CHIRP is building an Associate Board for young professionals 35 & under. Interested? Please fill out this form.
Upcoming CHIRP Events
/ / / / CHIRP Is A Proud Media Sponsor of the 31st Chicago Underground Film Festival
Harper Theater
5238 S. Harper
Chicago
,
IL
60615
All Ages
CHIRP is proud to be a media sponsor for the 31st Chicago Underground Film Festival!
The longest-running underground film festival in the world, CUFF returns to Hyde Park to showcase the latest films from the global undeground cinema scene. CUFF will also showcase and celebrate some of the most original films and video art being made today, all supplemented through screenings, panels, and afterparties.
CUFF returns to Hyde Park to present screenings at the Harper Theatre, with openign and closing night events happening at the Gene Siskel Film Center in the Loop.
For more information, including scheduling and tickets, visit CUFF.org.
Both Sides Now presents: “From the Midwest to England: Women of Post Punk”
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
21+
DATE CHANGE
Step into a realm where the music takes center stage and vinyl records reign supreme.
Introducing Both Sides Now: A CHIRP Vinyl Listening Bar -- a monthly oasis for music aficionados and introverts alike. Nestled in the cozy upstairs room of Schubas Tavern, this unique event happens every first Wednesday of the month.
Join us upstairs at Schubas! The decks start spinning at 7:30pm.
This month's menu comes from DJ D-Rock with Hit Girls author Jen B. Larson: "From the Midwest to England: Women of Post-Punk".
You’ve probably seen the shirt made famous by Kim Gordon that says “Girls Invented Punk Rock Not England.” Well, girls invented post-punk, too. All joking aside – no one person invented a music genre, as it is always an energetic movement and community effort – but, women played an integral role in its creation and its impact. What sets post-punk apart from punk is the tight and funky rhythm section. The guitars tend to be light and scratchy and pull away from three-chord structures. Vocals wander more. Essentially, post-punk is groovier and more experimental than its punk predecessor. These are three post-punk albums that showcase a variety of talented women.
Au Pairs - Playing with a Different Sex (1981)
British post-punk band Au Pairs were active from 1978 to 1983. The overtly left-wing band expressed their anger through their music, and a natural target of their ire was Thatcherism. As a radical feminist and lesbian, singer Lesley Woods was considered one of the most striking women in music in the UK. She eventually became a lawyer specializing in immigration law and left the music industry. Playing with a Different Sex is considered a post-punk classic, so if you have heard it, it’s always a gem to revisit, and if you have not, now’s as good a time as any!
Kate Fagan - I Don’t Want to Be Too Cool (2023 expanded reissue)
Kate Fagan moved to Chicago from New York City in the late ‘70s. She liked how down-to-earth Chicago artists were, and it felt like her place. She built songs around a bassline and a beat, which is what makes her songs lean into post-punk and new-wave territory. Similar to the L-Seven record, I Don’t Want to Be Too Cool is an expanded re-release, featuring four never-before-released tracks. Kate’s lyrics critique culture and politics in a way that is not heavy and depressing but tongue-in-cheek. Later in the ‘80s, Kate fronted the wildly popular ska band Heavy Manners.
DA! - Time Will Be Kind (1982)
Led by bassist and singer Lorna Donley, DA! was a gothy mixed-gender post-punk Chicago band. Lorna started the band when she was 17 years old in 1977 as an all-girl 3-piece. They went through a few lineup changes throughout their lifespan. DA! leans into darkwave territory and don’t quite fit neatly in any genre, but you may hear some similarities to familiar bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees or Bauhaus. After the dissolution of DA!, Lorna established a few other bands, including Silent Language, the Veil, and Hip Deep Trilogy. Lorna later became a librarian in Chicago Public Libraries, but sadly passed away in 2013.
