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The Chicago Reader

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Music, Gossip Wolf Apr 13, 2021
A new Zoom opera honors the health-care workers fighting COVID

Plus: Country cat Lawrence Peters leads a workshop for aspiring record collectors, and rapper Defcee drops an expanded version of his latest EP.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Bellissima Opera, On Call: COVID-19, Working in Concert, Christine Steyer, David Shenton, Carl Ratner, premiere, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Lawrence Peters, Lawrence Peters Outfit, Country, My Way, Lumpen Radio, Golden Horse Ranch Band, Old Town School of Folk Music, record collector, So, You Want to Be a Record Collector, Defcee, Ceenick, Nick Arcade, Rich Jones, Add-2

Music, Music Feature Jan 6, 2021
Video
In 1971 the Reader’s free classifieds hosted a future folk star

Music discovery has changed a lot in 50 years, but the Reader is still around—and so is Bonnie Koloc.
- By Salem Collo-Julin
- Tags: Music Feature, Bonnie Koloc, Old Town School of Folk Music, music venue, COVID-19, music venues, 50th anniversary, folk music, Old Town, John Prine, After All ThisTime, Earl of Old Town, Fifth Peg, Angel From Montgomery, Ed Holstein, Jazzman, Studs Terkel, Chicago Reader, classifieds, 1971, Video

Music, Music Feature Nov 5, 2020
Disharmony at the Old Town School

The new teachers’ union fears the administration is treating them like commodities, not inspirations.
- By Mark Guarino
- Tags: Music Feature, Old Town School of Folk Music, Old Town School, Bau Graves, union, contract, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Armitage, Robert Bruno, Labor Education Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Jim Newcomb, Dave Zibell, National Labor Relations Board, Boeing, C.J. Hawking, Arise Chicago, Dona Benkert, Chris Walz, Richard Beasley Maloney, New York University, Renee Nanzer, Lindsay Weinberg, Mike Warner, Franczek, Ernest Dawkins

City Life, Public Service Announcement Oct 9, 2020
Indigenous Peoples' Day and other upcoming celebrations

Upcoming events and recommendations from our listings coordinator
- By Salem Collo-Julin
- Tags: Public Service Announcement, listings, events, exhibitions, museums, Field Museum, Indigenous Peoples' Day, Frank Waln, Old Town School of Folk Music, Mitchell Museum, American Indian Center, Santiago X, Wilco, concerts, Kurt Elling, Green Mill, livestream, 16th Street Theater, Chicago Public Art Group, Portage Park

Music, Gig Poster of the Week Oct 7, 2020
Let the bird take the wheel on the gig poster of the week

This week’s featured gig poster was created by Chicagoland graphic designer Mereya Lachel Goetzinger-Blanco, incorporating art by Frederick McDonald.
- By Salem Collo-Julin
- Tags: Gig Poster of the Week, gig poster, gig poster of the week, concerts, livestream, indigenous, hip-hop, rock music, Old Town School of Folk Music, American Indian Center, visual art, Frederick McDonald, Mereya Lachel Goetzinger-Blanco, Frank Waln, Opliam, V4Loops

Music, Music Feature Oct 2, 2020
Spelunking in the Reader of 1971

The music ads in the paper’s very first issues add context—and curiosities—that the stories alone can’t provide.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Chicago Reader, Behind Our Scenes, archives, bound volumes, ads, advertisements, classifieds, anniversary, birthday, 50th, Wesley Willis, Fred Anderson, David Mamet, Stuart Gordon, McLuhan, Bonnie Koloc, Old Town School of Folk Music, Sound Post, 1971, 1970s, Chicago Reader's 50th anniversary

City Life, Public Service Announcement Sep 11, 2020
Readings, livestreams, and drunk farmers

Upcoming events and distractions from our listings coordinator
- By Salem Collo-Julin
- Tags: Public Service Announcement, listings, events, livestream, online, concerts, performance art, puppets, Ohmme, Richard Thompson, Gordon Lightfoot, karaoke, The Hideout, Constellation, ACRE Residency, ACRE Projects, LVL3 Gallery, Wicker Park, Wisconsin, Melkbelly, Old Town School of Folk Music

