By the time singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Earl Livingston released his first full-length album as Son Little in 2015, he’d already worked with genre-bending artists such as the Roots and RJD2 and produced the 2015 Mavis Staples EP Your Good Fortune (he also wrote its first two tracks). In keeping with the musical openness of […]
Tag: Mavis Staples
Posted inFilm
The revolution is finally televised with Summer of Soul
The documentary is a window into the Harlem Culture Festival and discussions of Black history, community, and identity in the 60s.
Posted inMusic
Andrew Kitchen’s boogie strikes back
Soul Train veteran and Attack of the Boogie host Andrew Kitchen celebrates the reissue of his dance show’s 1984 theme song.
Posted inMusic
Run the Jewels reflect 2020’s unrest with the sociopolitical Molotov cocktail of RTJ4
The fourth Run the Jewels full-length, RTJ4, is the hardcore rap duo’s first since Donald Trump’s inauguration. Not at all by coincidence, it’s also the most sociopolitically outspoken album they’ve released to date. On their third, released at the end of 2016, rapper-activist Killer Mike and rapper-producer El-P let poignant, sober lyrics about war, religion, […]
Posted inMusic
Mavis Staples drops a benefit single to help Chicago seniors survive the pandemic
Mavis Staples drops a benefit single to help Chicago seniors survive the pandemic, Mukqs embarks on a weekly series of live-recorded experimental EPs, and more.
Posted inMusic
Mavis Staples sanctified Friday night at Pitchfork
Even when Mavis Staples wasn’t singing gospel at Pitchfork, her powerful spiritual voice could bring together generations.
Posted inMusic
A streamable mixtape of Pitchfork’s Chicago sounds
This year Pitchfork booked enough acts from in and around Chicago to fill one side of a 90-minute cassette.
Posted inMusic
The full schedule for the 2019 Pitchfork Music Festival
Every set listed in order, from the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble on Friday afternoon to Robyn on Sunday night
Posted inMusic
The 2019 Pitchfork Music Festival announces its lineup
Headliners Robyn, Haim, and the Isley Brothers are joined on the bill by the likes of Pusha T, Stereolab, and Mavis Staples.
Posted inMusic
The Reader’s guide to the 2018 Chicago Blues Festival
The fest expands its footprint in Millennium Park with a diverse lineup that includes boogie-woogie pianist Erwin Helfer, southern soul-blues star Ms. Jody, and the Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band with Shardé Thomas.
Posted inMusic
The complete schedule of the 2018 Chicago Blues Festival
Every Blues Festival set on all five stages in Millennium Park, from Friday morning through Sunday night
Posted inMusic
Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples push into their sixth decades as artists while both exploring new terrain
Earlier this year Bob Dylan released his third consecutive collection of prerock American pop standards, Triplicate (Columbia). With 30 songs spread across three CDs, it rates as the most substantial volume yet. The album not only demonstrates that Dylan wasn’t kidding around when he started essaying tunes sung by Frank Sinatra (among countless others) a […]
Posted inBlogs
City Hall asks federal judge for nationwide injunction to prevent Jeff Sessions from defunding sanctuary cities, and other Chicago news
Also, a judge has sealed Jason Van Dyke’s statements to IPRA about Laquan McDonald shooting.
Posted inMusic
Danielle Sines of Impulsive Hearts on a 16-year-old who cowrote a doo-wop hit
Current musical obsessions of Impulsive Hearts front woman Danielle Sines, CHIRP codirector of features Amelia Hruby, and Reader music editor Philip Montoro
Posted inBlogs
United Airlines’ public relations crisis continues as its stock falls, and other Chicago news
Also, the city of Chicago has announced that its buildings will be entirely powered by renewable energy by 2025.