L-Seven - Unreleased Studio and Live (2020)
Not to be confused with the well-known LA grunge band L7, Detroit’s L-Seven formed in 1980 and consisted of members from a lot of other Detroit bands, including the Blind and Algebra Mothers. L-Seven only released a three-song 7-inch EP while they were still together, but four decades later, Third Man Records put out this self-titled LP of unreleased studio and live recordings from 1980 to 1983. The band’s frontwoman Larissa Stolarchuk (Strickland) wrote poetry, made fanzines, and designed many of the band’s show posters. She later picked up guitar and started the infamous Detroit hardcore band Laughing Hyenas with John Brannon. Her noise-style guitar playing has been praised by Thurston Moore and was included in Rolling Stone’s 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. However, her work as a lyricist and vocalist should not go unrecognized.
/ CHIRP at the Ravenswood ArtWalk
Ravenswood Industrial Corridor
4000-4800 N. Ravenswood
Chicago
,
IL
All Ages
This September marks the 22nd annual Ravenswood ArtWalk: Tour of Arts & Industry, a weekend-long celebration of the local creative community, and CHIRP will be there.
Stretching from Lawrence south to Irving Park along Ravenswood Avenue, RAW features: open studios and galleries, pop-up performances and activations, and an outdoor arts market featuring 60+ local makers, two stages of live music, a pop-up beer garden, kids activities, food trucks, and more.
You can find the participating artist and maker directory here.
Stop by the CHIRP booth to say hello to our volunteers!
CHIRP Music Trivia: OG edition
Beermiscuous
2812 N Lincoln
Chicago
,
IL
60657
21+
Join us for monthly music trivia Tuesday, September 17th with special guest host, Chicago's very own Mary Nisi! The fun starts at 7pm.
CHIRP WELCOMES: THE JULIANA HATFIELD THREE
Sleeping Village
3734 W. Belmont
Chicago
,
IL
21+
CHIRP welcomes The Juliana Hatfield Three to Sleeping Village on Friday, September 27!
The trio will hit the road this fall to celebrate the 30th(ish) anniversary of their debut album, Become What You Are, playing the album in its entirety along with other songs from their catalog.
The Juliana Hatfield Three released Become What You Are in August 1993 on Mammoth Records. Produced by Scott Litt (R.E.M.), the album found early success with the debut single “My Sister.” Despite the song’s title, Juliana does not have a sister, leading many to speculate about the inspiration for the song.
Following a 20 year hiatus, the Juliana Hatfield Three reformed in 2014 and released their critically acclaimed sophomore album Whatever, My Love in 2015.
CHIRP Welcomes: Material Issue
21+
On Saturday, September 28th, CHIRP welcomes Chicago power pop legends Material Issue to Lincoln Hall!
In 2011, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the International Pop Overthrow album, the two surviving members, Mike Zelenko and Ted Ansani, reformed the band under the name Material Reissue.
Chicago based singer-songwriter Phil Angotti joined them, stepping in for original frontman and primary songwriter Jim Ellison, who had passed away in 1996. The show was part of the International Pop Overthrow festival, named after the album, and took place at the Abbey Pub in Chicago on April 23, 2011.
Since reuniting and being joined by Angotti, the band has continued to perform, playing the power pop should've-been-hits from Material Issue's three classic 90s albums.
CHIRP Welcomes: Previous Industries
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
18+
On Saturday, September 28th, CHIRP welcomes hip-hop supergroup Previous Industries (Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, and STILL RIFT) to Schubas!
Previous Industries is three Chicagoans of a certain age who currently reside in LA. In a city where transplants often say they find it hard to connect with new people, these guys found a way around that by delving into the past to rekindle old connections. When that connection was made, they seemed to stay in the past, rapping about anything and everything but always bolstered by nostalgia and shared memories.
The innate chemistry between them as rappers could only be achieved because of their long-standing friendships, something that is evident in their multiple previous collaborations. It is only now that they have officially formed a group around this commonality.
CHIRP Partners with Chicago Humanities for Pilsen Day
National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W 19th St
Chicago
,
Illinois
60608
(312) 738-1503
All Ages
CHIRP is proud to partner with Chicago Humanities for Pilsen Day!
