We're happy to be nominated in four categories for the Reader's 2024 Best of Chicago poll. Find them all here and cast your ballot by December 31!
Upcoming CHIRP Events
CHIRP Welcomes: Pixel Grip
Outset
1675 N Elston Ave
Chicago
,
IL
60642
All Ages
CHIRP welcomes Chicago's own Pixel Grip to Outset on Saturday, December 28th!
Over the last four years, the band has traversed the depths of the North American underground scene, selling out clubs and winning over fans with their indelible live performances.
The group’s 2021 sophomore album ‘ARENA’ was a 10 track exploring avant pop, EBM, and minimal wave released via local label Feeltrip Records. Its pounding dance rhythms were inspired by the group’s shows supporting their 2019 debut Heavy Handed: “being in an audience of freaks, queers, fetish people, all in the same room sweating together, and we all knew our purpose, and we were manic and arrogant,” vocalist Rita Lukea says.
/ / CHIRP Welcomes: Lucero
Evanston SPACE
1245 Chicago Avenue
Evanston
,
IL
60202
(847) 492-8860
All Ages
CHIRP is excited to welcome Lucero to SPACE for THREE NIGHTS to send off 2024 in style!
The search for one’s identity is a lifelong process that every individual must go through. Who someone is today, is not the person they were yesterday nor who they may be tomorrow. Despite those changes, there is a general idea of a defined sense of self. No matter what happens, it is that small yet solid and grounding definition of self that continues to drive us forward in our search for identity and whatever may come with it.
It would be difficult to find any artist who understands that better than the band Lucero.
The band, comprised of all its original members teamed up for a third time with producer and Grammy Award-winning engineer and mixer, Matt Ross-Spang, who appears to have settled in with the band’s more trademark sound while very much making his touch known to listeners.
Both Sides Now presents: Color Rush
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 CHIRP DJ Commodore Jones: "Color Rush".
- John Prine — Bruised Orange (1978)
- Alvvays — Blue Rev (2022)
- Freddie Hubbard — Red Clay (1970)
- Radiohead — In Rainbows (2007)
CHIRP Co-Presents the Fireside Series: J. Bambii
Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
12 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago
,
IL
21+
Join us at the beautiful White City Ballroom (8th floor) at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel for the kickoff of the new Fireside series!
Fireside is a monthly, curated live music series featuring diverse representation of Chicago’s music talent. Each event in the series will feature a live conversation and concert with that month's featured artist. In taking the performance out of the traditional concert venue and into our historic spaces, the series offers Chicagoans and visitors a unique experience to connect with artists and their community.
The first event features J Bambii, an artist, educator, tarot reader, and cartoon-lover from the Southside of Chicago. She is the founder and creator of The Brown Skin Lady Show & the community healing initiative called “Come Together.”
Angel Bat Dawid says, "J Bambii iz one of the Illiest MCs out hurrr...Her swag deliviery and bounce is outt of this world...this album izz pure flamezz!"
You can check out her music on Bandcamp.
Doors open at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7.
CHIRP Fundraiser at Lou Malnati’s
Lou Malnati’s (Lincoln Square/North Center)
4340 N Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60618
Join us at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria (4340 N Lincoln Avenue) on Wednesday, January 15th between 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM and make a difference! With every order you place, 20% will be donated to CHIRP Radio.
You can participate in this fundraiser by:
- Dining in: Tell your server that you're dining for CHIRP
- Ordering takeout or delivery online: Visit Lou Malnati's Pizzeria's online order website. Use the promo code of "GPFUND24" and 20% of your meal’s price will be donated back to CHIRP
- Ordering takeout or delivery by phone: Call 773-654-4000 and mention that you are with CHIRP Radio before placing your order (must order directly from Lou Malnati's, not via a third party app)
This fundraiser only applies to the Lou Malnati's at 4340 N. Lincoln, not other locations.
Both Sides Now presents: Folk, Punk, & Grit
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 CHIRP DJ The Audible Snail: "Folk, Punk, & Grit".
