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Music, Music Feature Feb 3, 2021
Bandcamp Friday returns for 2021

You can jump-start your browsing with nearly 100 newly Reader-recommended releases.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Bandcamp, Bandcamp Day, 7Cicadae, Battle Hag, Cam Be, Beautifulish, Blind Adam & the Federal League, Boris with Merzbow, Patricia Brennan, Buggin, Casper McFadden, Cinchel, Cinco de Gatos, Cookie, Crazy Doberman, Tim Daisy, Tim Daisy & Ikue Mori, DJ Corey, DJ Earl, Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger, Steve Earle & the Dukes, Electric Hydra, 엔도 Endo, Josephine Foster, Freddie Old Soul, Good Willsmith, Grayceon, Jason Hawk Harris, Harvey Waters, Hospital Bracelet, Hushdrops, Kara Jackson, Jesu, Joan of Arc, Mia Joy, Jungheim, Jusell, Prymek, Sage, Shiroishi, Katatonia, The Keener Family, Daniel Knox, Live Skull, Local Nobodies, Marv & Rindy Ross / Quarterflash, Megalophobe, The Miyumi Project, Moğollar, Sen Morimoto, Jon Mueller, Matt Muse, Nnamdï, Neptunian Maximalism, New Goo, Old Growth, Orwell, Owls, Matt Piet, Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan, The Primeridian & Rashid Hadee, Professor Downfall, Reality Anonymous, Rempis / Piet / Daisy, Running, Säge, the 64th Wonder, Shame, Snooze, Sonny Falls, Sour, Understudy, Angry Peasants: Volume 10, Art Is Love, Vol. 1, For a Life of Sin: Insurgent Chicago Country, Situationchicago, Warm Violet: A Compilation for Chicago Community Jail Support, Viagra Boys, White Suns, Yagalith, Mars Williams

Music, Music Feature Dec 21, 2020
Chicago’s independent musicians stepped up their activism in 2020

With concerts and tours on hold for most of the year, the city’s music scene doubled down on mutual aid and fundraising for community groups.
- By Jack Riedy
- Tags: Music Feature, Year in Review 2020, mutual aid, activism, fundraising, COVID-19, pandemic, Black Lives Matter, Matt Muse, People’s Grab-N-Go, Femdot, Delacreme Scholars, Femi Adigun, the Scholars Slide By, Love & Nappyness Hair Care Drive, Feed the West Side, John Walt Foundation, Nachelle Pugh, Pivot Gang, Frsh Waters, Qurissy Lopez, Bandcamp Friday, Nnamdï Ogbonnaya, Nnamdï, Brat, Krazy Karl, Black Plight, Assata’s Daughters, EAT Chicago, Chicago Community Bond Fund, Illinois Prison Project, Brave Space Alliance, Macie Stewart, Sima Cunningham, Ohmme, KC Tenants, Chicago Community Jail Support, Montessori School of Englewood, Kooyrigs, Warm Violet, Avery Springer, Art Is Love Vol. 1, Why? Records, Ruby Watson, Sen Morimoto, Tasha, Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project, CIVLization, CIVL SAVE Emergency Relief Fund, Situationchicago, Experimental Sound Studio, Quarantine Concerts

Music, Gossip Wolf Dec 18, 2020
Art-pop wizard Sen Morimoto takes over booking at the Hideout

Plus: Self-described “bootgaze” crew the Keener Family return with a second EP one year after their debut.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Sen Morimoto, Hideout, Tim Tuten, Katie Tuten, talent buyer, booker, Sullivan Davis, Keener Family, Christopher Keener, Quarter Mile Thunder, Ben Clarke, Park Service, Tender Beast, Down the Drain, Hold Me Close, bootgaze, Sam Wagster, Alex DeGroot