Come say hello to CHIRP as we celebrate the Pilsen neighborhood and all its vibrant history and culture! Pilsen Day is a full day of events and programs curated by Chicago Humanitites Artist-in-Residence, Alberto Aguilar, that pays homage to the neighborhood's Latino roots.
Pilsen Day takes place on Sunday, September 29th, with programming held at the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Pilsen Arts and Community House, and Thalia Hall!
Scheduled programming include:
- 10:30am - 12:00pm | Museum Church with Starting Sermon
- 12:00pm - 6:00pm | Asco Exhibition Gallery On View at Pilsen Arts and Community House*
- 12:00pm - 1:30pm | Harry Gamboa Jr. – The Chicano Arts Movement
- 12:30pm - 5:00pm | Film Screening of Ritual #1 Encounters by Fernando Saldivia Yáñez
- 1:30pm - 2:15pm | Walking Parade to Asco Tour (PACH) with Nancy David Sánchez Tamayo
- 2:00pm - 7:00pm | Auto Portrait Spectacular, with 50 Ingredient Molé Food Truck
- 2:30pm - 3:00pm | Acidix music set at Auto Portrait Spectacular
- 4:00pm - 4:45pm | Joey Nebulous music set at Auto Portrait Spectacular
- 6:00pm - 6:45pm | Avantist music set at Auto Portrait Spectacular
For more information, please visit Chicago Humanities.
CHIRP Night at the Whistler with Heet Deth and Tension Pets
The Whistler
2421 N. Milwaukee
Chicago
,
IL
60647
(773) 227-3530
21+
On Sunday, September 29th, CHIRP Night at the Whistler returns with Heet Deth and Tension Pets!
Every last Sunday of the month is CHIRP Night at the Whistler — an evening where you can enjoy the music of CHIRP-curated local artists, the Whistler’s take on classic cocktails, and the good feeling of supporting independent radio.
This September, we're excited to welcome Chicago's own Heet Deth and Tension Pets to the Whistler stage. As usual, there is no cover for this 21 and over event, and the night kicks off at 8:00 PM.
CHIRP Welcomes: Jalen Ngonda
Lincoln Hall
2424 N Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60614
(773) 525-2501
18+
On Friday, October 4th, CHIRP welcomes Jalen Ngonda to the Lincoln Hall stage!
Like many of the legends before him, Jalen cut his teeth in the church where he played organ, honing his craft to the organic pulse of soul-grooving parishioners. And it was this very church that helped raise the money to send Jalen to the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, where he honed his rich, nuanced voice and sublime falsetto.
Jalen eventually made it to Hive Mind Studios in Brooklyn, NY where he began writing and recording with the help of producer/arrangers Mike Buckley and Vincent Chiarito (both members of Charles Bradley's Extraordinaires) and a crack team of a-list musicians from the Daptone family.
The team skillfully blends heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics with motown sophistication, leaving the listener in a blissful wash of wonderment–culminating in quite possibly one of the finest soul albums of the decade.
CHIRP WELCOMES: LADY LAMB
Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60625
(773) 728-6000
All Ages
CHIRP is proud to welcome Lady Lamb to The Old Town School of Folk Music on Thursday, October 10th!
From her early days, staying late after-hours at her video rental store job in Maine to record songs, to co-producing and arranging her four studio records, Aly Spaltro has remained focused on music that connects, empowers and builds community. She built her fanship the old-fashioned way, getting in front of audiences and projecting her poetic confessionals, silencing rowdy crowds with an a cappella opening song in the center of a dark stage.
Spaltro was quick to develop a reputation as a breakout star in New England, and then expanded slowly outwards, moving to New York at twenty to continue work on the songs that would become Ripely Pine. Her voice has never wavered, has grown more honest and open with time, and anyone witnessing the long lines of fans seeking signatures after her performances can see how her work has impacted fans.