City Life, Public Service Announcement Aug 21, 2020
Wherever you go, there you are

Upcoming events and distractions from our listings coordinator
- By Salem Collo-Julin
- Tags: Public Service Announcement, listings, events, calendar, road trips, vacation, COVID-19, stay-at-home, South Side, Jeff Tweedy, Chicago Tap Theatre, Square Roots, Old Town School of Folk Music, Metallica, Chicago Drive-In, Center on Halsted, livestream

Music, Music Feature Aug 5, 2020
Video
Goodbye to songwriter Michael Smith

With “The Dutchman” and other widely recorded songs, he created emotional realities that let you feel along with his characters.
- By Mark Guarino
- Tags: Music Feature, Michael Smith, Michael P. Smith, Michael Peter Smith, Barbara Barrow, Jamie O’Reilly, The Dutchman, Crazy Mary, Ballad of Dan Moody, Panther in Michigan, Spoon River, Sister Clarissa, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, Frank Galati, The Grapes of Wrath, Blair Thomas, Moby Dick, the Flick, Coral Gables, David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, Steve Martin, Juarez, Decca, Earl of Old Town, Suzy Bogguss, Tom Russell, John Gorka, Jerry Jeff Walker, David Allan Coe, Celtic Thunder, Jimmy Buffett, Tony Award, Love Stories, Time, The Snow Queen, Victory Gardens, Lookingglass, Chris Farrell, I Brought My Father With Me, Ballad of Elizabeth Dark, We Become Birds, Old Town School of Folk Music, folk, folk music, Michael Bloomfield, Fred Neil, Fred Willard, Kingston Trio, Video

Music, Music Feature May 26, 2020
Sima Cunningham’s greatest moment in Chicago music history

The Ohmme cofounder spent years in a children’s choir that sang for the Dalai Lama—and she hopes to help such groups continue nurturing young musicians.
- By Sima Cunningham and Ayana Contreras
- Tags: Music Feature, Sima Cunningham, Ohmme, Ayana Contreras, Year of Chicago Music, Arts & Business Council of Chicago, A&BC, COVID-19, raffle, #ChiMusic35, Fantasize Your Ghost, Joyful Noise, Charles Rumback, Twin Peaks, Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Children’s Choir of Chicago, Dalai Lama, Gallery 37, Old Town School of Folk Music, Citywide Jazz, Hezekiah Walker, I Need You to Survive

City Life, Public Service Announcement Apr 21, 2020
Zoom over to these online classes

So you can stop hearing “Yeah, no, you’re still on mute” once and for all
- By Salem Collo-Julin
- Tags: Public Service Announcement, online classes, Zoom, Skype, Photoshop, MOOCs, Plant Chicago, 6018 North, Old Town School of Folk Music

Music, Music Feature Apr 8, 2020
Video
Did John Prine die for Donald Trump’s sins?

The cruelty, ignorance, and incompetence of the federal pandemic response have cost the life of a beloved singer-songwriter who stood against all those things.
- By Mark Guarino
- Tags: Music Feature, John Prine, obituary, obit, RIP, death, died, coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore, Some Humans Ain’t Human, Bruce Springsteen, Miranda Lambert, Rodney Crowell, Bon Iver, Robbie Fulks, Maywood, Proviso East High School, Melrose Park, Old Town School of Folk Music, Earl of Old Town, Somebody Else’s Troubles, Steve Goodman, Holstein’s, Ed Holstein, Fred Holstein, A Good Time, Fifth Peg, Andrew Calhoun, Waterbug Records, Atlantic Records, Donald and Lydia, Sam Stone, Hello in There, Bob Dylan, Angel From Montgomery, Mark Dvorak, The Tree of Forgiveness, Grammy, Lifetime Achievement Award, In Spite of Ourselves, Josh Caterer, Smoking Popes, Margo Price, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell, Roger Waters, My Morning Jacket, Paul Westerberg, Bettye LaVette, Swamp Dogg, Pete Seeger, Slicker Sam’s, Sweet Revenge, Video

