We're seeking new members for our 2025 Board of Directors, as well as our founding Associate Board for young professionals 35 and under. Details and application at each of the links above.
The CHIRP Blog
Amanda Roszkowski writesCHIRP Radio welcomes Yuna to the Old Town School of Folk Music on September 19th!
In a relatively short period of time, Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna has been able to make the jump from her homeland to conquer the American market. She blends contemporary pop, acoustic folk and soulful R&B to create a sound that is universally appealing and effortlessly chic. Her soulful and engaging vocals have been compared to the likes of Feist, Adele and Norah Jones.
Her self-titled debut album in 2011 was produced by Pharrell Williams and she hit it big with “You’re your Life.” Now, she is making her Verve Records debut with Nocturnal, which includes tracks like “Falling,” produced by Robin Hannibal of Quadron and the soup-pop group Rhye: the effervescent, as well as 10 other co-produced original tracks.
CHIRP is sponsoring her show this coming Friday, September 19 at 8pm at The Old Town School of Folk and Music. We hope you got tickets because the event is sold out! It appears the word has “got out” about how amazing she is.
Dylan Peterson writesCHIRP Radio Features Director Dylan Peterson on What Makes CHIRP Go
Chicagoans are notoriously proud of their hard work ethic, so a volunteer-run community radio station like CHIRP has pretty much always been inevitable. What makes CHIRP run is a bunch of self-motivated lovers of A) music and B) Chicago. Sure we live in different neighborhoods, have different tastes and personalities, but when it comes right down to it we are a collection of people that want the best for their city when it comes to music, and we're willing to put in the work for it.
In the department I run at CHIRP, Features, we're eager to interview bands not merely because of a sense of journalistic duty, but because we sincerely want to talk to the artists who are creating the art that moves us on a personal level. We're enthusiastic, and it shows. When one of our interviewers has a podcast posted on the CHIRP website, Soundcloud, or on iTunes, that interviewer shares the link on their twitter and Facebook with exclamation points, joyously tagging the radio station that made their conversation possible.
When Katie Owens interviewed The Orwells, when Alli Klein interviewed The Lawrence Arms, when Alex Dziura interviewed Metronomy, when Cher Vincent interviewed Majical Cloudz, when Blake Burkhart interviewed ...Trail of Dead, and when I interviewed The Growlers (listen this Wednesday night at 8:45 for that one), you can hear it in our voices. We love music, and we love talking music. Especially when we're talking about it with the musicians themselves.
My proudest moment as a CHIRP volunteer (so far) came this year when CHIRP won runner-up for Best Local Music Podcast in the Chicago Reader's annual Best Of Chicago reader's poll. For me, this was a special sort of affirmation. It proved that the work I do with CHIRP does not go unappreciated, and that I really do have a community of people around me that cares as much as I do about Chicago's music scene. Chicago will always be my home, but not simply because it's the place where I grew up. Chicago is where my music community is at, and I never feel more at home than when I'm listening to a good song. And I've never felt this more than during my time with the Chicago Independent Radio Project.
Live. Local. Independent. And always eclectic. Support CHIRP Radio with your tax-deductible contribution!
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWhat Was at The Top of CHIRP’s Charts Two Years Ago This Week?
These were the albums at the top of CHIRP Radio's charts the 2nd week of September two years ago...
1. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz (Domino)
Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesTop Five: Emo Revival Lyrics That Remind Us of High School
It's been almost 18 months since the Village Voice ignited the Emo Revival brushfire; since then, the internet's musical commentariat has found time to go to some shows, churn out some clickbait, and even debate whether or not the "revival" is actually reviving anything. While the journalists have been occupied, the bands themselves have continued knocking out more of the records that make scene kids sad and thirtysomethings nostalgic. This week's Top Five brings young and old together, pairing lyrics by five Emo Revival bands with some cringeworthy situations that many of us might've gone through the last time this music was popular.
1) A Great Big Pile of Leaves - "Ambiversion"
The line: "I get so extroverted/ But only when no one else is looking"
Emo level: Low
Might remind you of: Nervously eating a Taco Bell burrito in the backseat of a Pontiac Grand Am while the couple in the front argues about the Promise Ring.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesIn Rotation: Bitchin’ Bajas
Bitchin' Bajas (created and lead by Cooper Crane of Cave) has a new album out on Drag City. It's currently in heavy rotation on CHIRP Radio, where you hear Chicago artists and bands every hour!