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Upcoming CHIRP Events
/ / CHIRP is a media sponsor for Wicker Park Fest
Wicker Park
1600 N. Milwaukee
Chicago
,
IL
60622
All Ages
CHIRP is happy to return as a media sponsor for Wicker Park Fest, taking place on Milwaukee Avenue between North Avenue and Ashland Avenue July 26-28.
As usual, Wicker Park Fest has a stellar musical lineup with Jamila Woods, Superdrag, and La Luz headlining, as well as plenty of restaurant and beer vendors, artisans, and much more!
Stop by the CHIRP booth to say hey to our volunteers and pick up great station swag!
/ / CHIRP at Out of SPACE
Illinois Science & Technology Park
4900 Searle Pkwy
Skokie
,
IL
60077
All Ages
Out of Space returns July 26-28 with three nights of great music at an exciting new location near downtown Skokie with tons of charm, lush green grass for picnicking, easy free parking, public transit, and is bike- and pedestrian-friendly.
Stop by the CHIRP booth and say hello to our volunteers!
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CHIRP at Design Museum of Chicago’s Field Day
Polk Bros. Park, Navy Pier
600 E. Grand Ave.
Chicago
,
IL
All Ages
CHIRP is happy to be back at Field Day -- the Design Museum of Chicago's annual outdoor program -- this Saturday at Navy Pier's Polk Brothers Park.
The all-ages event is an approachable and surprising celebration of Chicago’s outdoor spaces through a design lens.
Stop by the CHIRP booth to say hello and pick up some station freebies!
CHIRP Welcomes: Guerilla Toss
Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60622
(773) 276-3600
21+
CHIRP welcomes Guerilla Toss to the Empty Bottle on Saturday, July 27th!
Dig deep enough inside yourself—start treating your body as your sanctuary rather than your enemy—and eventually you’ll find yourself blooming right back out into the sun. That’s the transformation Guerilla Toss trace on their newest album Famously Alive, their effervescent Sub Pop debut.
After a decade sprinkling glitter into grit, building a reputation as one of the most ferociously creative art-rock groups working, the upstate New York band have eased fully into their light. This is Guerilla Toss at their most luminescent—awake, alive, and extending an open invitation to anyone who wants to soak it all up beside them.
The album’s title derives from a poem written by a close friend of the band, Jonny Tatelman, who supported singer and lyricist KassieCarlson through the early stages of her recovery from opiate addiction. The poem comprises the entirety of the lyrics to the title track, an exuberant ode to loving your own survival and charting a course into unconditional self-acceptance.
CHIRP Welcomes: Mei Semones
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
18+
On Sunday, August 4th, CHIRP welcomes Mei Semones to Schubas!
Semones’ sweetly evocative blend of jazz, bossa nova and math-y indie rock is not only a way for her to find solace in her favorite genres, but is an intuitive means of catharsis. “Blending everything that I like together and trying to make something new — that’s what feels most natural to me,” says the 23-year-old Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and guitarist. “It’s what feels most true to who I am as an artist.”
On her newest EP and Bayonet Records debut, Kabutomushi, Mei’s diverse sonic palette adds depth to her experiences of the complexities of love. Through the EP’s five songs, she chronicles infatuation, devotion, vulnerability, and saying goodbye in some of her closest relationships, complete with sweeping strings, virtuosic guitar-playing and heartfelt lyrics.
All of the songs that comprise Kabutomushi are written and sung in both English and Japanese, with Mei wanting to stay connected to her first language in a creative way. The EP title translates to “rhinoceros beetle” in English, named after the horned insect that she would spot and catch in the park when visiting her grandmother in Japan growing up.
Both Sides Now: A CHIRP Vinyl Listening Bar
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
21+
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 Val Wojs: "Here’s a Concept: Narrative Albums!".
Our selection this month celebrates the art of storytelling through four different genres, proving not all concept albums are prog Rock Operas. In a world of streaming and auto-generated playlists, best part about concept albums is that they require a record to be played all the way through - a perfect reason to sit back and enjoy Both Sides Now.
Owen Pallett - Heartland (2010)
Set in the imaginary realm of Spectrum, the songs of Owen Pallett’s 2010 Polaris Music Prize nominated album Heartland tell the story of Lewis, a “young, ultra-violent farmer,” commanded by an all-powerful narrator named Owen. On Pallett’s first (and only) orchestral album, listeners are taken on a sonic journey through their mastery of pop melodies, blended with electronica and strings, accompanied by the story of deities, theologies, and the nature of fate.
The Roots - Undun (2011)
Undun is existential narrative album from The Roots, told in reverse-chronology, about the fictional character Redford Stevens’s short, tragic life in urban poverty, touching on themes of morality, death, and social injustice. Featuring artists from Big K.R.I.T. to Sufjan Stevens, ?uestlove’s signature snare-driven beats, some neo soul elements, keyboard soundscapes, strings, and choral arrangements, Undun is an essential album in hip-hop history.
Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville (1993)
In her critically acclaimed debut album Exile in Guyville, Chicago artist Liz Phair set out to craft a song-by-song response to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Mainstreet, deconstructing white, male indie-rock oppression in the most poetic way possible. Themes aside, Exile in Guyville is a ‘90s low-fi feminist masterpiece that stands on its own as an all-time great.
Rush - 2112 (1976)
It wouldn’t be a real conversation about concept albums without a bit of prog rock. The 21-minute opening title track of Rush’s 1976 album 2112 tells the story of a dystopian future where a totalitarian regime controls all aspects of life and suppresses individuality and creativity. The story’s protagonist discovers an ancient guitar and learns to create music, which he presents to the priests, hoping to inspire change. You’ll have to listen all the way through to find out how the saga ends.
CHIRP Welcomes: Ghost Funk Orchestra
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
18+
CHIRP welcomes Ghost Funk Orchestra to Schubas on Wednesday, August 14th!
Ghost Funk Orchestra is the brainchild of composer/multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum. What started as a one-man recording project has now evolved into a powerhouse live band. It’s a sonic kaleidoscope that defies genre specification, but draws heavy influence from the worlds of soul, psych rock, salsa, and beyond.
New York blog Post-Trash described their sound as a ‘psych odyssey of traditional sounds delivered in a non-traditional fashion.’ Bandcamp’s Editorial Director J. Edward Keyes praised the band’s ability to ‘leave no funk-adjacent genre unexplored.’
Experimentation is the key, and unpredictability is what has been attracting folks from all corners of the globe to see what GFO pulls off next.
CHIRP Night at the Whistler with Wolfman and Bloodhype
The Whistler
2421 N. Milwaukee
Chicago
,
IL
60647
(773) 227-3530
21+
On Sunday, August 25th, CHIRP Night at the Whistler returns with Wolfman and Bloodhype!
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 August, we're excited to welcome Chicago's own Wolfman and Bloodhype to the Whistler stage. As usual, there is no cover for this 21 and over event, and Bloodhype kicks it all off around 8:00 PM.
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: 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: 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 Monday, October 14th!
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?
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