Chicago

Rolling Stone by Chicago’s Kelsey Montanez RELEASED TODAY

On November 24th, Kelsey Montanez unveiled her latest single, “Rolling Stone,” a scorching ballad showcasing a unique blend of rock and roll, blues, and R&B. In this enigmatic composition, Montanez skillfully weaves a mysterious coming-of-age narrative, vividly recounting the experience of leaving home at 17. With impeccable production and an explosive backing band, “Rolling Stone” …

CHICAGO PHENOM KB MIKE DROPS NEW SINGLE “WISH YOU WELL” 

NEW YORK, NY (October 20, 2023) – Primed for a major moment, buzzing Chicago phenom KB Mike serves up his new single “Wish You Well” out today via Republic Records. Listen to “Wish You Well”: HERE On the track, strings accent a mesmerizing acoustic guitar melody, while KB Mike drops introspective bars. He opens up once again, bidding farewell to an ex. The momentum accelerates on …

Finom rerelease OHMME ep with new remixes by NNAMDÏ, claire rousay, Yuka C Honda

Shape-shifting Chicago duo Finom (fka OHMME) announces the re-release of their somewhat eponymous record, OHMME. Founded in 2014 by multi-instrumentalists/songwriters Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham, the music of Finom is an exploratory journey filled with gritty guitar madness, experimental vocal harmonies, and some pure, heartfelt songwriting. Recorded at the band’s Fox Hall home studio and self-released in 2014, OHMME launched a career …

AMERICA’S GREATEST NOVELIST, MONTANA KANE, RELEASES NEW WORK, “BOOM DAYS,” TO UNIVERSAL CRITICAL AND POPULAR APPROVAL

Amid the exciting pages of “Boom Days,” readers follow breathlessly as former Chicago detective turned small-town PI, Brandy Martini, teams up with hunky local law enforcement in the edgy mountain town of Boomville, Colorado, to track down evil forces blowing up vacation rentals and the occasional sad sack tourist inside them.  Shaken, Martini must pour …

Bring Back WGN, Chicago’s Very Own, by Mark Erickson

Television content creators have had coverage/payment disputes with cable providers for a few years now.  My first  memory of such a standoff was connected to the Big Ten Network demanding more money for its content than cable operators wanted to pay.  Currently, the nation’s second largest cable operator, Charter, has reached an impasse with Disney. The …

LOUIS THE CHILD RELEASE BRAND-NEW SINGLE “STAY WITH ME” WITH ABSOLUTELY TODAY

[Santa Monica, CA – September 8, 2023]—Today, Chicago-bred production duo, Louis The Child, release their brand-new single “Stay With Me” with UK singer-songwriter, Absolutely. The melodic track is driven by Absolutely’s powerhouse pop vocals as they float seamlessly over Louis The Child’s shimmering beats. The pair premiered the song during their recent Lollapalooza set where Absolutely joined them on stage and performed the vocals live. “Stay With Me” …

GLOBAL DANCE ARTIST JOHN SUMMIT RELEASES NEW SINGLE “FADE OUT” FEATURING MKLA

August 25, 2023 — Los Angeles, CA — Today, one of the most prominent names in dance music, John Summit, releases newly anticipated single “Fade Out” with Toronto based vocalist MKLA, via Off The Grid/ Darkroom Records. Sonically, “Fade Out” highlights John’s signature house/electro pop/trance production with a pop-sensible melody and top line. Riding the success of his summer smash “Where …

Chicago’s Born Days announces new LP & shares animated video for “My Little Dark”

Born Days is the conceptual darkwave synth-pop project from Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist singer, songwriter, and producer Melissa Harris. Her first full-length album My Little Dark is set to release on October 6, 2023, through AudioSport Records.  Harris explains the meaning of “My Little Dark”: “This song is about an extremely personal and complex relationship that is so interwoven …

Teeming Millions Adore Neptune’s Core: Band Only Believes Themselves to be “Unloved”

CHICAGO ALTERNATIVE INDIE ROCK BAND NEPTUNE’S CORE RELEASE PENT-UP PAIN WITH TRACK + LYRIC VIDEO “UNLOVED” With a gradual build, rhythmic guitar strums and explosive bridge, “Unloved,” out today, achingly sinks into feelings of loneliness and heartache. Written mostly in one sitting, Sofie Richter (vocals/guitar), says writing the song allowed her to put words to difficult, complex emotions …

Boundary-Defying, Bilingual Portland band, Die Trommeln der Jugend, Releases Wild, German-English Sonic Experiment: Harlequin Defibrillator

This amazing record has NDW, New Age, Hi-NRG, Industrial and Psychedelic vibes. It is sung in both the English and German languages. Lyrical content ranges from imminent societal collapse, American absurdism and class schisms to the inherent strangeness of being alive.  Die Trommeln der Jugend (the name translates to “the drums of youth” in English) …

Kelsey Montanez’ Innovative Yet Nostalgic Pop Hit MR.CRYBABY is Out NOW!!!