Lady Lamb celebrates 10 years of Ripely Pine with an intimate performance of songs from the record and the recently-released commemorative boxed set, In The Mammoth Nothing of The Night.
CHIRP Welcomes: Boris
Ramova Theatre
3520 S Halsted St
Chicago
,
IL
60609
(312) 988-0838
All Ages
CHIRP is excited to welcome Japanese metal legends Boris to the new Ramova Theatre on Friday, October 11th as they perform their debut, Amplifier Worship Service, in its entirety!
Boris has been in constant pursuit of their own ideal “heavy” since their formation in 1992. From the outset they were a chimera, evolving at a rapid pace, establishing a unique style with extreme downtuning and megavolume. Their broad sense of “Heavy Rock” engulfed powerviolence, ambient and drone, with a trance component, elements of krautrock and more.
From the Tokyo underground to the rest of the world, Boris' name become more widely known. Five years after their formation, the band went deep into the beyond of heavy music to make their first album, one that can be said to be a palace constructed in unexplored realms. However, the album by no means serves as a resting place/gravestone for those compositions. Rather, it was a map to the beyond that Boris drew up at the time, a blueprint pointing to the future.
25 years after the release of Amplifier Worship, that guidance has been revealed: a full length tour to perform all of the songs on the album in a double-drum-format drone set.
CHIRP WELCOMES: THE dB’s and the Vulgar Boatmen
Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60625
(773) 728-6000
All Ages
CHIRP is excited to welcome The dB's and the Vulgar Boatmen to The Old Town School of Folk Music on Saturday, October 12th!
The dB's are singer/songwriters Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey along with Gene Holder on bass and Will Rigby on drums. The foursome grew up in Winston-Salem, NC, and helped define what would become the rich North Carolina indie-rock scene but emigrated to New York in the late 1970s and formed the band, frequently appearing at CBGB, Maxwell's and other influential venues.
Pitchfork cited the band's Stands for deciBels among its 100 Top Albums of the 1980s.
In the early 1990's, the Vulgar Boatmen's first two albums, You and Your Sister and Please Panic, garnered accolades from virtually every major music publication in the country, despite being barely available on the tiny Record Collect and Safehouse labels. The group's unique working arrangement (two distinct lineups, located 800 miles apart, fronted separately by songwriters Robert Ray and Dale Lawrence) received a lot of attention - but so did their style, a melodic hypno-R&B, compared to everyone from Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley to Young Marble Giants and the Velvet Underground. The band continues to pack midwestern clubs to this day.
CHIRP WELCOMES: SONDRE LERCHE (20 YEARS OF TWO WAY MONOLOGUE)
Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60625
(773) 728-6000
All Ages
CHIRP is proud to welcome Sondre Lerche to The Old Town School of Folk Music on Tuesday, October 15th!
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of his classic album, Two Way Monologue, Lerche will be performing a handful of intimate solo shows accompanied by a string quartet. The performances coincide with the release of a new anniversary edition on vinyl + digital featuring a handful of never-before-heard bonus tracks.
“Two Way Monologue bears witness to the growth of an already talented young songwriter for whom the title "talented young songwriter" seems quite inadequate.” – Pitchfork
CHIRP Welcomes: Allegra Krieger + Greg Mendez
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
18+
CHIRP welcomes Allegra Krieger and Greg Mendez to Schubas on Friday, October 25th!
While Krieger’s music is clearly rooted in this present moment, its varied influences offer it a timelessness. Weaving through the sonic world of Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine is the unpretentious storytelling of Suzanne Vega and the stark intimacy of Lucinda Williams.
While working on the album, Krieger was reading Susan Sontag’s Against Interpretation; she was listening to SZA and the Swedish songwriter Stina Nordenstam. These influences amalgamate into an album brimming with life – and all that it holds: a joke at a family reunion, a suicide at a thanksgiving dinner, a little black dog running up the street as trash spirals into the air.
