Baby, it's cold outside ... but Chicago's brightest musical talent is on display at a cozy venue near you. Here are some solid bets for this week: more ›

Besides free booze at office parties, too much rich food, and the stress of gift buying, the holiday season also brings a couple of music-centric certainties: "Best Of" lists and benefit concerts. Keep an eye on Chicagoist for the former, and break out your taste for lutefisk tonight for the latter. Schubas will play host to a show benefiting the Swedish Covenant Hospital and featuring a lineup ripe with Chicagoist faves, playing both original music and covers of Swedish artists. The idea s to raise some dough for the Northwest Side hospital that is trying to advance a holistic approach to medicine in Chicago, and we kinda dig that, so check it out. more ›

The Bon Mots' profile has long been on the rise, including a spot on last year's Lollapalooza bill, and it seems certain to only climb higher with the release of their sophomore effort Forty Days And Forty Nights With The Bon Mots. more ›

We alluded to it earlier, but this is one hell of a weekend for music in our fair city. One of the upswings of the indiefication of America has been the steadily improving street festival bills, so we can at least enjoy good tunes with our processed meats and flat beer, and this weekend sees two of the best line-ups all summer unfortunately going head to head with each other. The inaugural Switchyard Festival is... more ›

We were talking to a friend yesterday and they began to bemoan the fact that there were no “classic” rock bands anymore. We didn’t totally agree, since we believe there are MANY bands that “rock” out there, but we understood what they were getting at: It’s hard to find a band in the classic rock vein that plays with heart and familiarity while avoiding cliché. more ›

The Bon Mots are a band that certainly doesn’t sound like one thinks they should. Comprised of members from a number of other local bands – including the grandiose Light FM, the punky Big Angry Fish and the new-wavin’ Wes Hollywood Show – the end result would most logically be something large, bombastic and musically daunting. more ›

One of Chicagoist's favorite bands, Magnus, was recently selected as one of 2004's best unsigned bands by the Illinois Entertainer. This Friday at Metro IE is having it's Best of Around Hear showcase, featuring Magnus and two other great local bands, The Bon Mots and Canasta. more ›

Everyone says they're going to do charity work "when they have the time", but next Thursday you'll be able to do it just by going out for a few drinks. AIDSCare has organized BarAIDS, where participating bars and clubs donate a portion of the day's sales to help people living with HIV/AIDS in the greater Chicago area achieve a higher quality of life through housing, care and support services. Sponsors for the event include VOX Vodka, who will donate up to $10,000 for each VOX drink ordered, and Orbitz, which will give participating drunkards the opportunity to enter a drawing for two roundtrip airline tickets within the continental U.S. more ›