Well, that didn't take long. more ›

We realize that summer is over, but concerns over Taste of Chicago's affordability and longevity are still floating around. Vendors this year felt a noticeable difference in the amount of cash flow from last year's profits as the Chicago Park District struggled to host the event in early July. more ›

Chicago’s punk show Riot Fest is in full swing today, kicking off a huge weekend with so many great acts, the only downside is that we can’t be in more than a few places at once. Unfortunately, we missed out on the X show last night at the Bottom Lounge, featuring a film screening of X: The Unheard Music, but we’ll be making up for lost time this entire weekend. more ›

This is part of Chicagoist's coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival. more ›

Chipotle does a bang-up job crafting our barbacoa lunch burritos, so it was no surprise when we learned the sustainable food-focused chain was mixing up an equally appetizing festival for this Saturday in Lincoln Park. more ›

After months of hype, weeks of anticipation and three days of wine and tweeting, Chicago Gourmet 2011 is finally behind us. Despite the rain and the shoe-ruining mud (we're sending your our cleaning bill, Illinois Restaurant Association!) the event was actually pretty good. In fact, Chicago Gourmet was, dare we say, worth the money this year. more ›

We've put together some picks for this year's fest you shouldn't miss. more ›

The third annual festival kicks off tonight in Little Italy. more ›

It was just last year that Diplo's Mad Decent label announced that its annual block party would become a traveling affair. In addition to entertaining folks in its base city of Philadelphia, the Mad Decent Block Party also hit New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Last year's party - then at The Hideout - was at times sloppy and under-organized, but had spurts of fun and excitement, most notably during Kid Sister's headlining set. This year, Mad Decent has taken its party to Milwaukee Ave., between Western Ave. and Oakley Blvd., where it will feature sets this Saturday from Curren$y, Dillon Francis, and Lunice, among others. more ›

Chuck's Fest has grown by leaps and bounds to the point where it can now fit snugly in the parking lot at Toyota Park. more ›

While everyone else we knew was at Pitchfork, we hopped on the bike and headed to New Belgium's annual Tour de Fat stop in Palmer Square. more ›

One of the more sane, manageable, and eclectic music-going experiences in Chicago is set to return. According to the Hideout website, the Hideout Block Party will return on Sept. 24th. more ›

The event will now take place in Mid-August. more ›

Chicago's premier punk festival Riot Fest announced most of its lineup today and this year promises to be as amazing as years past. more ›

This year, Chef Graham Elliot will be bringing even more great food to Lollapalooza, continuing last year's efforts to improve the offerings at the festival. Elliot's Lolla work was well-received last year and promises to get even better. Eater Chicago reports that new restaurant participants include Saigon Sisters, Sola, The Gage, Henri, Jam and Wao Bow. We're particularly excited about Henri, which will be serving up a "Henri banh mi" and pork rinds with vadouvan curry. more ›

The Lollapalooza schedule is out. Decisions, decisions. more ›

We couldn't wait for By the Grace of God, the Bouncing Souls, Lucero and Against Me to hit town in the upcoming weeks, so we took a road trip to see them. more ›

Here we go again - the behemoth of the food festival scene has returned for another year. Chicago Gourmet is back for the fourth year in a row, again sponsored by Bon Appetit. This year, the festival will be held on the 24th and 25th of September. For all of our complaining in the past, Chicago Gourmet has improved dramatically since the first incarnation, and the list of chefs, exhibitors and demos still makes us squirm with foodie glee. The $90 price tag ($175 for the weekend, another $175 for the grand cru tasting) bring us back down a bit, but there is nowhere else that you can see all of these chefs together in the same place. Plus, those are the pre-order prices. If you buy tickets later, they will cost $150 per day. So, if you are sure you want to go, buy now - sales open at 10 A.M. and the number of pre-order tickets is limited. more ›

Festival season is starting to flesh out pretty nicely with announcements of events like Green Fest, Taste of Chicago, North Coast, and the much-hyped Pitchfork. Here’s another: The Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival will take place the last weekend of July in Logan Square, spanning Milwaukee Ave between Kimball and California. Now in its third year, the MAAF will feature a slew of artists, two stages of music, and a trolly to cart your lazy ass around. While the fest is still in the development process, the musical lineup is steadily unfolding. more ›

