Joe Shanahan founded sister venues Metro and Smart Bar in 1982, inspired by the adventurous punk and no wave he’d seen in the late 70s at New York venues such as the Mudd Club and CBGB. Shanahan was in his 20s at the time, but the Wrigleyville building his venues occupied had been built in […]
Tag: Metro
Posted inMusic
Michael Cameron, co-owner of Uncommon Ground
Michael and Helen Cameron launched Uncommon Ground in 1991 as a tiny coffeehouse at Grace and Clark near Wrigley Field, eventually expanding it into a full-service restaurant and music venue. In 2007 they added a second location on Devon, which they recently closed to spend more time with family. In 2014 the original Uncommon Ground […]
Posted inAgenda
A Natural Turn, Jessica Bardsley, and Cold Waves
Chicago has no shortage of free museums, and the DePaul Art Museum (935 W. Fullerton) is one stunning example. While it’s never a bad time for a visit (hello, it’s free!), their new exhibition “A Natural Turn” is worth checking out. Artists María Berrío, Joiri Minaya, Rosana Paulino, and Kelly Sinnapah Mary use surrealism to […]
Posted inAgenda
Records, Ruido, robots, and Peaches
Chicago Vinyl Connection celebrates one year of bringing independent record sellers, vintage vendors, and music lovers together with today’s latest edition of their nomadic gatherings of good times dealers. Thousands of new and used albums will be for sale this afternoon at Chicago Vinyl Connection 010 from a long list of locals, including South Rhodes […]
Posted inCity Life
Agenda: Thu 7/21/22
From 3-7 PM, Rogers Park hosts its annual Taco Crawl, where 14 local restaurants from across the neighborhood (Taqueria El Dorado, Urban Tables, Supermercado Roman, and La Choza to name a few) will be serving tacos along Clark between Devon and Rogers. Tickets are $20 in advance or $30 at the door. Pick up your […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best Chicago venues for the COVID averse
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 […]
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
Jill Hopkins, new media and civic events producer for the Metro venues
Jill Hopkins is a Chicago broadcaster, DJ, writer, musician, and storyteller. After an eight-year stint at Vocalo Radio, Hopkins kicked off 2022 by joining the Metro family of venues (which also includes Smart Bar and GMan) as their new media and civic events producer. As told to Jamie Ludwig I was always a big radio […]
Posted inCity Life
New year’s cheer
Trying to make last-minute plans? Here are a few ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve and beyond this weekend. Note: in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we recommend that you call or email ahead for confirmation for any in-person gatherings. Venues may also have their own restrictions in light of COVID-19 that you’ll need […]
Posted inMusic
Metallic hardcore masters Harm’s Way celebrate a decade of Isolation
When metallic hardcore masters Harm’s Way dropped their second full-length, Isolation, in 2011, Gossip Wolf hailed the “chug-o-riffic” album for its “circle-pit-ready brutality”—and the band have gone on to build a worldwide fan base and sign to Metal Blade. In November, Closed Casket Activities (who originally put out Isolation) released a tenth-anniversary edition with four […]
Posted inMusic
How do you explain Limp Bizkit to the world?
At the beginning of the pandemic, I became mildly obsessed with a video of Limp Bizkit playing a Moscow venue in February 2020. I wasn’t drawn to the performance so much as to the sight of front man Fred Durst, who’d been an emblem of white male millennials’ bottomless teenage angst at the turn of […]
Posted inMusic
Facs light a beacon with a new album of dark postpunk
Facs light a beacon with a new album of dark postpunk, Equity Arts hosts a talk about nurturing community cultural spaces, and more.
Posted inMusic
Music workers’ jobs disappeared, but their bills didn’t
With federal aid to venues only now arriving, how are tour managers, stagehands, bookers, and their colleagues in the concert business making ends meet?
Posted inMusic
If enough of us celebrate Independent Venue Week, we might have one next year too
For Independent Venue Week, the Reader has rounded up some favorite stories about Chicago music venues past and present.
Posted inMusic
Who’s under that makeup on the gig poster of the week
This week’s featured historical gig poster was created by former Chicago artist Rob Schwager, aka Trucker.