Music, Concert Preview Feb 14, 2020
Recommended
Indie children’s musician Justin Roberts reflects on his newfound fatherhood on Wild Life
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Concert Preview, Justin Roberts, Wild Life, Evanston, children’s music, Montessori, Minneapolis, Old Town School of Folk Music, Grammy, Lisa Kaplan, Nora O’Connor, Gerald Dowd, Anna Steinhoff, Recommended

Music, Concert Preview Jan 31, 2020
Recommended Video
iLe creates new old school sounds from the island of enchantment
- By Catalina Maria Johnson
- Tags: Concert Preview, iLe, Calle 13, Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar, iLevitable, Puerto Rico, Almadura, Hurricane Maria, bomba, Afro-Caribbean, Old Town School of Folk Music, Latin American, Recommended, Video

Music, Concert Preview Oct 3, 2019
Recommended Video
Sicangu Lakota rapper Frank Waln chronicles the sounds of the seventh generation rising
- By Catalina Maria Johnson
- Tags: Concert Preview, Frank Waln, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Old Town School of Folk Music, Sicangu Lakota, hip-hop, South Dakota, Columbia College Chicago, Plains people, Columbus Day, NuFolk Rebel Alliance, Opliam, Liam MacDonald, seventh generation, Recommended, Video

Reader, Reader events Jun 28, 2019
Chicago Reader Pride Block Party 2019
- By Reader staff
- Tags: Reader Events, Pride, Chicago Reader Pride Block Party, Marz Community Brewing, Chicago Reader, Drag Queen Story Hour, Lucy Stoole, DJ Duane Powell, Sandra Antongiorgi, Nue Vodka, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Ms. Blakk for President, Old Town School of Folk Music, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Sprint, Vocalo, Young Chicago Authors, Windy City Times, Erik Kommer, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, Marz Community Brewing Co.

Columns & Opinion, On Culture Dec 21, 2018
Tired of solicitations from big nonprofits? We have just the solution for you!

With the Executive Pay Test, it’s easier than ever to decide which group deserves your hard-earned cash!
- By Deanna Isaacs
- Tags: On Culture, Arts nonprofits, executive salaries, seasonal donations, executive pay test, Northwestern University, Morton Schapiro, salary creep, Lyric Opera, Anthony Freud, Sir Andrew Davis, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Jeff Alexander, Riccardo Muti, MCA, Madeleine Grynsztejn, Goodman Theatre, Roche Schulfer, Chicago Shakespeare, Criss Henderson, Barbara Gaines, Goodman Theatre, Robert Falls, Art Institute, James Rondeau, Old Town School of Folk Music, Bau Graves

Music, Gossip Wolf Sep 11, 2018
Honoring Englewood’s musical history with a cast of hundreds

Plus: Devin Shaffer outdoes her own dreamy folk on Yarrow’s latest, and throwback garage-pop act Cut Worms celebrates a cassette release of its debut full-length.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Quantum Englewood, Ernest Dawkins, Rahul Sharma, Old Town School of Folk Music, Live the Spirit Residency, Music Moves Chicago, Joyce Foundation, Lindblom Academy, Ben LaMar Gay, Maggie Brown, Funkadesi, AACM, Live the Spirit Jazz Ensemble, Fernando Jones’s Blues Kids, Soul Children Gospel Choir, Bucket Boys, Devin Shaffer, Yarrow, Cluster, Manic Static, Cut Worms, Max Clarke, Hollow Ground, At Home, Jagjaguwar, Dumpster Tapes, Schubas

Music, In Rotation Jul 24, 2018
Video
R&B artist Jordanna on burning down the patriarchy, then getting a manicure

Plus: Violinist and composer Lucy Little on French-Cuban twins who’ll get you moving, Reader music editor Philip Montoro on a posthumous reissue by an amazing Senegalese griot, and more
- By Philip Montoro
- Tags: In Rotation, Aby Ngana Diop, Liital, Senegal, taasukat, taasu, mbalax, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Body Void, I Live Inside a Burning House, Will Ryan, Old Town School, Old Town School of Folk Music, workshops, percussion, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, Lucy Little, Sampha, Process, Blood on Me, (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano, Ibeyi, River, Ólafur Arnalds, Eulogy for Evolution, Thalia Hall, Jordanna, Kari Faux, Insecure, Lost en Los Angeles, Nai Palm, Needle Paw, Hiatus Kaiyote, Jason Guwanbal Gurruwiwi, the Internet, Ego Death, Special Affair, Video

