School of Rock Archives - Chicago Reader

A group of kids in school uniforms stand onstage in a line. In front of them is a burly man with a beard playing guitar at the left of the photo, and a boy with another guitar standing on the right of the photo in front of them.

School of Rock doesn’t quite make the grade

by Jack Helbig April 26, 2023April 26, 2023

The idea of turning Richard Linklater’s brilliant 2003 film comedy, School of Rock (about a struggling guitarist/substitute teacher coaching his prep-school students on how to, well, rock), into a Broadway musical sounds like a great one. All you need is a book writer capable of preserving the wit and warmth of Mike White’s screenplay, a […]

The members of Horsegirl, dressed in dark colors against a gray background

Music

Horsegirl and the dream of a teen rock scene

by Leor Galil May 26, 2022June 20, 2022

In July 2019, Chicago indie-rock trio Horsegirl played the eighth annual Square Roots Festival. At the time, live shows were the only way to hear the group’s taut but disarming dream pop, with its windswept-lakefront sound—and they’d only performed a few of them. They hadn’t released any music, not even to stream, and unsurprisingly they’d […]

Music

The wrong kind of cowgirl on the gig poster of the week

by Salem Collo-Julin July 8, 2020August 18, 2021

This week’s featured gig poster was created by Chicago artist Steve Walters, proprietor of Screwball Press.

Blogs

Millennium Park free movie schedule announced: Here’s what’s playing

by Reader staff May 9, 2018August 18, 2021

Read our reviews of every movie playing at the park on Tuesday nights this summer.

Arts & Culture

Akeelah and the Bee, Die Walküre, and 14 more new stage shows to see

by Chicago Reader November 8, 2017August 18, 2021

An inspirational kids’ show and a not-be-missed Lyric Opera production are among this week’s best bets.

Blogs

Mikerphone Brewing launches with music-inspired beers and monster cans

by Philip Montoro April 17, 2015December 6, 2021

It’s been a tangled path for Slapshot head brewer Mike Pallen, but he’s finally found a place to turn his home-brewing operation into a commercial enterprise.

Blogs