Mark Tomasino, President and Artistic Director of the Wicker Park Choral Singers, founded the non-profit ensemble in February upon realizing that there was no outlet for a choral group to rehearse and perform in the neighborhood. Auditions were held in May and the Wicker Park Choral Singers are hosting their free, debut concert tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. in the historic Wicker Park Lutheran Church. The mixed-voice ensemble consists of twenty-four singers, half of which have......

With the 12th Street Beach just south of Northerly Island, it has become a hot spot to listen to the music coming from the Charter One Pavilion. As many as 1,000 teens might gather on any given evening. But after about a half-dozen fights broke out amongst the crowd Thursday evening, police are now saying they will shut down the beach if further trouble erupts. A spokesperson for the Chicago Park District told the S-T:......

The weather has been gorgeous all week and, if you're like us, you've been stuck inside, dreaming of a chance to get out and about. Lots of bands are announcing late summer/early fall tour dates for our fair city and lots of Lolla-related shows happening, so while you wait for the weekend, here are some shows you can utilize your Ticketmaster clicking finger on. Coldplay's just can't get enough of Chicago. Even though tickets are......

Since its release last October Raising Sand, the critically lauded collaboration of former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and high priestess of bluegrass Allison Krauss, has become something of a phenomenon. Working in tandem with producer T Bone Burnett, who picked and arranged the songs, Raising Sand is a joy to the ears. Its emphasis on blues, country and old R&B is reminiscent of Bob Dylan's records of the past twenty years, while Burnett's......

We know there's no shortage of things going on this weekend, but just in case you're looking for something else, we suggest the Paul Green School of Rock "Rock the Bus" Fundraiser. The School, founded ten years ago in Philadelphia, has spread its wing with branches located nationwide, including Chicago (3043 N. Ashland Ave.) and nearby Highwood, as well as a branch opening this fall in Evanston. "Rock the Bus," a faculty benefit show and......

This summer-like weather we've been enjoying all week? It's going to disappear this weekend. But our brief respite from Spring won't get us down. We mentioned the upcoming Rock The Bells fest is coming to Chicago this year and that reminds us of one thing: summer music to look forward to. Hey, it's not always about Lollapalooza. While there will be no advanced ticket sales, The Cool Kids will be playing the Abbey Pub on......

R.E.M. with Modest Mouse & The National R.E.M. is coming back to Chicago and they’re bringing indie stars Modest Mouse and The National with them. They have a new record (out now) that kicks ass. Like Stephen Colbert, we don’t think it’s a comeback; they never went away in the first place. R.E.M. has been, and still remains, one of our most favorite bands (in spite of the timid Around The Sun) even when it......

Frankly, the forecast for snow on the first two days of spring has us super cranky, so let’s just get to it. We’ve finally figured out that Tokio Hotel is NOT the same band as Tokyo Police Club. See, Tokio Hotel are from Germany and spell their name with an “i” (the German spelling, as several enthusiastic Tokio Hotel fans have informed us) while Tokyo Police Club are from Canada and actually spell their geographic......

We discovered The Spinto Band through a friend's single of the month club.Immediately we fell in love with the first tune we heard, the sweetly chiming shoulda-been feel-good hit of that summer, "Mandy." The group rode a mild wave of buzz for a while, some of it driven by just how ridiculously young the band was in contrast with how good their songwriting chops already were. And then they wisely dropped out of sight......

We just learned that tickets to ALL Metro and Smart Bar shows are only available through their websites, or the Metro Box Office. There will still be service fees for tickets bought online, though we believe they will be much reduced due to Metro handling all sales internally, and there is still never a service fee for tickets bought at the Box Office. What does this mean? Ticketmaster has just lost one of the venues......

If you saw a haze hanging over downtown this morning...nevermind, that joke's too easy. The Doggfather kicked off a two-night stand at the House of Blues last night on his current tour promoting his new record, Ego Trippin' (due out March 11th), and left our ears ringing. Frankly, we weren't sure what to expect. We're old enough to remember when Dr. Dre protege's first record, Doggystyle dropped over 14 years ago. Following that record's release,......

Ah, late February in Chicago. Cubs tickets go on sale today, there's a forecast for a high temperature above 35 degrees next week, and thousands of indie rock kids around Chicago will soon be shedding their parkas for high-priced hoodies bought from Wicker Park boutiques (tip: ours cost us $12 at Target!) for several worthwhile shows around the Chicago area. Lots of tickets go on sale this weekend. So, despite this crappy weather, there is,......

WXRT just announced this morning that Wilco will be playing a five-day residency at the Riviera Theatre in February. And the most exciting part is the band promises to explore its entire catalog, creating a unique set list for each show and playing songs they haven't played in quite some time. Needless to say, we're excited. (Summerteeth, anyone?) Each show will also be all Wilco, all the time, as the band is playing unsupported......

