You can’t beat Chicago’s heat right now, but here’s some more hot stuff for you to enjoy! “A Dreamhouse of Our Own: an Examination of Dolls, Play, and Queer Identity”Ongoing: Wed-Thu 6-9 PM, Fri noon-4 PM, Sat 10 AM-4 PM, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, 6500 N. Clark, second floor, gerberhart.org Exhibit opening cocktail reception and […]
Tag: Cafe Mustache
Music Fest threw open the stages on the Logan Square strip
The festival abolished the usual gatekeeping to book more than four dozen diverse artists at three venues, all in walking distance of one another.
A rally, a concert, a podcast, a reading
At noon, KAN-WIN, a local nonprofit focused on eradicating gender-based violence, especially for women and children across Asian American communities, is holding a rally outside of the Wrigley Building (400 N. Michigan) as part of a global day of action for “comfort women”–Asian survivors of sexual slavery at the hands of the Japanese military leading […]
Jessica Risker, licensed counselor, singer-songwriter, and host of Music Therapy
Jessica Risker is an experimental singer-songwriter and a licensed clinical counselor. After the COVID-19 pandemic sent Chicago into lockdown in March 2020, Risker merged those pursuits for a podcast called Music Therapy, where she speaks to artists, industry professionals, and fellow therapists about their work, creativity, and mental health. She initially imagined the podcast as […]
Chicago jangle-pop group CalicoLoco drop their sharpest single yet
Since 2019, local jangle-pop six-piece CalicoLoco have been dropping singles whose smart, rigorous songwriting sensibility reminds Gossip Wolf of 80s UK indie-pop masters such as Prefab Sprout and Aztec Camera. Last month, the band released their sharpest single yet, the emo-tinged, radio-ready “The Bad Hair Day”—and it has to be the catchiest jam about fringe […]
Chicago’s record stores make for minimally miserable Black Friday destinations
Record Store Day usually takes place in the spring (well, before the pandemic it did), but in 2011 its organizers launched a Black Friday spin-off. Since then I’ve become increasingly weary of this invented retail holiday. Even though RSD promotes independent brick-and-mortar music shops—unquestionably a good idea—its list of special releases has become saturated with […]
Jessica Risker’s in-person version of Music Therapy welcomes Izzy True
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 […]
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.”
COVID-19 hits live music hard
You can still support artists and staff by buying merch and donating to fundraisers.
Dungeons & Heshers on the gig poster of the week
This week’s featured gig poster was designed by Adam Luksetich for his series Cafe Must Thrash.
Eye Vybe Records doesn’t need you to pretend Christmas is fun
Eye Vybe Records doesn’t need you to pretend Christmas is fun, Comfort Station throws a holiday benefit show with a dazzling lineup, and more.
Ladylike lets women be as gross as they please
The live show and podcast aim to shake the shame from our most disgusting moments.
Chicago filmmaker Jim Sikora screens a rarely seen love letter to Saccharine Trust
Chicago filmmaker Jim Sikora screens a rarely seen love letter to Saccharine Trust, Sacha Mullin celebrates an earnest, silly new video for an old song, and more.
Keeping the beat
Chicago’s beat scene has to do without the attention the city’s rappers get, but it’s a vital incubator for adventurous, ambitious instrumental hip-hop.
It’s a minotaur murder party on the gig poster of the week
This week’s featured gig poster was designed by local artist and musician Jordan Reyes for his upcoming show at Cafe Mustache.