeting friends from every corner of Chicago’s queer community.
Chicago’s arcade evolution
Nothing can rival the video game boom of the 1980s, but with the majority of today’s arcade options catering to alcohol-consuming adults, the city’s youth are cut out of vital community spaces.
Food & Drink
Milo’s Market forges the one sandwich to rule them all at the next Monday Night Foodball
Surrender to Gilberto Bahena’s birria grilled cheese at the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Frank and Mary’s Tavern.
Thai Festival Chicago returns to North Center this weekend
The five-year-old pavement party remains one of the city’s most interesting food festivals.
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Demystifying Acupuncture provides answers for the curious skeptic
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At the California Clipper, everyone is welcome
The newly relaunched Humboldt Park lounge champions community, inclusivity, and fair labor practices Since the 1820s, Chicago’s pubs…
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Bright Endeavors provides a guiding light for young mothers in Chicago
The social enterprise of Chicago nonprofit New Moms empowers local mothers ages 18-24 through their comprehensive job training program
As the proverb goes, it takes a village to raise a child. The folks at Bright Endeavors know…
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In Motion: Metamorphosis explores the intersection of art and technology
As the leader of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Princess Mhoon is on a mission to raise…