FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 27, 2021Contact: Tracy Baim: tbaim@chicagoreader.com The Chicago Reader, a fearless, innovative, and nationally respected media voice in Chicago since 1971, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a variety of exhibitions, events, and projects. The Chicago Reader’s first issue was October 1, 1971. It is believed to be the nation’s first free newsweekly. […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Archive Dive
A daily dip into the stacks, leading up to our 50th anniversary in October
Posted inPerforming Arts Review
Good medicine
This take on Gaetano Donizetti’s 1832 comic opera, L’elisir d’amore, is a two-act antidote for our COVID-plagued reality. Cleverly directed by Daniel Slater and beautifully designed by Robert Innes Hopkins, it’s another one-set production, but what a set! In contrast to Macbeth’s interminable gray, this Elixir transports us to a sunny resort hotel in colorful […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago native Tatiana Hazel crafts pop songs for the arena shows of tomorrow
Chicago native Tatiana Hazel has come a long way since she started uploading acoustic performances to YouTube as a preteen a decade ago. This past summer she dropped a new EP, And the World Will Turn (Creative Music Group/Tatiana Hazel), and though she made it in solitude, it’s clearly meant to be performed in front […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Liaisons and order
The city bolstered its team of officers who engage with LGBTQ+ citizens. Queer people say that’s not enough.
Posted in50 Days of Reader Giving
50 Days of Reader Giving
The Chicago Reader has officially made it to 50 years. Let’s celebrate it with a 50 day prize giveaway!
Posted inReader
The Chicago Reader at 50: A half-century of revolutionary storytelling
In celebrating the Chicago Reader’s 50th anniversary, Newberry Library is hosting an in-person archival exhibition. From October 6 – Jan 21, 2022, Reader enthusiasts will have the opportunity to go on a Reader journey, a trip down memory lane from the ’70s to present day. This exhibition showcases the Reader’s impact and connection to our […]
Posted inAnnouncements
NEW Reader 50 Merchandise
Merchandise celebrating the first fifty years of the Reader
Posted inReader events
Reader House Parties
Show your support for local, independent media by joining us for our Fall 2021 House Parties as we celebrate 50 years! House Parties are part of the Chicago Reader‘s 50th Anniversary celebration. Proceeds will go toward the Reader‘s Century Fund which aims to ensure another 50 years of groundbreaking, award-winning, culture-defining journalism and reporting as […]
Posted inMusic
Adia Victoria’s bluesy new A Southern Gothic begs for repeat listens
All music worth listening to reveals more about itself with repeat listens, and sometimes our interpretation of it changes with time and our own growth. This is true for albums that lay out what they’re about as though they had a sandwich board for cover art, and it’s doubly so for albums full of intriguing […]
Posted inPodcasts
Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show
The Ben Joravsky Show livestreams every Tuesday through Friday between 1 PM and 3 PM here at chicagoreader.com/joravsky and on the Reader‘s YouTube channel. The show is released as a podcast each day after the live taping. Podcast-only episodes are also released throughout the week. Support the show by becoming a Ben Head.
Posted inPublic Service Announcement
Falling into fall
It’s officially autumn, but the weather is nice enough to enjoy outdoor events along with indoor happenings. And for those who prefer to kick back at home, digital offerings are also still going strong. Here are a few suggestions to ring out the last week of the month. Fri 9/24: Fall temperatures bring us back […]
Posted inFilm
Chicago Party Aunt? More like Chicago Party Rant!
Have you ever played Oscars Bingo? You know, where you and your friends write bingo boards filled with awards-season cliches and hyperspecific references to the year’s nominees in order to actually pay attention to a ceremony that’s so notoriously long the host typically makes fun of its torpid endlessness? I’ve found it’s a fun way […]
Posted inTheater Review
Thirteen Days that shook the world
There are different schools of thought on how the world avoided its own destruction during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. The case put forward in Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s memoir Thirteen Days (published posthumously in 1969), the basis for this original adaptation for the stage by Brian Pastor, is unambiguous. After an […]
Posted inMusic
The Body and Big|Brave draw on the Band and Appalachia for Leaving None but Small Birds
The Body and Big|Brave are both known for their takes on pulverizing, minimalist postmetal, but their new collaborative album, Leaving None but Small Birds (Thrill Jockey), gazes at the infinite possibilities of traditional folk music through a warped and weathered all-seeing eye. Crafted in the studio with engineer-producer Seth Manchester (a frequent collaborator of the […]