Music, Music Feature Nov 4, 2020
Bandcamp Friday soldiers on

The nation may be diseased and broken, but you can still use your music dollars to do a small kindness for artists and labels.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Bandcamp, Bandcamp day, Bandcamp Friday, Angry Blackmen, Jim Baker, Keefe Jackson, and Julian Kirshner, Nate Barksdale, BBsitters Club, Bless the Mad, Brandy, Chris Connelly and Jessica Gallo, Contorno, Cordoba, Crippled Black Phoenix, Food House, Fraxiom, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Zachary Good and Lia Kohl, Laura Jane Grace, Growing Concerns Poetry Collective, Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, Judith Hamann, Loraine James, Mohawk Johnson, Rich Jones & Montana Macks, Adrianne Lenker, Lifeguard, Molasses, Mooner, Sen Morimoto, Mr. Bungle, Aquiles Navarro & Tcheser Holmes, Tawny Newsome & Bethany Thomas, No Slogan, Nonlocal Forecast, Optic Sink, Lama Lobsang Palden and Jim Becker, Pallbearer, Pool Holograph, Frankie “Hollywood” Rodriguez, Secret Drum Band, Shamir, Sheet Ghosts, Matthew Shipp Trio, Spirit Adrift, Star, Dayna Stephens Quartet, Sumac, Sun Ra Arkestra, Tricky, Jeff Tweedy, The Twilite Tone, Quattracenta, Distort Midwest 2020, Mini MIDI Mixtape, New Neighborhoods, Verbal Kent & the Other Guys

Music, Music Review Oct 24, 2020
Recommended
Chicago art-pop wonder Sen Morimoto captures the magic of his community
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Review, Sen Morimoto, Audiotree, Sooper Records, Chicago DCASE, Lori Lightfoot, Millennium Park, Joseph Chilliams, Kaina, Nnamdï, Lala Lala, Lillie West, Qari, Kara Jackson, Recommended

Music, Music Feature Oct 22, 2020
If enough of us celebrate Independent Venue Week, we might have one next year too

To complement IVW's live programming, the Reader has rounded up some favorite stories about Chicago music venues past and present.
- By Jamie Ludwig
- Tags: Music Feature, Independent Venue Week, Chicago Independent Venue League, CIVL, National Independent Venue Association, NIVA, Billy Helmkamp, Sleeping Village, Robyn Mineko Williams & Artists, Sen Morimoto, Califone, Lincoln Hall, Audiotree, livestream, COVID-19, CARES Act, pandemic, Ricky Rat, Reggies', Afro Fusion, Promontory, NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, Aragon, Blue Note, Carol's Pub, Empty Bottle, Exit, Green Mill, Hungry Brain, Lounge Ax, Medusa's, Metro, Mutiny, Palm Tavern, Rosa's Lounge, Taste, Taylor Street Tap, La Mere Vipere, O'Banion's, Oz

Music, Music Feature Jul 31, 2020
Lightfoot hijacks Lollapalooza

A week after DCASE forbid Sen Morimoto from criticizing the mayor’s response to BLM protests, she’s all over the city’s biggest music festival.
- By Jessi Roti
- Tags: Music Feature, Lollapalooza, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Lori Lightfoot, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, DCASE, Millennium Park at Home, Sen Morimoto, Tasha, Kaina, Kaina Castillo, Sooper Records, Perry Farrell, LL Cool J, City of Chicago, Boards of Change, Black Lives Matter, CPAC, Civilian Police Accountability Council, Jamila Woods, Peter Cottontale, the Era, the Era Footwork Crew, Heavy Steppers, Jamal Smallz, Emon Fowler, Rebirth Poetry Ensemble, Linda Sol, Thalia Hall, the Promontory, Year of Chicago Music, Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, Equal Justice Initiative, When We All Vote, Michelle Obama, Bryan Stevenson, Chuck D, Public Enemy, Mark Kelly, Next to the Sun, Pivot Gang, Femdot, Ric Wilson, Ohmme, Dehd, Black Lives Matter Chicago, Chi-Nations Youth Council

