We've had tomorrow night's Zakir Hussain concert circled in our calendar ever since the 2011-2012 Symphony Center season was announced a year ago February, and we've had our eyes peeled for Hussain's Chicago stops ever since we saw him live for the first time at the last Masters of Percussion show two years ago. more ›

Newly appointed Peruvian Minister of Culture Susana Baca comes to Chicago for her only appearance before she returns home to resume her duties. more ›

A Columbian hip hop trio headlines today's listings. more ›

Like chocolate and peanut butter, the meshing of pan-African melodies with Cuban clave rhythms are a perfect marriage. The two have equally influenced each other from the Europeans' discovery of the Western Hemisphere to the modern day. Its synthesis has embodied over the years in projects ranging from Dizzy Gillespie's introduction to his longtime conga player Chano Pozo, to highly regarded acts like Senegal's Orchestra Baobab. more ›

On a recent trip to Woodstock, New York, we visited one of the best kitchen supply stores we've ever been in. Woodstock may be a fortress of hippitude - a tradition that dates beyond the 1969 festival (which, in any case, actually took place some forty miles away) to the 1902 establishment of the utopian arts colony Byrdcliffe - but, for just as long, the town has been a second home for many Manhattanites. These crowds coexist, even overlap, and the Gilded Carriage, a turn-of-the-20th-century house crammed with high-end wares (All-Clad, Le Creuset, etc.) and other specialty items, such as locally handmade soaps and candles, is this synthesis in microcosm. more ›

We didn't get around to reminding you last week about Music Without Borders getting underway. The weekly summer world music concert series in Millennium Park is free, though, so we owe you exactly zero dollars. Truth is, we've had today's performance by Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba circled on our calendar since we saw them at Bela Fleck's Africa Project show at the Old Town School of Folk Music back in February. more ›

From a technical proficiency standpoint, there are two types of talented musicians. The first, the regular ol' talent, is special but relatively common. The rarely-seen second contingent consists of musicians whose astonishing command is tied to movement so relaxed and fluid it's like they took up their instruments in utero. For a succinct illustration of this difference, check ut this video of a drum battle between drum legend (and Chicagoan!) Gene Krupa and drum god Buddy Rich. Zakir Hussain, master of the tabla - two small tuned hand drums, one wood, one metal - falls into the latter group. Like Rich, his playing is paradoxically calm. As an added bonus, Hussain couples his eye-popping speed with sensitive musicianship. more ›

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra released its schedule yesterday of all classical, jazz, and world music concerts happening at Symphony Center during the 2010-2011 season, as well as the general plans for Riccardo Muti's first season as the CSO's tenth music director. more ›

With our last stop on our week-long Stay-Home World Tour, we come almost full circle geographically with Tinariwen's performances this weekend at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Tinariwen's members are Tuareg, a Saharan culture which is historically nomadic but whose lives were uprooted during the region's colonization in the late 1800s and the subsequent independence in the 1960s, so the musicians have bounced between points all over north and west Africa, forming up in Algeria and somewhat more officially in a military training camp near Tripoli, Libya. more ›

Non-Western rhythms have throughout music history shown up as influences in the work of American and European artists. The Beatles, Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones and Rusted Root all nodded to worldly locales from India to South Africa, at some point in their careers. Modern indie artists have followed suit, co-opting world music, particularly pan-African influences, in a recent fever that suggests a budding trend. Fool's Gold, jj, Tanlines, The Very Best and Vampire Weekend are some of the forerunners utilizing African percussion and instrumentation to infuse pop/rock with the exotic flavors of faraway lands. more ›

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Jane’s Place is a partnership between (among other institutions) Jane Adams’ Hull House and Nettlehorst School in Lakeview. They offer classes for kids ages 20 months through 8th grade throughout the day and in the afternoon. Prices, on the expensive side, range between $100 and $200 for six, nine and ten week programs. Titles include “Toddler French”, “Unabridged Story”, “Knitting” and “World Music Drumming”. They even offer adult classes in Yoga, Jewelry Making and Egyptian Dance (hip scarf optional). Although our kid is too young to sign up, we're happy to see local public schools offering alternatives for kids this winter. more ›

It may be too cold for 70's gym shorts (a la the Pitchfork Music Festival), but you can bet that tonight's Vampire Weekend show at Schubas will double as a winter fashion show/breeding ground for Chicago's hipsterati. The NYC quartet's kinda creepy, kinda awesome take on indie rock "world music" has earned them plenty of blog love, packed houses, and a contract for their first full length release with powerhouse XL Recordings. more ›

What? You didn't think you'd go a day without reading something from us, did you? Anyway, we were cleaning up our inbox when we came across a press release trumpeting the Monday opening of Uncommon Ground's new eco-friendly Edgewater location. The space at 1401 W. Devon will feature rooftop solar thermal panels, wood table tops made using reclaimed wood from Jackson Park, a 100-year-old art deco bar and eventually a rooftop will be utilized as... more ›

