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Author Archives: Ayana Contreras

Two black-and-white images of Charles Stepney: at left he is behind a vibraphone and looking directly at the camera, and at right he's looking off-camera to the left and has his hand on his chin in a pensive pose
Posted inMusic

Charles Stepney built lasting cathedrals inside Black music

by Ayana Contreras August 16, 2022August 16, 2022

Charles Stepney: Out of the ShadowsRotary Connection 222, a large ensemble led by bassist Junius Paul, will perform music from the catalog of Charles Stepney under the creative direction of the Stepney family and Chicago record label International Anthem. Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble open. Thu 8/18, 6:30 PM, Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph, […]

Vic Mensa at Hyde Park Records in 2018, buying vinyl from staffer Angel Elmore (now better known as Angel Bat Dawid)
Posted inBest of Chicago

Best rainy Sunday-afternoon activity

by Ayana Contreras March 2, 2022March 2, 2022

Perhaps on a spring day, when the falling water draws out the musky smell of earth and everything seems to be coming alive, or maybe in the fall, when the cold shards of rain feel more menacing than welcome—no matter the season, there’s no better place to be than a record store on a rainy […]

P.S. Studios
Posted inMusic

P.S. Studios, where a musician recorded musicians

by Ayana Contreras January 27, 2022January 27, 2022

Paul Serrano, founder of P.S. Studios, was a south-sider at his core. Once a student of Captain Walter Dyett’s famed music program at DuSable High School, he forged a path as a young trumpeter in New York before settling back in Chicago and playing on sessions up and down the city’s storied Record Row. By […]

Posted inMusic

Cadien Lake James’s greatest moment in Chicago music history

by Cadien Lake James and Ayana Contreras July 3, 2020August 18, 2021

Twin Peaks guitarist Cadien Lake James honors the lessons that the city’s early house scene taught today’s DIY garage rockers.

Posted inMusic

Damon Locks’s greatest moment in Chicago music history

by Damon Locks and Ayana Contreras June 22, 2020August 18, 2021

Black Monument Ensemble founder Damon Locks still feels the ripples from Soul Train 50 years after its Chicago premiere.

Posted inMusic

Martin Atkins’s greatest moment in Chicago music history

by Martin Atkins and Ayana Contreras June 16, 2020August 18, 2021

With his supergroup Pigface, industrial-music veteran Martin Atkins brings together all sorts of scenes onstage.

Posted inMusic

Vince Lawrence’s greatest moment in Chicago music history

by Vince Lawrence and Ayana Contreras June 9, 2020August 18, 2021

House-music pioneer Vince Lawrence remembers the huge scene-defining parties he helped throw as a teenager.

Posted inMusic

Rhymefest’s greatest moment in Chicago music history

by Che "Rhymefest" Smith and Ayana Contreras June 2, 2020August 18, 2021

Veteran rapper and activist Rhymefest remembers an all-star festival by and for the community.

Posted inMusic

Sima Cunningham’s greatest moment in Chicago music history

by Sima Cunningham and Ayana Contreras May 26, 2020August 18, 2021

Ohmme cofounder Sima Cunningham spent years in a children’s choir that sang for the Dalai Lama—and she hopes to help such groups continue nurturing young musicians.

Posted inMusic

Lori Branch’s greatest moments in Chicago music history

by Lori Branch and Ayana Contreras May 19, 2020August 18, 2021

Pioneering house DJ Lori Branch shouts out her fellow Windy City originators, including Chaka Khan and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

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