Music, Music Feature Apr 14, 2020
Nnamdï grows up on Brat

The prolific musical polymath uses his new solo album to teach himself something about work-life balance.
- By Tim Crisp
- Tags: Music Feature, Nnamdï, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Alfred Ogbonnaya, Brat, Drool, Sooper Swag Project, Sen Morimoto, Glenn Curran, Sooper Records, Kaina, Pitchfork, Swerp, Swerp Mansion, DIY, punk, math rock, hip-hop, Father/Daughter Records, Longface, Man Without a Head, Feckin Weirdo, Sit Tight, Para-Medics, Lansing, Monobody, Mother Evergreen, Lala Lala, Flowers to My Demons, Dylan Piskula, Lansing, Dastard, Erfert, Like Bats, Tommy Borst, Nnamdi’s Pancake Haus, Easter, Ratboys, Julia Steiner, Luscious Duncan, JD, ThrashKitten, Nnamdi’s Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project, Drop It in Some Water, Nervous Passenger, Teen Cult, Ittō, My Dad, Bootie Noir, Ice Cream, Art School Crush, Despondent, It’s OK, Wrong Numbers, Miranda Winters, Perfect in My Mind, Glass Casket, Salut

Music, Music Feature Jul 9, 2019
Video
Kaina gives her soulful R&B the intimacy of real and chosen family

The Chicago singer-songwriter’s debut album takes its strength from her favorite people: her friends and collaborators, her childhood mentors, her immigrant parents.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Kaina, Next to the Sun, Sooper Records, Secretly Distribution, Sen Morimoto, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Green, House, Kaina Castillo, Lincoln Hall, Jean Deaux, Maritza Castillo, Rene Castillo, Glenn Curran, Ravyn Lenae, Saba, Care for Me, Cannonball!, Joseph Chillams, The Plastics, Young Chicago Authors, Happiness Club, Chris Swanson, 4u, Fanny Gimenez, Ozzie Guillén, Wilson Álvarez, Guatemala, Venezuela, Caracas, Joei Simone Langford, Joei, Tanji Harper, the Loop, Postock, O'My's, Maceo Haymes, Ohmme, Macie Stewart, DePaul, Mariah Neuroth, Sharod Smith, M&O, Jamila Woods, Owen Hill, Lane Tech, Could Be a Curse, Eddie Burns, Iz Burns, Burns Twins, Bedows, Sweet Asl, Fake Shore Drive, Tanto Trabajar, Billo's Caracas Boys, Video

Music, Music Feature Dec 20, 2018
The best overlooked Chicago hip-hop of 2018

The city’s hip-hop scene overflows with such variety and abundance that it’s impossible to show enough love to every great release—but that’s no reason not to try.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Mo Bamba, Sheck Wes, Juice Wrld, Lucid Dreams, Jarad Higgins, Chief Keef, Juice Wrld 9 9 9, DJ Victoriouz, Back From the Dead, Chance the Rapper, hip-hop, overlooked, rap, Lil Bibby, Grade A Productions, Interscope, All Girls Are the Same, Goodbye & Good Riddance, Wrld on Drugs, Future, Lyrical Lemonade, Cole Bennett, Chris Crack, Being Woke Ain’t Fun, Cupcakke, Valee, Queen Key, Eat My Pussy, Sen Morimoto, Cannonball!, Saba, Care for Me, Roy Kinsey, Blackie, Noname, Room 25, G Herbo, Swervo, FBG Duck, Slide, Famous Dex, Dex Meets Dexter, Navarro, Pseudo Slang, UG Vavy, David Ashley, Draco, Defcee, A Mixtape as God Intended, Vol. 1, Armanii Day, Objects in My Mirror, Henny B, Rage Aurelius, Wasted F*ckin Summer, Angeline Gil, Vic Spencer, Nasim Williams, Mic Terror, Freddie Old Soul, Gzus Piece, Sisi Dior, Moments, Morocco Brown, Manic, Mania, Taylor Bennett, Swade, Have a Nice Day, WemmyMo, Bittersweet, Social Experiment, Peter Cottontale, OpenMike Chicago, SocialWorks

