When we woke up at the hotel Sunday morning it was raining hard.  It looked like it had been raining all night.  When we left the festival the previous evening things were really muddy, and we figured it was going to be even worse today.  We checked the schedule and saw that things were getting ...view article

Umphrey’s McGee has graced almost every stage of significance in their hometown of Chicago.  So when the opportunity arises to see them in a new venue there is a palpable sense of excitement and expectation. Such was the mood when guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger followed up their ...view article

The beat and bass music of Eoto flew into the city of Chicago for a bumping end of their spring tour. Their spectacular display of vibrating beats illuminated the Portage Theater. Silver Wrapper productions put on this concert of mind blowing proportions. The first night of a two night run in Chicago, ...view article

On Wednesday, Mumford & Sons played their rescheduled Dallas show, the penultimate of the Gentlemen of the Road Tour.  The show was originally scheduled for June 11, however, due to a medical emergency involving bassist, Ted Dwane, several dates including Dallas, were moved to the end of the tour.  ...view article

Traveling down the winding one way streets in the town of Elgin, IL; to the hip, venue- bar in the downtown area called Mad Maggie's. Family Groove Company played there Friday evening thundering music through the streets. The Chicago based band drew attention to this city's suburbia, a reverse transit ...view article

As proud diehard Americana/alternative-country music lovers, my friends and I anxiously awaited the arrival of the much-anticipated film Crazy Heart. After all, every social subgroup seemed to eventually get their token movies; skaters, break-dancers, cheerleaders, cab drivers, line-order ...view article

Wintertime in the windy city is a rough experience for the residents, one positive that comes from the snowfall and bitter cold can be the opportunity to groove to the amazing music that stumbles through the city. This notion proved to be so when the Kinetic Playground sported a 3 night run of spectacular ...view article

A studio album from a band that thrives on live performances can cut both ways.  On the one hand, they’re chock-full of tight, compact songs that benefit (for good or bad) from multi-layered studio production values.  (What would the Grateful Dead’s “Terrapin Station” be without its eerie, ...view article

According to the schedule, Saturday had the potential to be a huge day.  It would also mean that there’d be a lot of walking, hitting all corners of the park.  First up was David Gans at the Camping Stage at noon.  Some people know David from his creation and hosting of the “Grateful Dead ...view article