We looked over this year's Ravinia schedule last month with the scrutiny of a historian and penciled in the shows we want to attend. Now we just need to make sure we're up before 5 a.m. tomorrow. That's when tickets for the 2011 season go on sale to the general public. TIckets are available only at the Ravinia website. more ›

The official full lineup for Lollapalooza is set to be announced next week, but that isn't stopping the festival's organizers and marketing team from getting people to guess the lineup with a slow reveal. more ›

It's almost festival season and we're getting anxious to get back into the swing of All Things Summer. There were some good times at Wicker Park Fest 2010, so expect to see more of the same at the festival this year. The lineup at Wicker Park Fest 2011 so far includes Wild Flag, Wavves, Ana Sia, Joe Pug, Flosstradamus, California Wives, and Blitzen Trapper. If anything, surf pop favorite Wavves will probably draw a nice crowd, and the same for all-girl awesome band Wild Flag. The festival also continues its tradition of bringing in solid DJ acts in addition to bands. more ›

Though its future might have seemed questionable just a few months ago, especially amidst the shaky landscape of festivals in Chicago, North Coast Music Festival will return for its second year, again in Union Park on Labor Day weekend, September 2-4. With a bent distinctly different than other Chicago-based fests like Lollapalooza and Pitchfork, North Coast's return is surely welcome to music fans looking for more electronic, hip-hop and jam in their festival experience. Our reports last year were wholly positive, as North Coast put a nice cap on a festival season full of different experiences. For those looking to re-live that experience, or to experience it for the first time altogether, North Coast tickets will go on sale April 16th, the same day the lineup will be announced. more ›

Jean Paul Belmondo, in Mississippi Mermaid, tells Catherine Deneuve's character: "You're so beautiful it hurts to look at you." That isn't exactly the sort of statement one could assert to be true or not (though many have tried), but after an incredible 50 years captivating audiences onscreen we must admit that if it is, it must hurt so good. more ›

Even though just three days ago Daley was still looking to privatize Taste of Chicago, the city has decided to turn the reigns to the festival over to the Park District. By doing so, the city hopes to still save cash while keeping Chicago's biggest food orgy free to the masses. Chicago Park District General Superintendent Timothy Mitchell said via press release “Mayor Daley has stressed the importance of keeping the Taste of Chicago free with no admission fee, especially during these tough economic times. Our goal is to do just that while also ensuring that the Taste remains economically viable.” more ›

The Tribune's Greg Kot, citing reliable concert industry sources, reports that Eminem, Muse and Foo Fighters are among the headliners for Lollapalooza 2011. Other artists slated for the bill for the Aug. 5-7 festival, according to Kot, Lykke Li, Best Coast, Girl Talk and Crystal Castles. more ›

Even though the bid to privatize Taste of Chicago and other city festivals by Celebrate Chicago LLC went out with a whimper thanks to the proposal to charge an admission to Chicago's largest display of gluttony, Mayor Daley isn't done looking for a private bidder to run the festival. With a little more than four months before Taste is scheduled to open, that's really cutting things close. more ›

Nearly snowed under among all the blizzard talk was news from City Hall yesterday that the bid to privatize Taste of Chicago by Celebrate Chicago LLC was rejected. Celebrate Chicago, the partnership of the Illinois Restaurant Association, JAM Productions and AEG Live, originally proposed a $20 admission for Taste. They later reduced the proposed admission to $10. more ›

City officials, after repeated affirmations that they wish for annual festivals such as Taste of Chicago, Blues Fest and Jazz Fest, now seem to be warming to the idea of selling naming rights to those and other festivals and, in some cases, even charging admission to the festivals. Losing $7 million on the festivals in a three-year span has a way of making the city revisit its stance. more ›

The Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival started out in 2008 as a modest 1-day event at Congress Theater, but now in its third year, the fest has nearly tripled in size. This year’s fest will span three days, December 3-5, and feature 35+ performances spread across three separate venues: the Double Door, Congress Theater, and Lincoln Hall. It will feature mostly local blues, soul, folk, and Americana acts celebrating the role of roots music and culture in Chicago. more ›