Chicago in Tune is a difficult festival to describe, since it includes basically all live music happening in the city from August 19 till September 19. How that looks to you depends heavily on which shows are on your radar. The Reader has provided you with a number of assists: a show calendar spanning the […]
Author Archives: Jessi Roti
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Angel Olsen’s Whole New Mess showcases the skeletal recordings that led to 2019’s All Mirrors
On her new fifth album, Whole New Mess, Angel Olsen presents skeletal renditions of songs from her 2019 LP All Mirrors, filtering their themes of love, broken promises, and recovery through a stark, isolationist lens of a woman armed with only her guitars. While the record’s release date comes nearly a year after All Mirrors, […]
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Lightfoot hijacks Lollapalooza
Did Chicago musicians booked for Lollapalooza know their sets might look like an endorsement of Mayor Lightfoot?
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Dehd focus their sound and their hearts on the new Flower of Devotion
Chicago trio Dehd add studio polish and hard life lessons to their fusion of postpunk and garage folk.
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Margo Price tackles her personal and professional growing pains on That’s How Rumors Get Started
On her new third album, That’s How Rumors Get Started, Margo Price spins her modern outlaw-country sound into golden strands of pop-friendly Americana, tackling her critics, rock ’n’ roll mythology, and expectations of success. The LP, which was produced by fellow country renegade Sturgill Simpson, showcases Price’s knack for storytelling that pulls at the heartstrings; […]
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A room of Ohmme’s own
On Fantasize Your Ghost, Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham make their music a place of trust, discovery, and compassion.
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Psalm One and Angel Davanport of Rapper Chicks introduce Big Silky, their sharpest collaboration yet
Born from the ashes of Rapper Chicks, one of the city’s best and most slept-on rap groups of the past decade, Big Silky reintroduces two members of that crew, Psalm One and Angel Davanport. On their debut EP, Big Silky Vol. 1, written in tribute of former bandmate Henny B (she passed away in 2018, […]
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Drama’s new Dance Without Me is for sad-but-sexy folks everywhere
When the COVID-19 crisis subsides long enough for the concert circuit to start up again, you’ll want to see Chicago electro-R&B duo Drama live. But in the meantime, their new debut LP, Dance Without Me, might just be the record you need to get through your social isolation. An album for sad-but-sexy people everywhere, Dance […]
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Best Coast deliver a clear, optimistic vision of rock ’n’ roll on Always Tomorrow
California duo Best Coast are a long way away from the bite-size stoner love songs and sun-drenched slacker tales of their 2010 debut album, Crazy for You. On their brand-new fourth LP, Always Tomorrow (Concord), singer-songwriter and guitarist Bethany Cosentino and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno pair beefed-up power chords with clear-eyed observations, a newfound sense of […]
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Trixie Mattel mixes her Americana with surf rock and pop punk on Barbara
Drag has become so much more than queens lip-synching covers of diva classics. The more original your act is, the better, and in 2020 the possibilities are endless. The art form has permeated pop culture’s language, fashion, and notions of beauty, and it’s crossed over into other creative disciplines as well, including comedy, television, and […]
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On Beware of the Dogs, Australian singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly bridges the gap between debatable and relatable
UPDATE: Tuesday, January 14, 12:50 PM:: Stella Donnelly has canceled her U.S. tour for health reasons. Paul Cherry has replaced her as the headliner of this show. Stella Donnelly’s truth creeps up on you. The sound of her voice over her gentle, electrified folk-rock guitar is like a chill that runs up your spine to […]