Music, Music Feature Oct 3, 2018
Video
Sen Morimoto makes crowded songs all by himself

The Chicago polymath’s mix of hip-hop, pop, prog, and jazz has won over international entertainment platform 88 Rising, but for now he’s sticking with his friends at local indie Sooper Records.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Sen Morimoto, Cannonball!, Sooper Records, 88 Rising, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Sean Miyashiro, Glenn Curran, Summer Sonic Festival, Rich Brian, Head in the Clouds Music & Arts Festival, 88 Degrees & Rising Tour, Aragon Ballroom, Empty Bottle, Kyoto, Wendell, Massachusetts, Charles Neville, Qari, Tree, Rich Jones, All Smiles, For Me & Ladie, Jap, How to Spot a Jap, Goat Boy, Big Nils, LuxDeluxe, Tip Top Recordings, Don’t Buy That, It’s Late, Morimoto, Drool, Kaina, Reason Being, People Watching, Cannonball, Picture of a Painting, Ryan Cunningham, Biz3, Space Odd, Video

Blogs, Bleader May 25, 2018
The Memorial Day Parade and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

Bike the Drive and more goings-on 5/25-5/28.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Music, Film, bike the drive, bonnie jones, experimental sound studio, memorial day parade, breezy radio, smoke daddy, sen morimoto, cannonball, empty bottle, mayfestiversary, dovetail, begyle, max clarke, cut worms, lincoln hall, the laramie project, factory theater, lgbtq, first reformed ethan hawke, the book of maggie, nox arca, dj quik, arie crown theater

Music, Concert Preview May 17, 2018
Recommended
Sen Morimoto broadens and brightens the corners of Chicago hip-hop with Cannonball!
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Concert Preview, Sen Morimoto, Cannonball!, Recommended

Music, In Rotation Feb 21, 2018
Video
Singer and poet Tasha on She Shreds and the missing legacy of black women guitarists

Plus: Musician and producer Kamaria Woods on the blessings and lessons of Georgia Anne Muldrow, Reader music editor Philip Montoro on the constantly confounding Cleric, and more
- By Philip Montoro
- Tags: In Rotation, Tasha, Tasha Viets-VanLear, Kamaria Woods, Mirrors for Psychic Warfare, Corrections House, Scott Kelly, Neurosis, Sanford Parker, 6 Shot, Itz Ya Dog, David Drake, KLC, No Limit Records, Beats by the Pound, Cleric, Retrocausal, Regressions, She Shreds, Instagram, She Shreds Magazine, Dizzy Fae, Johnny Bravo, Free Form, Solange, Black Cab Sessions, Bad Girls, Dev Hynes, Sen Morimoto, Yadda Yadda, Loona Dae, Peter Collins, Fatai, Melanie Faye, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Requiem for Leroy, Because, Keep It Real, Child of the Sun, Demise, Never in Vain, Video

Music, Music Feature Feb 1, 2017
Video
ShowYouSuck builds on his omnivorous hip-hop with a free-form TV show

In just a few months, the eager collaborator has launched Air Credits with the Hood Internet and Good Luck Hunting on JBTV.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Clinton Sandifer, ShowYouSuck, Show, rap, hip-hop, punk, metal, pop, Air Credits, the Hood Internet, Steve Reidell, Aaron Brink, JBTV, Good Luck Hunting, Feat, Broadcasted, Nothing Should Be a Surprise, Celine Neon, Make-Out King, Maxim Northover, Elijah Alvarado, Probcause, Sen Morimoto, Bell Hop, Greg Corner, Bummer, Walking Shoe, Matt Byrne, Tim Barnes, It’s All True!, Dude Bro, Closed Sessions, One Man Pizza Party, Mo Slices, Mo Problems, Rest in Pizza, OMPP, Awesome Tape, Intellectual Curiosity, WPVN, WPVN 24.7, Jeremy Franklin, Psalm One, Tobacco, Video

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Bandcamp Friday returns for 2021

You can jump-start your browsing with nearly 100 newly Reader-recommended releases.

