Jackie Hayes left behind a devout Christian upbringing in Waukegan to move to Logan Square at age 19 and pursue her music career on her terms. As a frequent opener at Schubas and other local clubs, she refined her attitude-heavy vocal melodies supported by simple, sludgy guitar lines and loose hip-hop drums. Hayes worked at […]
Tag: Schubas
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Chicago songwriter Emily Jane Powers supercharges Isometry with wild guitar work
When local folk-pop artist Jessica Risker interviewed Chicago singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emily Jane Powers on her Music Therapy podcast in April 2020, Powers was halfway through recording an album. “I wanted to make a guitar-forward record,” Powers told Risker. “I wanted to let the guitar speak for me.” On the album in question, Isometry (which […]
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Ratboys celebrate their tenth birthday in a virtual living room at Schubas
Ratboys celebrate their tenth birthday in a virtual living room at Schubas, Northwestern’s New Music Conference returns in online form, and more.
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Want live music back? Wear a mask and call Congress.
Staff from 22 Chicago music venues talk about how far they still are from normal—and what it’ll take to keep them around till we all get there.
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On Black Friday, Palehound explore love in the face of anxiety
Update: To help slow the spread of COVID-19, this show has been postponed until a date to be determined. Tickets already purchased will be honored at that time, but contact point of purchase for refund information. On their third full-length, 2019’s Black Friday (Polyvinyl), Boston band Palehound offer candid meditations on love—its many forms and […]
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Paloma Mami is reggaeton’s newest and youngest star
Paloma Rocío Castillo Astorga, better known as Paloma Mami, was only 18 when she released her debut single, 2018’s “Not Steady.” Lugubrious and resoundingly confident, the song made clear she wasn’t callow: “I don’t change for no dick,” she declares over a soft-edged dancehall beat whose nocturnal aura sets the tone for a night spent […]
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Drummer Jeremy Cunningham releases a dense but delicate jazz record to honor his late brother
Drummer Jeremy Cunningham releases a dense but delicate jazz record to honor his late brother; the Black, Brown, and Indigenous Crew rocks the Vaginal Davis exhibit at the Art Institute; and more.
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Versatile London rapper Kojey Radical veers into funk on Cashmere Tears
London rapper Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah, aka Kojey Radical, worked in a variety of artistic mediums before trying his hand at music. Beginning at age ten, he spent nine years training as a dancer; he wrote poetry; and he graduated from the London College of Fashion with a BA in fashion illustration. He didn’t begin […]
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After a bout of self-doubt, Chicago rapper Kembe X re-emerges with a star’s brightness
In an October interview with Lyrical Lemonade, Chicago rapper Kembe X (born Dikembe Caston) described a rocky patch in 2017 that brought him to a breaking point in his career. He’d been talking to R&B singer Kehlani, opening up about his lack of confidence and disinterest in his creative direction, and she asked him if […]
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Tate McRae is happy to sing sad pop
You’d think Tate McRae would have a lot to be happy about: at age 16 she’s already a successful ballet dancer who’s appeared on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. She’s also started a singing career, releasing videos to her own YouTube channel—which has 1.98 million subscribers. Nonetheless, her […]
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Chicago filmmaker Jim Sikora screens a rarely seen love letter to Saccharine Trust
Chicago filmmaker Jim Sikora screens a rarely seen love letter to Saccharine Trust, Sacha Mullin celebrates an earnest, silly new video for an old song, and more.
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The music of Alison Sudol is no longer a sweet walk in the park
In 2013, Alison Sudol put aside her band A Fine Frenzy to focus on her acting career, which has included roles in the television show Transparent and the film franchise Fantastic Beasts. In the past year, she’s returned to music with new material, and the time off has done her good. Her early singles, such […]
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Chicago rapper-producer Malci polishes up his frenzied outre sound on Papaya!
In 2017, Chicago rapper-producer Malci dropped his impressive third album, Do You Know Yourself, smoothing cacophonous shards of samples into outre-pop songs with an oddball charm. Malci has plenty of comrades in the local scene, some of whom he’s turned into collaborators too: he produced almost half of Mykele Deville’s February record, Maintain, and he […]
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Why won’t City Hall fight for Chicago’s homegrown music scene?
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.