Halloween is quickly approaching and next week brings a host of musicians through the city to get your ghoulish weekend kick-started days in advance. more ›

The submissions have been deliberated and the judges have spoken. Psalm One has been named the grand prize winner of the Chicago Public Library's CHIPUBLIB Sound Off music contest. more ›

Every so often we get wind of an unsigned band that has us scratching our heads with a puzzled gaze. Formed in Abilene and now residing in Austin, Texas, The Rocketboys have a sound as expansive as the open road and lyrics deep as a Southwest sunrise. more ›

More than just a tattoo artist, Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins is widely regarded as the forefather of modern tattooing and lesser recognized as one of America's most influential folk artists. Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry is the first documentary of its kind, exploring the roots of tattooing and the life of one its most prominent figures. Interviews with Collins' peers and successors as well as archival photos and footage paint a portrait of a fiercely independent free-thinker who used the body as his canvas for sharing his art with the world. more ›

We're just as guilty as the rest of you when it comes to living for the weekend. We have a habit of working hard for the pleasure of playing hard come Friday night. All routines get old after awhile and lately we've found ourselves venturing away from our desks and outside our living rooms on weeknights to partake in the shows that grace our favorite venues on the off evenings. Here's our picks for the week ahead in weeknights. more ›

Somber electronic droning greeted our ears as we entered the low light of the Metro Saturday night for the sold out Chicago appearance of Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife's newest project, Fever Ray. Andersson channeled the occult, burying the audience beneath a dense fog of smoke penetrable only by the geometric beams of light slicing through the air. Mystery, intrigue and awe were the themes of the evening as we joined the rest of the audience with mouths agape, soaking in sensory overload. more ›

Beginning his career in punk and postpunk bands in the 1980's, Moby has spent the past two decades blurring genre boundaries. In his first tour with a live band since 2005, Moby swept through the Vic last night, escorting the audience on a tour through not only his catalog of music, but through the history of music. more ›

Chicago's musical landscape is ripe with indie bands who've built their careers and found success and acceptance on the city's streets and stages. There's a certain charm involved in watching a band blossom from obscurity, finding new fans in the faces populating your favorite local haunts and hangouts. Formed in 2007, and with a recent Daytrotter session and a new EP titled Calling You Out to their credit, Chicago indie folk pop act the Netherfriends are one step from full blown notoriety, savoring an endearing balance of critical praise and humble show hustling. more ›

We weren't sure what to expect from Ghostly International's 10 Year Anniversary party last Friday night at the Empty Bottle. The lineup was certainly ambitious and we hoped the niche label would find a warm welcome in the fickle terrain that is Chicago nightlife. A rainy trek to the venue found us pessimistic and prematurely doubting Chicago's enthusiasm for the evening ahead. The audience for electronic music in this city is a hard crowd to bridge. Good times and drunken debauchery increasingly feel favored over critical listening and passion for the talent. We arrived and stepped inside the Empty Bottle to find our fears vanish and a grin grace our lips alongside a packed house of Ghostly fans as eclectic as the lineup. more ›

Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Ghostly International has long been an independent label to watch. Label head, Sam Valenti, has a knack for culling a roster of some of the most interesting, off-kilter music out there. Though Ghostly has a decidedly electronic focus, Valenti is never one to adhere strictly to a single genre, and this open-mindedness is reflected in his artist roster which runs the gamut from DJ/Producer Matthew Dear to shoegaze band School of Seven Bells. Equally as strong as Ghostly's musical offerings is their carefully curated art pairings. Ghostly merges art and music flawlessly, teaming up artists, designers and musicians to form a label that is a sensory feast. more ›

Charles Hamilton's cancellation at the upcoming Pitchfork Festival has fans disgruntled and calling foul on the now almost nonexistent hip-hop offerings. Even Lollapalooza, a festival that just last year toted the likes of Lupe and Kanye feels sparse on the hip-hop booking this summer. Last weekend, for the fourth consecutive year, Rock The Bells took over First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park. For those willing to make the trek, a day full of both up-and-coming talent and The Greats delivered. more ›