Anything snarky that we come up with regarding the use of music in the Democratic Presidential campaigns just pales in comparison to the cold, hard facts: Hillary Clinton's theme was a Celine Dion song and has recently been replaced by a Big Head Todd and the Monsters tune, and Barack Obama's fundraising events feature performances by some of the most relevant and buzzworthy artists out there. Tonight's Change Rocks concert at the Riv brings......

Ah, it's like shootin' fish in a barrel over at Chicagoist EOYW headquarters. We know how passionate you guys can get about these things, so we'll cut right to the chase: If you've never at least tapped your foot along with the vapid faux-angst anthems of Avril Lavigne, you may have been living in a mall-less town in, say ... Canada. Oh, wait. We've seen her in concert before under the guise of "journalism," and......

What's coming up? Let's see. 2007 has been quite a year for the Cold War Kids, whose twangy indie rock has worked its way into the hearts of festival attendees across the world, playing everywhere from Lollapallooza to the Glastonbury Festival. If you’d rather see them up close and personal instead of surrounded by shirtless dudes holding plastic cups of beer, now’s your chance. Metro, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m., $15, all ages. On sale at......

We know you head to Beat Kitchen to enjoy the likes of artists like Plane, New Duncan Imperials and Deadstring Brothers. Be prepared for your toddler to start dragging you back out when they hear about the “Concerts for Kids” shows on Sunday afternoons … at the same Beat Kitchen where you were rockin’ the night before. Once a month, Beat Kitchen opens up its concert space for local talent that caters to the younger......

Girl Talk, aka one Greg Gillis, has been wowing audiences from the Empty Bottle to the Pitchfork Music Festival with his wildly popular brand of mash-up wizardry. Just try to hold a stoic cool-kid pose when Gillis brings his one-man jammin' train through town in January, with newly minted prince of the hipster dance party Dan Deacon in tow. Metro, January 26, 7:30 p.m. (all ages) and 11:30 p.m. (18+), $16. On sale Saturday.......

Now that City Council has banned smoking tobacco on Chicago stages, city actors and audiences will have to get used to that cool herbal cigarette smell. If you're Jonesing for the real thing, you’ll have to head out to suburban Next, Circle, and Northlight theaters. Architect David Fisher, of “Leonardo da Vinci Smart Bathroom” fame, is hoping city leaders will go to bat for his next idea: a skyscraper whose floors spin slowly and independently,......

If you work or live downtown and your Tuesday just can’t end soon enough, drop by St. James Cathedral tonight, or any Tuesday summer evening, for a free hour of munchies and classical music. Chicago is a fine destination for frugal music lovers. We’re crushing on the Grant Park Music Festival, the last free classical music fest in the nation. Ravinia offers students with ID (and occasionally graduates with newish looking IDs) free lawn seats......

The outdoor music space formerly known as the Tweeter Center (giggle) has changed its name to something even more ridiculous. The Tinley Park “shed” is now known as the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre. You might also think the space has changed ownership, too. What was once clearly marketed as a Clear Channel property is now billed as a Live Nation venue. But a few clickthroughs at the Live Nation website will soon lead you to......

Friday night the free concert event of the evening was Pete Yorn at the Vic brought to us by Fusion Flash Concerts. Chicagoist missed the actual indoctrination (sorry, advertising) part of the night regarding the new Ford Fusion, but still rocked out to Yorn. The Vic was not full to capacity, which created an even more intimate show for those who got in (by the way we haven't seen that many passes handed out since......

Clear Channel Communications in a move to have more Chicago street cred has renamed their music operations here to Elevated Concerts. Apparently sick and tired of defending their strong arm tactics and monopolistic-like buyouts during the '90s, Clear Channel is trying to get in our good graces by changing their name, not by changing their practices. Chicagoist finds this akin to a murderer changing his name in order to continue killing while on the......

Chicagoist headed down to the Taste of Chicago against our own advice to witness the incredible show that Santana puts on. Luckily our adopted Mexican/Puerto Rican adopted family arrived at 10 am to snag a spot near the Petrillo Band Shell so that we had somewhere to call home in the estimated crowd of 300,000 on Saturday evening. Before the band took the stage, tribal music played over the speakers along with new-agey visuals......

This evening brought together two ladies with lyrical and soothing voices that have found their callings in the folk/country genre. First up was Mary Gauthier touring for the CD Mercy Now. Gauthe presented herself on the stage by standing in the spotlight alone. Hidden at the side of the darkened stage was a lone guitarist accompanying her. It was the perfect set-up for her songs of loss, love, change, and even death. These motifs are......

Looks like the Chicago area will be getting a new arena to host concerts and sporting events. The city of Hoffman Estates, former home to Poplar Creek until 1994, will partner with retailer Sears and developer Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc. to build the $60 million, 11,000 seat arena. To finance the project, The development agreement would have Hoffman Estates issuing $50 million in general obligation bonds and taking a first mortgage position in the project.......