Mavis Staples will close out a tribute heavy Chicago Blues Festival on June 10. Legends who passed last year such as David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Pinetop Perkins, and Hubert Sumlin will also be feted. more ›

Back from a two-year hiatus, the Hideout pulled in a few marquee names for this year's Block Party that have personal connections not only to Chicago but to the venue itself. more ›

Win Butler joins Mavis Staples to duet on a song from The Band that's been Staples's since The Last Waltz. more ›

The two words that best describe this year's Hideout Block Party lineup: "Holy Shit!" more ›

Mavis Staples' Grammy Award for her album You Are Not Alone was a long time coming, as the singer herself said Sunday night. Still, we were shocked to find that it was her first Grammy Award as either a solo act or as a member of the Staples Singers. Sure, the group received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But they never won a Grammy. more ›

Mavis Staples and Buddy Guy were the local winners at last night's Grammy Awards. Staples won best Americana album for her Jeff Tweedy-produced You Are Not Alone. "This Grammy took a long time coming," Staples told a loudly approving audience. "But it was worth the wait." more ›

Beer, baseball teams, festivals, sandwiches, coffee: The gents in Wilco have displayed a surprising strong business acumen throughout their long career. (Or at least a willingness to grant their blessing to weird stuff named after them). For their latest venture, though, they're involvement is much more direct. According to the Los Angeles Times, Wilco's forming their own record label, dBpm Records. more ›

We love old school soul music and agree with Peter Margasak's assessment of tomorrow night's choice between Mavis Staples at the Park West and Syl Johnson at the Old Town School of Folk Music being a pleasant dilemma. more ›

Two of the best old and young collaborations in recent years were the late Oscar Brown, Jr. with Kelly Hogan, and Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy. Staples, simply put, is a local treasure, able to effortlessly bridge the gap between gospel and soul with none of the self-consciousness many of us have about singing alone in the kitchen. more ›

Yeah, we know, it's been a week since this year's Lollapalooza kicked off and several days since it wrapped up. But we're just clearing out some photos and taking one last trip down Lolla Lane before we put the official wraps on this year's fest. Enjoy some of our leftover photos and photos from our Flickr Pool. Until next year... more ›

Every year, we plan and plot our attack on the megafest that is Lollapalooza and every year we run ourselves ragged trying to see it all. It's an impossible feat, trying to squeeze in as much as possible while scurrying about Grant Park, trying to get in a little of too many bands. It never works. Something goes amiss, half a set is missed, moments pass and aren't appreciated. Lollapalooza, after all, is an experience, a marathon: the music, the people, the food, etc. For better or for worse. So this year, rather than spend 15-20 minutes at each stage, we decided to target a few bands and spend a little time taking in the festival experience as a whole. After all, that's what most people do, right? Day One was bright, sunny, and warm, and while it didn't present the overbearing heat the weather can bring in early August, it was still a good day to take it easy and get the lay of the land as the marathon fest kicked off. more ›

Still looking for something to do tonight? The outstanding combo of Mavis Staples and Booker T & the MG's play the Harris Theater tonight for the Old Town School of Folk Music's annual benefit. Staples is also supporting her upcoming Live: Hope at the Hideout, a recording made this June at, well, the Hideout, that's out this Tuesday. FYI - the liner notes for the disc are by Time Out Chicago's (and former Chicagoist contributor) Scott Smith. As of post time, good tickets were still available. more ›

The Chicago Tribune’s readers nominated “Chicago blues” as their fourteenth and final nominee for the 7 Wonders of Chicago. But Chicagoist is wondering if we’ll soon speak of the blues as an ancient wonder of the city instead of a living one. more ›

While Lollapalooza is casting a big shadow over the other music events this summer, you don’t need to spend $85 (or $100 or $115) to see live music in the city. Metromix has posted dates for the various fests that celebrate local neighborhoods and musical genres this summer. Lineups for the neighborhood fests have yet to be announced but the schedules for the 21st Annual Chicago Gospel Music Festival and the 22nd Annual Chicago Blues Festival are out. Plus, they’re free. more ›

An article in The Chicago Journal last week detailed the efforts of a Japanese television crew that sought to document the last vestiges of the Maxwell Street blues scene. The authenticity of the current scene could most charitably be described as “in question” (if for no other reason but its presence on Canal Street rather than Maxwell Street. Fortunately, the flag for Chicago blues is still carried nightly by an army of local musicians in... more ›