Annual food-focused street festival Taste Of Randolph comes to the West Loop June 19-21 and brings some big headliners to its music stage.This years festival includes Dinosaur Jr., The Dandy Warhols, Best Coast, Lettuce, Emancipator Ensemble, The New Mastersounds and more.Festival entry is a suggested $10 donation, offering a cheap chance to see some...

By: Alex WoodMy Morning Jacket- The Waterfall [5/4]Though The Waterfall remains in line with Circuital and Evil Urges, its also like nothing else in the bands discography. The record plays into MMJs live sound, with clean production helping each instrumental layer remain clear and defined. Jim James vocals remain a focal point throughout, interchanging with...

Lollapalooza aftershows offer fans a chance to see the festivals bands in a more intimate setting. Given the many conflicting set times that naturally arise at the festival itself, they offer fans a chance to catch bands they might otherwise miss.The aftershows for this year have been announced, and predictably include what will surely...

Built To Spill offered a set stocked with older songs during a show at the Metro on Saturday.The influential indie band played only three songs from their newest record,Untethered Moon, scattering them throughout the set.The band performed more than half of 1999s classic Keep It Like A Secret, opening with Carry The...

Grateful Deads Fare Thee Well shows are having a massive impact on Chicago. While weve already analyzed the ticket resale market, the virtual cottage industry of other activities surrounding the "main event", the sold-out concerts seem to be driving Chicagos hotel rates up as well.While the weekend of July 4 is naturally a busy tourism...

By: Alex WoodAs previously reported, Chance The Rapper has been working with Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment on a new full-length record, abandoning his solo career in favor of a collaborative full-band sound.Today, The Social Experiment released Surf on iTunes for free.The record not only lives up to the hype, but surpasses...

John Dwyer, the always-productive frontman of Thee Oh Sees, seems to never stop creating music.Thee Oh Sees released the excellent Mutilator Defeated At Last earlier this month, and now Dwyers psychedelic side-project Damaged Bug is releasing Cold Hot Plumbs on June 1.The album is packed with strange psychedelic tunes, prominently featuring synthesizers and ethereal...

Chicagos Chance The Rapper has officially completed Surf, his full-length debut with Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment.Chance has been backed by the Social Experiment for nearly two years now, and hasnt released more than an occasional single since 2013s highly acclaimed Acid Rap. His full-band record is amongst the most anticipated albums of...

To honor the 50th anniversary of Grateful Dead, Summer Camp promised a series of four scheduled sets (one for each day of the festival) which honored the legacy of the band. Of course, you can't keep a good concept down, and attendees actually got a few more.We've assembled a post spotlighting video and audio...

Riot Fest has announced the lineup for its Chicago festival, taking place September 11-13 in Douglas Park.Headliners include No Doubt, Modest Mouse, Faith No More, Iggy Pop, and Snoop Dogg. Other artists include Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Motorhead, Rancid, Tenacious D, Billy Idol, Ice Cube & Special Guests, Rodriogo Y Gabriela, Echo & The...