Days 3 and 4 of Lollapalooza 2023.

Days 1 and 2 of Lollapalooza 2023.

The Big Takeover’s Pre-Coverage of Lollapalooza 2023 in Chicago, IL.

Kim Gordon recruits a crack all-female band and brings a level of urgency and ferocity to her recent solo material.

There is a world you can escape to when you see Le Tigre play and it isn’t as much a world of the reality of the existing world but one of possibilities in which we all can have fun if we’re kind and not careless with each other and if we continue to pay attention and be engaged in our communities. I want to Keep on Livin’ in that world!

You know what? I’m about to say it: We need Sparks now more than ever. With a lyrical voice that is in turn witty, observant, detached, self-referential, satiric, and above all, entirely their own, only the Mael brothers are adequately equipped to comment on the current times while simultaneously providing a much needed dose of escapism.

Warpaint continue their journey of dancey post-punk.

Hopefully this tour is not the band’s swansong and Love and Rockets will continue to play live. At the risk of sounding too greedy, one can only dream that they will record another album as well.

Caroline Rose delivers a masterclass in The Art of Forgetting at the Fillmore.

TVOD, InCircles, and others set to headline free shows in New York City’s parks.

While performing their 1983 debut album for its 40th anniversary, New Orleans’ heavy rockers Zebra created a special one-off event for returning fans at the Arcada Theatre.

The Arcada Theatre was rocking with Angel classics and songs from forthcoming album Once Upon A Time.

On a stage filled with illuminated elegance, Weyes Blood emerged to dazzle a sold out crowd with the type of lovely folk songs that harken to a different sort of time. These tracks have a beautiful melancholic feeling with exceptional melodies carried by creator and lead singer Natalie Laura Mering, who gives the self assured sense that she finds singing more natural than talking. Adding to the rich ambiance, Mering danced around in a floor length ball gown with a glorious ease throughout the 80 minute set

Shara Nova performed new My Brightest Diamond material during an opening set for the fifth of seven seasonal Gezelligheid concerts by Andrew Bird. Photos by Alec Basse.

Both the lyrics and the song structures on The Smile’s 2022 album A Light for Attracting Attention go places that, if they were bodies, would be strange contortionists. One might find yourself wondering if a chord progression can actually evolve like that the way you’d wonder if a knee can bend in a certain direction.

On the third and final day of 2022 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Danielle Ponder emerged as one the main highlights of the festival, delivering a blistering set of soul music.

A beautiful Saturday greeted the fans on the second day of 2022 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park, featuring everyone from the Mekons to Elvis Costello.

It was hard not to feel nostalgic about this year’s return of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, September 30th through October 2nd.

Day 2 of Mosswood Meltdown saw the idyllic calm of Sunday afternoon quickly ripped to pieces with punk and stoner rock.

On October 8th and 9th, Halloween Meltdown was back at Mosswood Park in Oakland, offering up two days of punk, stoner, and garage rock under sunny East Bay skies.

It’s impossible to be unhappy while listening to Alvvays. There’s something so sincere and also buoyant about lead singer Molly Rankin’s vocals that reassure a human in their most melancholic of moments that everything is going to be alright. It’s not merely catchy pop songs she sings but lullabies to get you through your darkest days.

Spooky metal for Halloween! Iron Maiden brought its Legacy of the Beast tour to United Center in Chicago, IL.

Any music festival that had risen from a vague idea, one drunken night in the back room of a pub, into a five-day, “in the city” style celebration involving eight venues and over 60 original bands and which had negotiated floods, recessions, lockdowns and the growing apathy towards those who chose to write their songs, should be the stuff of legend.

Despite forecasts of an inbound storm that threatened to disrupt Nine Inch Nails’ headlining set, Chicago received sunny end-of-summer weather during most of the final day at Riot Fest. Jeff Elbel’s coverage includes The Linda Lindas, Jawbox, Lunachicks, Jimmy Eat World, and Sleater-Kinney.

Days 1 and 2 of Riot Fest 2022.

Unlike larger, more prodigiously-attended Real Estate shows, this more intimate setting allowed one to focus attentively on Courtney’s exquisite singing and guitar playing, and to better appreciate his delectable songwriting flair.