- Tom Waits – Mule Variations (1999)
- NNAMDÏ – DROOL (2017)
- Gillian Welch – The Harrow and The Harvest (2011)
CHIRP Welcomes: Jessica Lea Mayfield
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicago
,
IL
60657
(773) 525-2508
18+
CHIRP welcomes Jessica Lea Mayfield to Schubas on Thursday, 2/6!
Jessica Lea Mayfield is singer-songwriter hailing from rural Ohio, she’s been active since age 15 as a solo artist and grew up living in a bus and traveling around playing bluegrass festivals with her parents family band starting at the age of eight.
Mayfield writes ominous Appalachian folk rock songs depicting love and relationships and human dynamics. Her 4th studio album, Sorry is Gone, was released in November 2024.
The CHIRP Music Film Festival Presents: Empire Records
Gman Tavern
3740 N Clark St
Chicago
,
IL
60613
(773) 549-2050
21+
It's almost Valentine's Day, so why not celebrate your long love affair with record stores? The CHIRP Music Film Fest presents Empire Records on Wednesday, February 12 at Gman.
Wear your best 90s gear to add to the fun. You might win a prize!
Door at 6:30pm, trivia and screening start at 7:30pm.
You're welcome to bring outside food.
Your $5 suggested donation benefits CHIRP.
CHIRP Partners With The Chicago Film Society For “Light of Day”
Northeastern Illinois University Auditorium
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60625
(773) 442-4050
All Ages
CHIRP is proud to partner with the Chicago Film Society for a 35mm screening of "Light of Day"
Paul Schrader’s 1987 film “Light of Day” is a melodrama starring Michael J. Fox and Joan as working class siblings in a struggling rock band, inspired by the popular real-life Cleveland band The Generators.
Check out the trailer here!
Tickets and additional information about the Chicago Film Society here.
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?
CHIRP Welcomes: Pom Pom Squad
Lincoln Hall
2424 N Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60614
(773) 525-2501
18+
On Friday, March 7th, CHIRP welcomes Pom Pom Squad to Lincoln Hall!
The Brooklyn-based indie rock band that has been making waves since 2019 with their distinctive blend of punk, grunge, and pop influences. Led by vocalist and songwriter Mia Berrin, Pom Pom Squad was originally conceived as a solo project, but evolved into a full-fledged band as she assembled a talented lineup to bring her musical vision to life.
Their music delves deep into themes of identity, vulnerability, and personal growth, often drawing from Berrin’s own experiences with mental health challenges and societal pressures.
CHIRP Welcomes: Nubya Garcia
Evanston SPACE
1245 Chicago Avenue
Evanston
,
IL
60202
(847) 492-8860
All Ages
On Wednesday, April 9th, CHIRP welcomes Nubya Garcia to SPACE in Evanston!
Garcia isn’t an artist you can easily classify. Is it jazz? Sure, the London-born saxophonist, composer and bandleader grew up studying the genre under the noted pianist Nikki Yeoh at Camden Music.
But it isn’t until you listen to albums like 2020’s Source and 2024’s Odyssey that you hear broader creativity shining through: It’s jazz, classical, dub, R&B and whatever else Garcia wants to convey. It all comes from a place of exploration and self-study, of wanting to do all the things across all disciplines while ignoring arbitrary boxes that don’t fit.
CHIRP Welcomes: SPELLLING
Lincoln Hall
2424 N Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
,
IL
60614
(773) 525-2501
18+
CHIRP is excited to welcome SPELLLING to Lincoln Hall on Tuesday, May 13!
California-based artist Chrystia Cabral records fantasy-like, genre-blurring experimental pop under the appropriately magical pseudonym Spellling.
Her self-released 2017 debut, Pantheon of Me, was a haunting set of dreamy, loop-based avant-folk. After the album received acclaim, she signed with Sacred Bones Records and released Mazy Fly, a more fleshed-out blend of dark synth pop, art pop, and hazy soul, in 2019. Her third album, 2021's The Turning Wheel, was even more expansive, with lusher orchestration and more progressive arrangements. She reworked songs from her first three albums for 2023's Spellling & the Mystery School.