Blogs, Bleader Jun 27, 2018
Conjuring a cuddly spirit on the gig poster of the week

This week's featured gig poster was created by Jay Ryan of the Bird Machine.
- By Luca Cimarusti
- Tags: Gig Posters, Music, Visual Art, gig poster, gig posters, gig poster of the week, Jay Ryan, the Bird Machine, Mountain Goats, Old Town School of Folk Music

Blogs, Bleader Jun 4, 2018
Hairspray at Pritzker Pavilion and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

The film A Quiet Place and more goings-on 6/4-6/7.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Music, Film, lillie mae, szold hall, old town school of folk music, brandee younger, lyon & Healy harps, mdou moctar, tuareg, maurer hall, hairspray, john waters, pritzker pavilion, millennium park, jiri trnka, gene siskel film center, a quiet place, John Krasinski, having our say, goodman theatre, Monsieur d’Éon Is a Woman

Blogs, Bleader Dec 1, 2017
The Reader’s Made in Chicago Holiday Market, and more of the best things to do this weekend

Christmas and Winter Beer Festival at Delilah's, and more goings-on about town the weekend of December 1-3
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, pine, uncommon ground, made in chicago holiday market, winter beer festival, delilahs, the revival, t murph, faded, interview show, mark bazer, old town school of folk music, jessica easto, read it and eat, craft coffee

Blogs, Bleader Nov 29, 2017
The Old Town School turns 60 and celebrates with a podcast

The venerable folk-music school shares stories from its own colorful history.
- By Aimee Levitt
- Tags: History, Music, Old Town School of Folk Music, Mareva Lindo, Win Stracke, Frank Hamilton, Ella Jenkins, ethnomusicology, Gerry Armstrong, George Armstrong, Rebecca Armstrong

Music, Music Feature Nov 8, 2017
Video
Sights to see at CIMMfest

The Chicago International Movies & Music Festival makes its November debut with feature films about David Bowie, queer punk, New Orleans piano, gospel quartets, Ozzfest, Malian traditional music, and lots more.
- By Leor Galil, Peter Margasak, J.R. Jones, Tal Rosenberg, Luca Cimarusti, Jamie Ludwig, and Reece Pendleton
- Tags: Music Feature, CIMMfest, Chicago International Movies & Music Festival, movies, festival, CIMMfest Spring Fling Thing, We Sold Our Souls for Rock ’n’ Roll, Tom Rush: No Regrets, Scream for Me Sarajevo, Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution, The Public Image Is Rotten, Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together, It Must Make Peace, How They Got Over, Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story, The Decline of Western Civilization Part III, Penelope Spheeris, Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, The Decline of Western Civilization, John Lydon, PiL, Public Image Ltd, Mali, gospel, Bruce Dickinson, Ozzfest, Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, Isidore “Tuts” Washington, Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls, Toumani Diabate, Afel Bocoum, Lou Ottens, Davis Theater, Comfort Station, Old Town School of Folk Music, 2350 Last Call: The Neo Story, GMan Tavern, David Bowie: The Last Five Years, Video

Blogs, Bleader Jul 24, 2017
Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! in Millennium Park, and more things to do in Chicago this week

I Saw You at Town Hall Pub, Forms and Features: Poetry Comics at the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, and other happenings July 24-27
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, steve earle and the dukes, old town school of folk music, forms and features, center for intuitive and outsider art, chopin theatre, bruised orange, i saw you, a fools journey, misfit cabaret, amy krouse rosenthal, carrie secrist gallery, tim and eric, the vic, steve gadlin, heidecker, wareheim, jane, abortion and the underground, pride arts center, pritzker pavilion, wait wait don't tell me, peter sagal

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