We haven't heard much from Chicago's The Ponys, outside from an EP last year, but we hear they're holed up in their garage pop lab cocncocting delicious new tunes. The Ponys played Scion's Garage Fest last October and to hold you over until the group's new material surfaces we're proud to debut video of two live performances and an interview from the fest. more ›

The Besnard Lakes' latest album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, came out a few months ago and has been in heavy rotation ever since. Husband and wife team Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek head up this quartet, blending their voices together in dreamy, beautiful, arcing arrangements. The band comes together to create huge washes of sound that steadily but gently propel the listener ever upward. more ›

Chicago's The Ponys have ben playing shows here and there and resumed recording after an extended hiatus. Soon we'll get to hear the fruits of those labors on the Deathbed + 4 EP out April 20. To whet appetites they've set one track of the new disc to run wild all across the interwebs and we've corralled it for you below. We're digging the '80s dark goth vibe with a grit of "Check The Door” and are curious to see if that sound will permeate the rest of the EP. more ›

Jim DeRogatis uncovered this summer's line-up for the Monday after work Downtown Sound music series in Millennium Park and whoa are we impressed. We knew Hum was going to headline the Memorial Day date but nothing could have prepared us for The Besnard Lakes opening the series on May 24. Their latest opus The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night is already in the running as one of our favorite albums of 2010 and the idea of hearing its epic songs emanating from the Pritzker Pavilion is enough to make us mess our pants in glee. more ›

There’s been a subtle shift in Chicago’s independent music scene over the past year. As bands like The Ponys, The Changes, and Bound Stems are out of town more often in accordance with their newfound national attention, other hardworking bands are stepping up to establish themselves as the foundation of the city’s new music community. One of the leaders of this pack is Cracklin Moth, who has built a following on the strength of a... more ›

Pitchfork has announced that the super-affordable three-day passes for their festival, along with tickets to Friday night's bill (featuring one band we're really excited to see), are already sold-out. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are still available. But believe us when we say that with a line-up including (and this is just a teensy sampling) Cat Power, Girl Talk, Oxford Collapse, The New Pornographers, Stephen Malkmus, De La Soul, Klaxons, and The Ponys, we're sure... more ›

Well, we've been hearing about Looptopia for awhile. A big overnight festival held in the Loop, blah blah. We didn't think too much about it. We pretty much dismiss the Loop after 5 p.m. and give it up for lost on the weekends. Looptopia is obviously working hard to change all that. It's going on this Friday through early Saturday morning and since we're going to be down there, we decided to check out the... more ›

Austinist got us thinking about the Mecca that is SXSW when they compiled their list of bands allegedly playing the conference. We decided that we should google and Myspace around and see which bands from Chicago may be heading down there during Spring Break, March 14-18. The list isn’t that big yet, but that’s because everyone is doing a better job of keeping their mouths shut until the official announcement comes next week. more ›

As we noted yesterday, winter is on its way (though you’d never know it), which means it’s harder to convince yourself to leave the house and spend time seeing great live music. But it also means it’s time for Tomorrow Never Knows, the “mini-winter-indie-fest” at Schuba's, now in its third year. We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for the five-day fest that are yours for the having, if we pick your name. more ›

As we near the end of November and look to the winter, the on-sale listings begin to look a bit spare; only the hardiest of souls venture into a Chicago winter. The California band Curtains records for the Sufjantastic label Asthmatic Kitty. And while its sound resembles the delicate folk of his records, that’s like saying Rivers Cuomo and Ira Glass resemble each other because they both favor heavy glasses and sweaters. Curtains favors spare... more ›

In all the hubbub with Clusterfest, we missed out a rather significant piece of local music news: the Ponys signed with Matador Records. more ›

When Chicagoist thinks of the bands that make define our local music scene, we usually think of The M’s, The Ponys, Healthy White Baby, Lying In States, Detholz!, and Chin Up Chin Up, (and Suffrajett, of course). But when you’re looking at something from close-up, you forget that it often looks different from far away. So if you page through Blender's 5th Anniversary issue this month, you’ll see a much different crowd representing Chicago. more ›

By this point the whole fucking Valentine’s Day thing has been beaten to death. So we’re not going to say, “Oh boo-hoo, are you all alone tonight? Here’s a show to make you feel good.” No, we’re not. Instead we’re going to treat you like a bunch of grown-ups (well, most of you at least) and just clue you in to some rawkin’ live music this evening. As far as local groups go, The Ponys... more ›

As the Lollapalooza lineup grows (...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, The Ponys, Ben Kweller, Mark Farina, Drive-by Truckers, and the (International) Noise Conspiracy and have all recently been added), a few more of the acts find their way to Chicago this week giving you the chance to see them in their natural environments before they are allowed to roam free in the grassy expanses of Grant Park. more ›

Chicagoist thinks it's interesting that our city seems to specialize in certain art forms - namely comics, improv comedy, and music. And the cover story of this week's New City offers a peek into that latter group, the great local music scene. In an article listing "Ten Bands on the Verge" � Chicagoist wonders on the verge of what, exactly? � music critic Dave Chamberlain calls out his favorite up-and-coming hometown acts. While sorting through the fray, he makes a few pithy, dead-on remarks about Chicago music, like "The rest of the world lumps Chicago's indie-rock bands together � and that's not necessarily a good thing" and "Chicago is strewn with with the corpses of bands that burned out and fractured before their star rose." more ›