Kingston Mines Archives - Chicago Reader

Bandcamp Friday, concerts, Babes with Blades, and more

by Kerry Reid and Salem Collo-Julin November 4, 2022November 4, 2022

It’s Bandcamp Friday, and Reader senior writer Leor Galil has regularly compiled lists for us of Reader-recommended music available for download on Bandcamp—check out one of the latest lists here. Bandcamp Fridays allow the artists and labels on the platform to receive a larger percentage of the money earned through sales, so it’s a great […]

Masked fans enjoy Lil Eazzyy's set in the front rows of the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash

Music

How live music looks during COVID

by Kathleen Hinkel September 1, 2021September 3, 2021

Live music is back, though it looks different today than when it went away in March 2020. For 16 months we carried on without the collaborative magic of artist and audience. We’ve watched musicians find creative ways to keep gigging and be safe, whether delivering livestreams from their homes or playing on porches. Our favorite […]

Music

Blueswoman Joanna Connor honors beloved Chicago blues club Theresa’s with 4801 South Indiana Avenue

by Salem Collo-Julin March 26, 2021August 18, 2021

If you’d stumbled unawares into one of Joanna Connor’s regular gigs at the House of Blues or Kingston Mines in the 2010s, the blues singer and guitarist might’ve seemed like some sort of hidden treasure. But Connor has been playing all over the local blues scene for almost four decades, and she’s attracted devoted fans […]

Music

From soul sweetheart to blues bombshell

by Steve Krakow July 2, 2020August 18, 2021

Holle Thee Maxwell’s long career has taken her through several genres and across the world—but it’s never made her a star.

Music

Musical and literary polymath Thom Bishop has a second career as Junior Burke

by Steve Krakow May 19, 2020August 18, 2021

For 50 years Thom Bishop has been writing songs, lyrics, plays, movies, and more—and his new novel (as Junior Burke) starts with James Dean shooting Ronald Reagan on live TV.

Music

Lefty Dizz was one of the greatest showmen in the blues

by Steve Krakow January 30, 2019August 18, 2021

Guitarist Lefty Dizz toured abroad for decades, but even in his home base of Chicago he was never the star he played like.

Music

Why won’t City Hall fight for Chicago’s homegrown music scene?

by Mark Guarino January 23, 2019August 18, 2021

The Chicago Independent Venue League shouldn’t have to push back against the Live Nation handouts in the Lincoln Yards development—but City Hall doesn’t protect Chicago’s homegrown music scene.