We were sitting around the table during the Chicagoist summer retreat last night (a.k.a. happy hour) and the question was posed: Remember when each neighborhood had a single street fest? It's come to the point where not only do neighborhoods throw multiple street festivals, but they're growing so dense you need never leave the three block radius around your home all summer and still continually stumble across one! For music lovers this has created a happy conundrum. In order to attract the crowds the food and the freedom of drinking overpriced brews in the street is no longer enough. Now we demand good music too! Luckily for us this street fest season has gifted us with a ridiculously rich number of line-ups and this weekend's bill at West Fest is no different. more ›

Of all the DJs that call Chicago home, few are as influential and legendary as Derrick Carter. Since the late '80s, Carter has been a defining voice for Chicago house music, and has been key in bringing those sounds to places all over the world. It's no wonder why his name is mentioned on Daft Punk's "Teachers", and it's no wonder why he continues to be prominent in today's club scene. Recently he took a trip to BBC's Radio 1 to perform an Essential Mix and the results are, well, pretty spectacular. more ›

The city's got plenty to choose from this weekend when it comes to getting down: tonight The Mid will host Green Velvet and Derrick Carter; Debonair and Smart Bar will host after-show sets from Cut Copy and Holy Ghost!, respectively; Beauty Bar's got bass extraordinaire LOL Boys in town from Montreal; and for a little outside-the-box fun, Daedalus is set to bring his mindbending sequenced electronic music to Bottom Lounge tomorrow night. If we could, we'd do all of it. But hey, we can't. Our if-we-had-to pick for Weekend Dance Party? Holy Ghost! more ›

Every time this year the ordinarily quiet neighborhood of Ukrainian Village at the intersection of Chicago and Damen is overtaken by a cavalcade of festival enthusiasts awaiting West Fest's hodge-podge collective of live music, pet and kid friendly booths, as well as your usual set of local food, bric-a-brac and art vendors. Past year’s lineups are certainly nothing to sneeze at with world-renowned acts like The Meat Puppets, Red Red Meat and Chicago rock veterans Urge Overkill. We must admit, we are even more excited about this year’s eclectic mix of live acts as curated by The Empty Bottle including such touted indie acts as Beach Fossils, F’d Up, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Chicago’s metal and dirge-driven Bloodiest. more ›

Another weekend. Another street fest. This weekend the annual West Fest closes off Chicago Avenue between Damen and Wood for two days of live music, kid and pet festivities and even an outdoor fashion show. The antithesis of the chaos formerly known as Ribfest, West Fest is the one street fest we can always count on for a relaxing afternoon. more ›

Did anyone else catch Dennis DeYoung and Billy Corgan singing Christmas carols on WGN this morning? Wow. It was…a little awkward. While both are talented in their own right, they’re not exactly born to duet with each other as DeYoung’s vibrato drowned out the less robust vocal stylings of Corgan. But if two of the biggest egos in Chicago rock are able to peacefully coexist in the same studio then yes, Virginia, there is a... more ›