On Feb. 7, 1964, the Beatles landed at JFK airport and started the British Invasion that changed American music forever. more ›

This 1995 news clip talks about The Fab Four's concerts in Chicago between 1964 and 1966, at the height of Beatlemania. more ›

For almost three hours and over three dozen songs Paul McCartney delivered a concert set that only picked up steam as it went along. At one point in the evening we wondered just how do you critique a musical legend who still plays like he's excited to be there? Unlike other nostalgia acts who seem to be primarily motivated by ever increasing paydays, and have the stilted stage shows to prove it, McCartney wrung new life out of tunes that were were three to four times as old as quite of few of the folks in the audience. more ›

As expected, the "cute Beatle" is bringing his band to Wrigley Field for at least one concert. more ›

Chances are you've spotted the work of Bucktown photographer Jim Newberry before -- while reading about your favorite Chicago band in Spin or Rolling Stone, or catching up on the Trib. Newberry took some time out from shooting household names to answer a few questions for us. You can catch him in person tonight, actually, when he appears with several other artists Martyr's for Pecha Kucha Night: an evening by, of and for creatives. more ›

Paul McCartney is celebrating his 66th birthday by taking a road trip on Route 66. Which is how he wound up in Springfield this weekend, posing for a picture with a group of Cardinals fans at a gas station. [WBBM, Mirror, Daily Mail] more ›

If you're cramming for a test, need a post-dinner pick me up or want a Paul McCartney CD between the hours of 5:30 and 8:30 tonight, you'll have to go somewhere other than Starbucks. Nearly all of the coffee chain's locations will be closed for a company-wide education and training session for employees. Dunkin' Donuts just happens to have a promotion running today and will be giving away free lattes. Our favorite quote in the Trib's story comes courtesy of Frances Allen, Dunkin' Donuts' brand marketing officer: "We never want any customers to ever be denied access to their specialty drinks." You tell 'em, Ms. Allen. Let's draft a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Frappuncino availability. more ›

We can be scatterbrained sometimes. There's just so much cool stuff going on all the time that it's easy to forget a few things now and then. And that's exactly what happened yesterday when we neglected to give a shout out to Mr. Roger Ebert, who celebrated his birthday. There's a soft spot in our collective heart for Mr. Ebert. Long ago we forgave him for his once-scathing reviews of David Lynch films; for one,... more ›

* Chicago’s Victory Records announced this week that it will release a live CD and DVD from legendary Chicago rock band The Smoking Popes on February 26th. Thanks to a successful (and sold-out) reunion show last November, a headlining tour is planned from February 22nd to March 12th. The tour will kick off in St. Louis with the band playing an all-ages show at Creepy Crawl. More cities will be announced soon. more ›

Matt Spiegel, Radio Personality, Musician more ›

Last night, the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX. A pretty ugly game throughout, at least it was a close game from start to finish. Last night's game was only the second Super Bowl ever to go into halftime with a tie. And the first time a Super Bowl ever entered the 4th quarter tied. After 10 straight points by the Pats, the Eagles could only counter with 7 of their own before time expired, giving New England it's third NFL title in 4 seasons. more ›

Is there a bigger double-edged sword in any live music scene than the cover band and its fraternal twin, the tribute band? You could decide to form Safety Dancers: A Tribute To Men Without Hats and though you’d still have a built-in audience most clubs (at least the ones that don’t feature a “quarter draft night”) would be reluctant to book you because no matter how hard you work you’ll still be derisively referred to as “just a cover band.” With live band karaoke now the rage, most bands are finding that they have to bring a unique spin to the artists they cover in order to separate themselves from the pack. more ›