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Entries categorized as “Events Journal” 135 results
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesJazz on a Saturday (and Sunday) Afternoon
I wasn’t planning to go to this year’s Chicago Jazz Festival, but fate allowed me the opportunity to head downtown to catch at least some of it. And I’m very glad I did – I enjoyed it so much I went back the next day. Chicago’s free summer music festivals are a critical part of the city’s cultural life. I’ve never been disappointed going to one, and this was no exception. The weather was great and the vibe was chill. No lines to wait in, no worrying about tickets or not being allowed back in. Just come on down, have a seat (or throw down a blanket) and listen.
Starting this year the festival had relocated to the north side of Millennium Park, with the headliners performing in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion/Great Lawn space. The sound quality was outstanding, and thanks to a giant LCD screen there were no problems seeing the performers as well as hearing them.
Unfortunately, I missed a couple of outstanding artists who have appeared on CHIRP Radio, the Chicago Underground Duo on Saturday and Jason Adasiewicz’s Sun Rooms on Sunday. Such is the nature of having too much quality music to enjoy in just so many days. But I did see a group of stunningly talented musicians including as the Ari Brown Quintet, vibraphonist Gary Burton, the Bobby Broom trio, Miguel Zenon Quartet, and brilliant young vocalist Cécile McLorin.
And I’m glad I stuck around for the festival’s closing performers, the Sun Ra Arkestra, who put on an electrifying performance. Although he passed away 21 years ago, the prolific Avant-Garde composer and bandleader left behind mountains of material along with a philosophy of using music to explore new horizons while keeping rooted firmly in the structures of Blues and Jazz. “Space is the Place!” the band declared, and they made it impossible not to agree with them.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
The Great Lawn, Millenuim Park, Chicago
SKaiser writesDon’t miss The Onion’s A.V. Club & Hideout Inn Block Party this Friday and Saturday!
Come hang with CHIRP this Friday and Saturday, September 5th/6th, at The Onion’s A.V. Club & Hideout Inn Block Party! Feast your eyes on Death Cab for Cutie, The War on Drugs, Hamilton Leithausar, Mac DeMarco, Sylvan Esso, The Handsome Family, The Dismemberment Plan, Funky Meters, and more! WBEZ’s Jim DeRogatis says the festival “simply has the most soul, many of the best sounds, and an audience devoted to hearing that music and welcoming anyone who shares the same passion.”
This family-friendly event offers a bike valet, kids area, food and drink of course – and a portion of every ticket will go to a variety of Chicago charities, including Rock For Kids.
Click here for tickets. They include Limited Two Day for $65, and (Friday or Saturday) Single Day for $39.
Cher Vincent writesMusic in Pictures: Pitchfork Music Festival 2014 (Pt. 2)
Another Pitchfork festival is in the books. As ususal, we had a great time listening to fantastic music and hanging out with our fellow music-lovers for one of our favorite weekends of the year.
Take one last look back at Pitchfork '14 by checking out these great pics CHIRP volunteer Cher Vincent captured during the festival.
Deafheaven
Cher Vincent writesMusic in Pictures: Pitchfork Music Festival 2014 (Pt. 1)
Another Pitchfork festival is in the books. As ususal, we had a great time listening to fantastic music and hanging out with our fellow music-lovers for one of our favorite weekends of the year.
Take one last look back at Pitchfork '14 by checking out these great pics CHIRP volunteer Cher Vincent captured during the festival.
Nenah Cherry
Sarah A. writesCHIRP Goes to Kentucky: Forecastle Festival, Day Three
CHIRP DJ and Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Avampato was southward-bound last month to cover the annual Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY. We round out coverage of the festival today. If you’ve missed out, days one and two are on the blog. For more photos, head over to Flickr.
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If you, like me, are out of your early 20s and value things like sleep and not having your body hate you, then the third day of a festival is usually the hardest. I had a lot of why am I doing this to myself moments, followed by a lot of oh god I am so old moments. Some real good times, as I dragged myself Luciuout of bed and got ready for the last day of the festival.
While I made it to the festival grounds late, I did manage to catch the back half of a fantastic set by Matrimony, another North Carolina based band. The band is a family affair, led by husband and wife duo Ashlee Hardee Brown and Jimmy Brown, and backed up by Ashlee’s two brothers, and that translates into a unique chemistry among the four of them. I’d never heard Matrimony before, but their set absolutely reeled me in with their heartfelt harmonies and high energy. A real great start to the day.
