Today the exhibition “Palette and Palate” opens at Madron Gallery (1000 W. North). It’s a retrospective celebrating Chicago’s Riccardo’s Restaurant and Gallery that anticipates a PBS documentary on the topic dropping in December. In the mid-20th century, Riccardo’s Restaurant and Gallery was founded by former WPA artist Ric Riccardo. At first, he immersed diners in […]
Tag: Cicada
Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble’s Now is an essential album of the moment
Flipping through television channels. Flicking through radio stations. They’re quotidian actions—until they’re not. When you’ve lived through a year like 2020, every frequency delivers the same nightmare from a different angle. On Now (International Anthem), Chicago sound collagist Damon Locks and his Black Monument Ensemble confidently grasp the tuning dial of history. Like 2019’s Where […]
Catalytic Sound launches a streaming service to support improvising musicians
Catalytic Sound launches a streaming service to support improvising musicians, rapper-producer Rashid Hadee collaborates with the Primeridian, and more
J.I.D makes jittery rap for the mainstream and beyond
In the very crowded landscape of Atlanta rap, J.I.D is instantly recognizable. His stage moniker comes from a childhood nickname that was short for “jittery.” That word is also a good description of his flow—he races from word to word with a slightly nasal tone and profanely wiggy enthusiasm. His most recent album, DiCaprio 2 […]