Kelsey Montanez is one of Chicago’s best kept secrets. Both intimate and ecstatic, smoky and scorching, her potent blend of blues, pop, and psychedelia has been turning heads for over a decade. Among the singer-songwriter’s many talents, it’s Montanez’s arresting voice that has captured a devoted fanbase. It comes as no surprise that her visceral …

ROCK’S HOTTEST RISING BAND THE WARNING SELECTED AS AMBASSADORS FOR PEPSI® BLACK CAMPAIGN “¿A QUE TE SABE PEPSI® BLACK?” AND NEW SINGLE “MORE” OUT NOW

NEW YORK, NY (July 2023) – PEPSI® Black has named The Warning as ambassadors for its new campaign, “¿A QUE TE SABE PEPSI® BLACK?” This marks the first collaboration between the Monterrey, Mexico hard rock sister-trio and PEPSI®. The campaign cements the band’s status as one of the hottest up-and-coming bands in the music industry. Watch the commercial HERE. The campaign “¿A QUE TE SABE PEPSI® BLACK?” aims to …

R.E.M.’s New Video for “Strange Currencies (Remix)” in Partnership with FX’s ‘The Bear’

R.E.M.’s music is featured prominently throughout Season 2 of the award-winning hit series, available now exclusively on Hulu Alt-rock pioneers R.E.M. and the team behind FX’s critically acclaimed, award-winning hit series The Bear have partnered to release a full-length music video for “Strange Currencies (Remix)”: The visual combines footage from R.E.M.’s Road Movie (documenting their 1995 tour) plus exclusive clips and behind-the-scenes footage …

GORGON CITY ANNOUNCE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ALBUM SALVATION, RELEASING JULY 21: NEW COLLAB WITH DRAMA, “LOST & FOUND,” OUT TODAY

UK electronic duo Gorgon City have returned, announcing their upcoming album Salvation, which is set for release July 21 via Astralwerks. Pre-order/pre-save here. Alongside the album announce, a rousing new single “Lost & Found” featuring DRAMA, releases today. Offering an exciting glimpse of their upcoming LP, “Lost & Found” is a blissful house anthem centered around a driving synth bassline and sumptuous vocal melodies …

CHICAGO PHENOM KB MIKE RELEASES NEW SINGLE “BLINDED BY LOVE”

NEW YORK, NY (May 23, 2023) – In position for a major breakthrough in 2023, buzzing Chicago phenom KB Mike shares a new single and video entitled “Blinded By Love” today via Republic Records. KB Mike first teased “Blinded by Love” on TikTok, inciting viral excitement right out of the gate. Reacting with listeners, it reeled in over 3 million views on videos …

Nothing But Net: Vic Mensa Shoots Off New “Swish” Single feat Chance the Rapper & G-Eazy and Scores From Downtown

Multi-platinum Grammy nominated rapper/producer Vic Mensa has released “$WISH,” his second major song of the year, via Roc Nation. The single, which reunites Vic with long time friends and collaborators Chance The Rapper and G-Eazy, is a braggadocious banger in which the three MCs trade increasingly elaborate boasts about their respective successes. “$WISH came from a writing camp me & Chance did in …

Ron Swanson’s Saturday Night Notes: Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Forbert and John Hiatt

Listening to Blonde on Blonde tonight.  I’ve always loved “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” (assuming being in the right mood). Do any of you remember the Townes Van Zant song “Sad Cinderella?”  Totally different song, but very similar structure.  I’d always wondered about that.  For what it’s worth, Dylan’s was released 2 years earlier. …

YSO x AAKASH – “Quit Calling”

Check ou R&B/Hip Hop duo YSO X AAKASH, who recently released their hypnotically melancholic single, ‘QUIT CALLING.’ The track is accompanied by a cinematic music video set in sometimes beautiful, oftentimes, evil Chicago.  Blending lush synth soundscapes and sweeping vocals, ‘QUIT CALLING’ explores the feeling of letting go of someone you still care about. Having an extensive background in classical …

AUTOGRAMM PAYS TRIBUTE TO CANADIAN LEGENDS BRIAN MCLEOD, LANCE MOUNTAIN, AND SCTV IN NEW VIDEO “TOO LOUD”

Autogramm, the synth-driven, power-pop trio from Chicago and Vancouver have released a new video for their latest single. Too Loud is the seventh official Autogramm music video and the fourth from their sophomore album No Rules. More of a short film than music video, Too Loud was shot, acted, edited, composed, and scored by the …

Celtic Punks Flatfoot 56 Join Beyond the Lamplight, Kids on Fire, and Heart Smashers to Rock an Appreciative Crowd at Seattle’s El Corazon, by Holly Homan

On the frigid Sunday evening of December 4 I ventured out to Seattle’s foremost punk club El Corazon. This time it was for Chicago Celtic punkers Flatfoot fifty Six. Though I’ve seen this band multiple times, they never cease to amaze me. They hit the stage already on fire churning out tunes complete with mandolin …

CHICAGO PHENOM KB MIKE UNLEASHES NEW SINGLE & MUSIC VIDEO “CHIRAQ”

NEW YORK, NY (December 05, 2022) – Speaking straight from the heart and delivering a must-hear statement, buzzing Chicago phenom KB Mike writes an open letter to his city with a new single and music video entitled “Chiraq” today via Republic Records. Listen to “Chiraq”: HEREWatch the “Chiraq” video: HERE On the track, emotionally charged piano and strings set the scene as KB Mike promises, “I’ll paint you a picture.” He proceeds …

Chicago’s Leif Erikson Statue is Emblematic of Wider Controversies in American Ethnic History, by Mark Erickson

Photo by Paul R. Burley – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94250424 Five centuries before Columbus made his journey to the New World, a party of Viking explorers led by Leif Eiriksson set sail from Greenland westward to the North American continent on a voyage of discovery. After the successful journey, word traveled back via …