Category Archives: Music

2014 Music Festival One-Stop-Shop

Photo by Rasha Mosa

Music festivals in America and abroad are beginning to hit critical mass. It’s our generation’s sign of approval to any artist if they find themselves on a bevy of festival lineups come summer, they’re doing something right. Perhaps the most prevalent “music for the people” approach in the industry, festivals allow acts both large and small great opportunities for exposure and listeners the chance to attempt to take it all in. The spring/summer of 2014 is shaping up to be one of the largest festival seasons in recent memory and event organizers have wasted no time announcing jam-packed lineups that look more like an iTunes playlist than a real concert experience. We gathered together lineups from festivals from coast to coast and even beyond to give you the most full, in-depth guide to diving into festival season, check them all out on the following page.

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|Video| KAKE Sits Down With Lili K.

Chicago’s KAKE began a new series with a familiar face earlier today, premiering “300”, a documentary-style, five minute interview piece with Chicago neo-soul/jazz artist Lili K. Shot by FragDFilms on location at KAKE headquarters in Force One Seven Studios, Kellen Winters sits down with the talented songstress as she ruminates making connections in the Chicago scene, releasing her first projects and making a name for herself through hip-hop ties. Continue reading |Video| KAKE Sits Down With Lili K.

Top Artists To Catch At SXSW 2014 + Spotify Playlist

No matter how prepared I get, South by Southwest seems to sneak up on me. This year, though, preparedness is at a premium. As the festival balloons larger and larger each year, it brings with it a more bountiful harvest of talented artists along with it. In the spirit of getting ready to soak in ridiculous amounts of music over the next week and a half or so, I decided to put together a list of the bands, acts and artists that I am most excited to catch while down in Austin for my annual pilgrimage. Hit the jump for the full list. Continue reading Top Artists To Catch At SXSW 2014 + Spotify Playlist

|Video| Netherfriends: “Uptown Boys”

If you happened to spend time in Chicago’s Logan Square over the past year or so, Netherfriends and his three-fingered salute shouldn’t be wildly unfamiliar to you. To be honest, there aren’t many places unrecognizable to the wildly eclectic 27-year-old producer/performer. Having crisscrossed the country several times and one-upped Sufjan Stevens by writing a song in every state, Netherfriends has grown a truly grassroots following among indie fans, electronic heads and rap aficionados alike. His latest working, “Uptown Boys” is a rumination on time spent in the north side neighborhood of Chicago, known for its upscale music venues and dark corners and alleys, the video, shot by Elevator, is a sort of montage of Netherfriends live shows, intense personality and off-the-wall disposition. He’s kind of a weird guy, but it’s what makes his music so endearing, you can feel every ounce of him poured into each track, a tall order for someone who seems intent on working constantly.

|Interview| Sidewalk Chalk Grows, Releases ‘Leaves’

Sidewalk Chalk embodies Chicago. As much as the recent Vice “Chiraq” documentaries have done the opposite as of late, the eclectic eight piece band from the Second City pulls from both their hometown’s past and present while focusing on writing it’s future. The immediately soulful feelings of their latest project, Leaves, released February 24, is the result of an penchant for a sound that came off less polished and more gritty, capturing the sensibilities of both vocals and instrumentation that can be lost in post-production. Continue reading |Interview| Sidewalk Chalk Grows, Releases ‘Leaves’

Vic Mensa Will Be 2014′s Breakout Hip-Hop Star

The clock had just rounded one in the morning and the party was still going strong at an apartment on the campus of the University of Illinois. I had traveled south from Chicago to catch Chance The Rapper, arguably hip-hop’s breakout star of 2013, open his Social Experiment Tour. I noticed the Chicago emcee Vic Mensa leaning against a counter next to me, idly checking his phone. Looking around, I saw many at the party gawking at the 20-year-old rapper and quickly whispering to friends, as others aimed cell phones his way. Walking over, I asked Mensa, who an hour earlier had sent the crowd of college students into a frenzy with a guest verse on Chance’s “Cocoa Butter Kisses,” what it was like to be the most popular person at a party that no one seemed to talk to. Escaping the glare of his phone, Mensa’s eyes snapped up. “It’s hella weird, G,” he said. “It’s been happening more and more, and it just keeps getting weirder.” Continue reading Vic Mensa Will Be 2014′s Breakout Hip-Hop Star

|Mixtape| Lil Herb: “Welcome To Fazoland”

The day has finally come for Chicago’s own Lil Herb to step out on his own. After first hitting the scene early last year with fellow south side artist Lil Bibby on the strength of their joint project which produced nods from the likes of Drake, and a slew of record labels. Continue reading |Mixtape| Lil Herb: “Welcome To Fazoland”

|Video| Psalm One: “A New Phaze”

Last week, Psalm One, aka ‘Hologram Kizzie’ dropped her album, Hug Life via Bandcamp and iTunes. This week, on the heels of a solid first week of sales for the largely independent artist out of Chicago, Psalm offers up the first video for the project for “A New Phaze” which has production from electronically-inclined production team The Hood Internet, as well as Cleveland hip-hop collective Tanya Morgan and right-hand woman Fluffy who all join her on the eclectically-fun track that sets the tone for the rest of what is to come from the project that firmly straddles several different genres and sounds that come together to provide a sampling of styles and endeavors that are hot right now. Continue reading |Video| Psalm One: “A New Phaze”

|Video| The O’My’s: “Sweet Love”

The O’My’s are easily one of the most soul-packed bunch in Chicago. Led by Maceo Haymes and Nick Hennessy, the band has seen its stock grow since releasing their latest album, A Humble Masterpiece late last year via RH and playing a host of high-energy sets around their hometown and beyond. Continue reading |Video| The O’My’s: “Sweet Love”

|Video| Mike Golden & Friends: “Every Morning Love”

Well, if you haven’t heard, love is in the air. Adding to the Valentine’s Day spirit is Mike Golden & Friends out of Chicago. The soul rock group adds another layer to the already heightened sense of the four letter word with another well-crafted video from the talented Elijah Alvarado. Never one to do things the same twice, Alvarado begins the video with Golden beginning a wall of dominoes, which then pace the first few moments of the visual depiction of the band’s song “Every Morning Love”, eventually sparking a mechanism, seemingly out of the opening scene of The Sandlot, that announces the title in one of the most creative ways I’ve ever seen it done. Remember when the song title and artist name were just white writing in the bottom left corner? It’s 2014, people. Basically, Golden and Alvarado set up a girl’s dream Valentine’s Day morning set to a single off the band’s latest project, Utopia. Check it out above.