Folk-pop artist and licensed therapist Jessica Risker launched the long-form interview podcast Music Therapy in spring 2020, and Gossip Wolf has been an avid follower since day one. Earlier this summer, Risker and former Hideout talent buyer Sullivan Davis began producing an in-person version at Cafe Mustache called Music Therapy: Group Session, which augments the podcast’s usual approach—local musicians candidly discussing topics such as creativity, identity, and coping with trauma—with the extra bonus of a live set. At 8 PM on Wednesday, October 13, Risker will be joined by indie-rock trio Izzy True, who dropped their rustic, rousing third album, Our Beautiful Baby World, on Don Giovanni Records in July. Cafe Mustache suggests a $10 donation at the door, and you can RSVP via the Music Therapy website. Masks are required, and the venue is operating at reduced capacity.
Chicago rapper Semiratruth has been on a hot streak this year. In February, she dropped a full-length collaboration with producer Morgan called MIRA, and in the spring Pitchfork wrote about her January single, “WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST.” Last week, Semiratruth dropped her second album of the year, I GOT BANDZ FOR THE MOONLANDIN’, where her scintillating verses bob and weave through blurry, beguiling sample-based instrumental tracks—Semiratruth produced half the album, which also features beats from Morgan, LATS, Thelonious Bong, Nai Kalbin, and Cloud Boy. She’s selling the album digitally and as a small run of cassettes, and both versions are available on Bandcamp.
Semiratruth produced half of her new album, and five guest beat makers shared the rest.
Sound Opinions hasn’t hosted a live taping since the pandemic reached Chicago, but that hiatus ends this weekend! On the afternoon of Sunday, October 10, Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot will host Lucy Dacus at Thalia Hall for an interview and a brief performance with her band. (Dacus plays a full show at the same venue that night, then another on Monday at the Vic.) It’s free to attend the taping, though you do need to register via Eventbrite. Mask wearing and proof of vaccination are required.