For Greg Mendez, reflection doesn't mean a static image in a mirror, or even a face he recognizes. It's more a kaleidoscopic mirage, where paths taken shapeshift with the prospect of paths untread, and the subconscious merges with the intentional. On his self-titled new album, the Philadelphia-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist investigates the shaky camera of memory, striving to carve out a collage that points to a truth.
/ CHIRP Welcomes: Nick Lowe feat. Los Straitjackets
Lincoln Hall
2424 N Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60614
(773) 525-2501
18+
CHIRP is excited to welcome Nick Lowe with Los Straitjackets to Lincoln Hall for TWO NIGHTS in October - Tuesday 10/29 and Wednesday 10/30!
Lowe has made his mark as a producer (Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Pretenders, The Damned), songwriter of at least three songs you know by heart, a pop star for a brief moment, and always as a musicians’ musician.
And in his current ‘second act’ as a silver-haired, tender-hearted but sharp-tongued singer-songwriter, he has no equal.
Starting with 1995′s The Impossible Bird through 2011′s The Old Magic, Nick has turned out a fantastic string of albums, each one devised in his West London home, and recorded with a core of musicians who possess the same veteran savvy.
Lowe brings wit and understated excellence to every performance, leading Ben Ratliff of the New York Times to describe his live show as “elegant and nearly devastating.”
CHIRP Welcomes: Blitzen Trapper
Evanston SPACE
1245 Chicago Avenue
Evanston
,
IL
60202
(847) 492-8860
All Ages
On Saturday, November 2nd, CHIRP welcomes Blitzen Trapper to Evanston SPACE!
Inspired by singer/songwriter Eric Earley’s fascination with Buddhist texts and meditation, the band's radiant new album, 100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions offers a captivating take on rebirth and transcendence, and the circularity of existence, navigating its way through the space beyond dreams and reality, beyond gods and mortals, beyond life and death.
The songs here are as sincere as they are surreal, rooted in rich character studies and deep reflection, and unfolding like a riddle-filled journey that asks many questions and offers no answers. The production is intoxicating to match, blending lo-fi intimacy and trippy psychedelia into a mesmerizing swirl of analog and electronic sounds.
Add it all together and the result is a gorgeous, sprawling collection wrapped in lush layers of synthesizers and washed out electric guitars–a poignant, expansive exploration of perception and purpose that manages to look both forwards and backwards all at once.
The 20th Annual CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights
The 20th Annual CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights
1340 W. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60607
Early admission 9-11am: $20 General admission 11am-5pm: $7 Free for kids 12 and under
CHIRP Welcomes: Low Cut Connie
Evanston SPACE
1245 Chicago Avenue
Evanston
,
IL
60202
(847) 492-8860
All Ages
CHIRP welcomes Low Cut Connie to Evanston SPACE on Saturday, November 16th!
For years now, Low Cut Connie has built its grassroots coalition of oddballs, underdogs, and fun-loving weirdos with songs that celebrate life on the fringes of polite society.
The band’s infamously wild, passionate live shows provide a total release – of stress, of inhibition, of shame – working up a primordial rock n roll sweat for fans to get blissfully soaked in.
Cathc them on November 16!
CHIRP Welcomes: The Bevis Frond
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
18+
CHIRP is happy to welcome The Bevis Frond to Schubas on Thursday, March 6th!
The Bevis Frond (guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire Nick Saloman) have ultimately become the UK’s leading underground psychedelic rock band. Their music is an iconoclastic collision of distinctly British psychedelia, space-rock, grunge, slow-burning soulful laments, even grizzled folk and more than occasional moments of sublime pop genius.
If there is any artist who could be considered as having followed a tangential path from Hendrix to Big Star to Spacemen 3, that would be The Bevis Frond -- and that’s not hyperbole, the evidence is to be found in countless albums over 30 years of thrilling musical innovation that few have matched.
Yet, he remains the best kept secret in Rock ‘n’ Roll. Isn’t it about time you discovered one of England’s finest songwriters and insightful lyricists?