Every time this year the ordinarily quiet neighborhood of Ukrainian Village at the intersection of Chicago and Damen is overtaken by a cavalcade of festival enthusiasts awaiting West Fest's hodge-podge collective of live music, pet and kid friendly booths, as well as your usual set of local food, bric-a-brac and art vendors. Past year’s lineups are certainly nothing to sneeze at with world-renowned acts like The Meat Puppets, Red Red Meat and Chicago rock veterans Urge Overkill. We must admit, we are even more excited about this year’s eclectic mix of live acts as curated by The Empty Bottle including such touted indie acts as Beach Fossils, F’d Up, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Chicago’s metal and dirge-driven Bloodiest. more ›

Another weekend. Another street fest. This weekend the annual West Fest closes off Chicago Avenue between Damen and Wood for two days of live music, kid and pet festivities and even an outdoor fashion show. The antithesis of the chaos formerly known as Ribfest, West Fest is the one street fest we can always count on for a relaxing afternoon. more ›

Yesterday we clued you in to the Chicago Department Of Cultural Affairs' Edible Audible Picnic noontime summer music series. The fine folks at the Department of Cultural Affairs have pulled out all the stops to make this a musically memorable summer as they follow up the lunchtime tunes with Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays, an evening series featuring both local and international indie-rock and pop voices. more ›