For a few relatively blissful weeks in July 2021, Chicago’s COVID-19 infection rates dropped far enough that it was possible to believe that the worst of the pandemic was over. Then the Delta variant hit. The city didn’t lock down again, but Delta posed a dire threat to public health as well as to the […]
Tag: Cobra Lounge
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best concert for a cause
On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, the Old Town School of Folk Music’s third annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Concert shook the rafters of the auditorium with Opliam’s rock-tinged blues, Huguito Gutierrez’s Andean pan flute, and the NuFolk Rebel Alliance’s mishmash of folkloric music, acoustic Americana, and tropical punk. Artist and activist Opliam (aka Liam McDonald, who’s […]
Posted inMusic
Four Chicago venues join forces for a celebration of local rock, metal, and punk
Update, January 10: The Save the Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival has been postponed. The new dates are Friday, April 29, through Sunday, May 1. In April 2020, just weeks after COVID-19 shut down the live-music industry, four Chicago venue operators—Louie Mendicino of Cobra Lounge, Herb Rosen of Liar’s Club, Robby Glick of Reggies, and Dave Hornyak […]
Posted inCity Life
Pop out for some pop-ups
Upcoming events and recommendations from our listings coordinator
Posted inMusic
Mexican Werewolf front man Rick Linus helped Chicago metal feel like a family
Remembering Mexican Werewolf front man Rick Linus through his band’s last album
Posted inFilm
Chicago Drive-In opens in Bridgeview
A group of local festival and event organizers invite us to the movies.
Posted inMusic
La Armada transform adversity into community
Anticolonialist hardcore band La Armada discuss their journey from the Dominican Republic to Chicago and the inspiration behind their new EP series, Songs of the Exiled.
Posted inMusic
COVID-19 hits live music hard
You can still support artists and staff by buying merch and donating to fundraisers.
Posted inMusic
Velnias explore cerebral, atmospheric metal on Scion of Aether
Update: To help slow the spread of COVID-19, this show has been postponed. Contact point of purchase for refund or exchange information. Colorado three-piece Velnias have always had their own distinctive blend of black, progressive, and folk metal: it builds slowly, and they give it a lot of room to breathe. They took their name […]
Posted inMusic
Sanction master ear-shattering metalcore on their debut full-length Broken in Refraction
In physics, the term “refraction” refers to the deflection of a wave, such as light or sound, as it passes through a medium. It’s a phenomenon Sanction aim to replicate with their ear-shattering metalcore. In 2017, these Long Island natives—vocalist David Blom, guitarists Mike Marino and Andrew “Lumpy” Wojcik, bassist Ryan Stephenson, and drummer Dillon […]
Posted inMusic
Sparta marks a new beginning for NYC’s Psalm Zero
Psalm Zero have been playing a hybrid form of industrial metal informed by the noisier side of dark and electronic music since forming in New York in 2012. Originally the duo of multi-instrumentalist Charlie Looker (a classical composer and cofounder of experimental bands Extra Life and Zs) and guitarist Andrew Hock, the group showcased synth-heavy […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago postpunks Ganser drop a chilly, thrilling new EP
New releases from chilly, thrilling postpunks Ganser, instrumental guitar-and-drums duo Sun Speak, and “queer twee pop” band Joey Nebulous
Posted inMusic
Punk Rock and Donuts founder Jeremy Kitchen on a callback to when punk was smart
Current musical obsessions of Punk Rock and Donuts founder Jeremy Kitchen, Udüsic vocalist Sarah Ryczek, and Reader listings coordinator Salem Collo-Julin
Posted inMusic
Death-metal crew Warforged drop a kaleidoscopic hurricane of an album
Death-metal crew Warforged drop a kaleidoscopic hurricane of a debut album, Jordan Reyes of Ono and American Damage launches another new label, and more.
Posted inMusic
The deeps of lurve on the gig poster of the week
This week’s featured gig poster was designed by French tattoo artist Bart Balboa for his band Birds in Row.