Chicago’s independent musicians stepped up their activism in 2020

With concerts and tours on hold for most of the year, the city’s music scene doubled down on mutual aid and fundraising for community groups.

Art-pop wizard Sen Morimoto takes over booking at the Hideout

Plus: Self-described “bootgaze” crew the Keener Family return with a second EP one year after their debut.

Bandcamp Friday soldiers on

The nation may be diseased and broken, but you can still use your music dollars to do a small kindness for artists and labels.

Recommended
Chicago art-pop wonder Sen Morimoto captures the magic of his community

If enough of us celebrate Independent Venue Week, we might have one next year too

To complement IVW's live programming, the Reader has rounded up some favorite stories about Chicago music venues past and present.

Lightfoot hijacks Lollapalooza

A week after DCASE forbid Sen Morimoto from criticizing the mayor’s response to BLM protests, she’s all over the city’s biggest music festival.

Nnamdï grows up on Brat

The prolific musical polymath uses his new solo album to teach himself something about work-life balance.

Video
Kaina gives her soulful R&B the intimacy of real and chosen family

The Chicago singer-songwriter’s debut album takes its strength from her favorite people: her friends and collaborators, her childhood mentors, her immigrant parents.

The best overlooked Chicago hip-hop of 2018

The city’s hip-hop scene overflows with such variety and abundance that it’s impossible to show enough love to every great release—but that’s no reason not to try.

Video
Sen Morimoto makes crowded songs all by himself

The Chicago polymath’s mix of hip-hop, pop, prog, and jazz has won over international entertainment platform 88 Rising, but for now he’s sticking with his friends at local indie Sooper Records.

The Memorial Day Parade and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

Bike the Drive and more goings-on 5/25-5/28.

Recommended
Sen Morimoto broadens and brightens the corners of Chicago hip-hop with Cannonball!

Video
Singer and poet Tasha on She Shreds and the missing legacy of black women guitarists

Plus: Musician and producer Kamaria Woods on the blessings and lessons of Georgia Anne Muldrow, Reader music editor Philip Montoro on the constantly confounding Cleric, and more

Video
ShowYouSuck builds on his omnivorous hip-hop with a free-form TV show

In just a few months, the eager collaborator has launched Air Credits with the Hood Internet and Good Luck Hunting on JBTV.

Other Searches

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Browse News & Politics

Browse Music

Browse Film

Browse Arts & Culture

Browse Food & Drink

Browse City Life

Browse Columns

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You can jump-start your browsing with nearly 100 newly Reader-recommended releases.

With concerts and tours on hold for most of the year, the city’s music scene doubled down on mutual aid and fundraising for community groups.

Plus: Self-described “bootgaze” crew the Keener Family return with a second EP one year after their debut.

The nation may be diseased and broken, but you can still use your music dollars to do a small kindness for artists and labels.

To complement IVW's live programming, the Reader has rounded up some favorite stories about Chicago music venues past and present.

A week after DCASE forbid Sen Morimoto from criticizing the mayor’s response to BLM protests, she’s all over the city’s biggest music festival.

The prolific musical polymath uses his new solo album to teach himself something about work-life balance.

The Chicago singer-songwriter’s debut album takes its strength from her favorite people: her friends and collaborators, her childhood mentors, her immigrant parents.

The city’s hip-hop scene overflows with such variety and abundance that it’s impossible to show enough love to every great release—but that’s no reason not to try.

The Chicago polymath’s mix of hip-hop, pop, prog, and jazz has won over international entertainment platform 88 Rising, but for now he’s sticking with his friends at local indie Sooper Records.

Bike the Drive and more goings-on 5/25-5/28.

Plus: Musician and producer Kamaria Woods on the blessings and lessons of Georgia Anne Muldrow, Reader music editor Philip Montoro on the constantly confounding Cleric, and more

In just a few months, the eager collaborator has launched Air Credits with the Hood Internet and Good Luck Hunting on JBTV.

Other Searches