We like to think of our fellow Chicagoans as big-hearted folks, and we fancy our comedians as some of the best in the business. For their 9th annual holiday benefit, "The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa," Second City is corralling big-hearted comedians and other performers for a full 24 hours of music, improv and some sweet looking raffle prizes. more ›

Danielson's freaky folk-gospel music first caught our ear several years ago, when a friend included the bizarre but undeniably catchy "Did I Step On Your Trumpet" on a comp and left it in our car. Though the indie world had already filled our ears with weirdos - Devendra Banhart and Man Man come to mind as contemporaries - something about the celebratory nature of Danielson's freakiness stood out. more ›