“Being in the room and feeling the heartbeat of the people that you’re with, that’s really a large part of what makes the music what it is.”
Category: Chicagoans of Note
Posted inMusic
Sasha Daltonn, jazz singer and founder of the Chicago Gospel Music Festival
“We weren’t only honoring Professor Dorsey—this was a major event introduced by the first Black mayor of the city, and it needed to be outstanding.”
Posted inMusic
Justice Hill, producer, keyboardist, and songwriter
“Once I started playing piano . . . I felt like I had complete control over something for once, and it allowed me to be a more confident version of myself.”
Posted inMusic
Sacha Mullin, singer-songwriter and backup vocalist extraordinaire
“I want to assemble things as if I’m storyboarding in my head. In a way, I feel like a casting director for sound.”
Posted inMusic
Hali Palombo, composer and shortwave radio enthusiast
“A lot of the most fascinating audio that I’ve found has been things that most people would just skip over.”
Posted inMusic
Alison Chesley, cellist and composer, aka Helen Money
“A year without music venues, without audiences, without seeing other people play has really made me realize how important that is for me.”
Posted inMusic
Christopher Santoso, aka DJ and producer Please and Issa Party label founder
“I try and make the music for the dancers—like Teklife, Beatdown House, everybody in the footwork community. It’s all for them.”
Posted inMusic
Beau O’Reilly, cofounder of Maestro Subgum & the Whole and Curious Theatre Branch
“I’ve always written more than people can keep up with. I write a lot of plays and I write a lot of lyrics. I just write all the time.”
Posted inMusic
Jennifer Phạm, cofounder of Haibayô and Celebrate Argyle
“For so long, people didn’t know anything about Asian Americans. Showing who we are and being proud of who we are, it’s really important during this time.”
Posted inMusic
Annie Saunders, veterinarian and founder of Punk House Chicago
“The focus is not as much on the bands as it is on communal life and the weird things you get up to when you’re making minimum wage and you’re bored.”
Posted inMusic
Monique Golding, vocalist for Mosaic Soul and the Black Monument Ensemble
“A music community is a group of individuals that create music because they love doing it, and I think that’s the most important thing for me.”
Posted inMusic
Alejandro Ayala, aka King Hippo, DJ and producer
“You bring people together and something will always happen. . . . The how is pretty easy, but the why is more important to me.”
Posted inMusic
Zak Kiernan, maker of dungeon synth and comfy synth
“When someone reads you those Hans Christian Andersen stories when you’re young, this is the music that’s playing in your mind.”
Posted inMusic
Beth King, staffer at Intonation Music
“When I was working in politics, we always went to the community for answers. Community organizations are going to be around a lot longer than any politician.”
Posted inMusic
CaSera Heining, producer at WGN Radio and DJ Ca$h Era
“For a couple months, I was just DJing for tips. Luckily the community that I have around me, they were pouring into me as much as I give out to them.”