Of all the city-sponsored music festivals, few utilize as much of the city limits like the World Music Festival (check out the festival's Myspace page, also). In its nine years, World Music Fest has become a showcase event, even though it lacks the resources the city pours into Blues Fest, Jazz Fest, and Viva! Chicago. Its drawn visitors to the city from around the world, done a remarkable job in shining a much-needed spotlight on... more ›

September is one of our favorite months of the year, in that there are so many things still happening for the benefit of those of us who refuse to accept our parents' notion that summer in Chicago ends on Labor Day. September brings us the Hideout Block Party, World Music Festival, and the beginning of many Oktoberfest celebrations. more ›

File this under news that makes Chicagoist sad, the HotHouse at 31 E. Balbo will be no more. According to their press release, this is not good-bye, but a mere hiatus while they look for a permanent location. Yeah, we’ve heard that kind of thing before, but it usually involves a man, not our favorite world music club. more ›

Live Nation has put the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park up for sale after an evaluation on their real estate holdings by CB Richard Ellis. If the venue is sold, it does not mean that concerts won’t be held there anymore, but it sounds pretty likely that this single-use venue could become a warehouse. With rezoning of the 110-acre property, we can imagine condos, condos, town homes, and more condos filling up the... more ›

Though our Christmas holiday was lovely enough (thanks for asking), the death of James Brown cast a pall over its early morning hours. He was a conflicted man with his share of personal and legal troubles, but in a genre that too often fails to recognize those who paved the way, James Brown’s influence over hip-hop may still be underrated, despite all his renown. The AP story on Brown’s passing is poorly written and researched,... more ›

This week marks the return of Adventures in Modern Music at the Empty Bottle. Arriving on the heels of the World Music Festival, the five-day event celebrates experimental music like the mash-up dance rock of Brazil’s Tetine, blessed-out head trips of France’s Colleen and Trapist’s space rock. A full lineup is available at the Bottle’s website, but don’t forget to see You’re Gonna Miss Me, a documentary at the Siskel Film Center on the fall... more ›

Marshall Fields’ loyalists still stewing at Macy’s takeover now have another reason to boycott or reluctantly patronize the newly rebranded stores. Macy’s has taken over sponsorship of Symphony Center’s Day of Music, and the results are rather dubious. more ›

Long before there was a League of Chicago Music Venues or a Hawk Winter Music Festival, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs (under the guidance of program director – and fellow Lane Tech grad – Michael Orlove) was bringing together the city’s club scene via the World Music Festival. After seven years, the festival has earned a place beside both Blues and Jazz Fest as one of Chicago’s premier music showcases. WMF is also one... more ›

Remember in the Star Trek movies how Kirk got demoted from Admiral after he went off looking for Spock’s body? But Starfleet still wanted him to be the captain of the Enterprise? Well, the world music mainstay HotHouse is going through something just like that with its former executive director Marguerite Horberg. more ›

Though Chicago venues for genuinely soulful jazz and blues are dwindling, city denizens could always count on Chicago Public Radio’s WBEZ for their fix of these American art forms. But come 2007, none of the three CPR stations will carry blues, jazz, or any other music programming thanks to a switch to an all-talk format. more ›

The outdoor music space formerly known as the Tweeter Center (giggle) has changed its name to something even more ridiculous. The Tinley Park “shed” is now known as the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre. You might also think the space has changed ownership, too. What was once clearly marketed as a Clear Channel property is now billed as a Live Nation venue. But a few clickthroughs at the Live Nation website will soon lead you to... more ›

Attention, lovers of live music! We’re not really sure how to put this delicately so we won’t: if you end up staying home this weekend, you’re a fucking poseur. We say this not because we are looking down from our hipper-than-thou mountain and proclaiming that WE are true music fans and YOU are not. Nay, it is the eclecticism in this weekend’s offerings that demand you get your homework done, dip into your savings, bring... more ›

For some Chicagoans, today’s World Music Festival Chicago 2005 kickoff validates our town's role as ambassador of global culture. For many more of us, this week will serve as an introduction to a glut of inventive musical stylings prompting a pledge to continue broadening our musical horizons. The most adventurous music fans can see dozens of performers from five continents at venues spanning every corner of Chicago. If you'd like a low-risk introduction, check out... more ›

Sunday night is the red-headed stepchild of the weekend, is it not? Most weeks you’re either too tired/hungover to bother consulting your social calendar or just too wrapped up in an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent (Vincent D’Onofrio, your scowl is like no other!) Every once in a while though, you want to make it three for three on the weekend and this Sunday should be one of those times as Funkadesi will be appearing at Martyr’s on the 17th in a benefit for the Young Women’s Empowerment Project. more ›

Last night at the World Music Awards, Kanye took home the trophy for Best New Male Artist. The WMAs had been held in Morocco in previous years but were brought to Las Vegas for this year�s festivities. Why? So there were no conflicts with Diamond Award winner Celine Dion�s Caesar�s Palace performances? Hmm�I guess next year we�ll see if what happens in Las Vegas always stays in Las Vegas. Anyway, back to Kanye. Last week... more ›