We were excited to see dance duo Chromeo somewhere that wasn’t Congress Theater (mainly somewhere smaller) and Saturday night we got lucky when Dave 1 and P-Thugg played at the House of Blues. more ›

In the sea of independent music that Chicagoist covers from day-to-day it is very easy to muck through a bunch of promotional materials and get turned off by what seems like an insurmountable wall of same old, same old indie rock. When we got our hands on Mayer Hawthorne's debut seven-inch, Just Ain't Gonna Work Out/When I Said Goodbye, last year with it's signature heart-shaped, fire-engine-red vinyl, it was quite literally hard to miss. When we got past our love of the packaging and opened our ears we discovered what we loved even more: Hawthorne's hip-hop-flavored old-school soul sound. more ›

Robin Thicke proved to surprised audiences that a white boy could have soul with his 2006 release, The Evolution of Robin Thicke. This year sees the soul revival in full swing with the addition of Kanye-touted British crooner, Mr. Hudson, and syrup sweet Stones Throw troubadour, Mayer Hawthorne. Hawthorne, and his accompanying band, The Country, play their first Chicago show Saturday night at the Darkroom and here's why we think you should be there. more ›