Get your wallets ready. These shows are going on sale tomorrow. more ›

Pop songwriting virtuoso Stephin Merritt and his cult musical group the Magnetic Fields completed a pilgrimage from the music conservatory division of the indie rock avant garde in the early nineties to songwriting immortality with 1999’s monumental 69 Love Songs and never looked back. 2010 saw the release of their 10th record, a sold-out six-night stint at the Old Town School of Folk Music, and the premiere of a documentary about the group, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields at SXSW. The film is an endearing portrait of the cerebral baritone who is often lazily labeled as simply prickly or aloof but is adored fiercely by his fans and guarded jealously by his friends and an ever-present chihuahua. We talked with co-director Kerthy Fix about this spending a decade making this documentary, about exploring the creative relationship between Meritt and his collaborator Claudia Gonson and about Meritt’s place in music history. more ›

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Are you going to see Beirut at the Portage Theater tonight? You should be. The former movie house is hosting one of this beloved indie-folk band's few American tour dates, and the combination of 1920s movie palace splendor and whimsical orchestration may be enough to make your heart explode. (Think of that feeling you have when you look at a photo of a puppy and multiply it by 10.) Beirut's newest album, The Flying... more ›

Since it's the dog days of August ("dog days" now officially connotes 50-degree temperatures) and none of us have anything better to do with our time, get ready to go festival crazy. Not only does the Chicago Underground Film Festival begin this week, but Wednesday also marks the start of the Interchange Festival 2004. Their website describes it thusly: A collective of Chicago musicians, promoters and the city's top clubs and record stores have... more ›

Pop music's greatest curmudgeon, Stephin Merritt – who moonlights in the 6ths (just try and pronounce that band name) and Future Bible Heroes (just try and think of a better band name) – will bring his main project, The Magnetic Fields, to our beloved Old Town School of Folk Music ("Now, not even in Old Town!") for a handful of shows this weekend. Merritt, a self-professed rock music snob, has disdain for nearly all... more ›