• Mike Reed’s new ensemble the Separatist Party celebrate their debut LP

    Mike Reed’s new ensemble the Separatist Party celebrate their debut LP
    Mike Reed thinks big. He’s an accomplished organizer who helped conceive the Pitchfork Music Festival. His two venues, the Hungry Brain and Constellation, serve not only to support the local creative-music community but also to foster a dialogue between it and similar scenes in other states and abroad. And when he turns to leading a […]
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  • Chicago trio Joey Nebulous celebrate their wacky, heartfelt new indie-rock album at Schubas

    Chicago trio Joey Nebulous celebrate their wacky, heartfelt new indie-rock album at Schubas
    Indie rocker Joseph Farago sings in a falsetto that can get nearly as high a teenager singing chipmunk style with a lungful of helium. He leads the band Joey Nebulous, which he formed as an Oberlin student in 2015, and he now lives in Chicago, where he’s also played in the bands Jodi and Tenci. […]
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  • Deeper make cold postpunk shine bright on their Sub Pop debut

    Deeper make cold postpunk shine bright on their Sub Pop debut
    Chicago band Deeper can translate chilly UK postpunk into a midwestern dialect—their music has lots of space and lakeshore bluster, and these guys have clearly spent uncounted hours packed into an unheated van driving to out-of-town gigs. Since issuing their 2020 breakthrough, Auto-Pain, Deeper have expanded their lineup from three to four with the addition […]
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  • There’s a mouse in my house

    There’s a mouse in my house
    The week I moved into my first one-bedroom apartment in Rogers Park, I was excited to have a space of my own. Unfortunately, the mice that infested the building were just as excited about my arrival. Three days into my move, I unlocked my front door to find a mouse jumping at my trash can, […]
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  • Maus in wartime

    Maus in wartime
    It’s common knowledge in the book business that a well-publicized ban can lead to a short-term spike in sales. Take Art Spiegelman’s two-volume graphic novel Maus for example, which tells the story of his parents’ experience in the Holocaust, as told to him much later by his father. After it was banned by a Tennessee […]
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  • Editor’s note: rats!

    Editor’s note: rats!
    When I was around five years old, my mother and I were standing on Canal Street near what is now called the Ogilvie Transportation Center. I had my back to the street, eyes on my mom. There was a rumbling under the ground and I remember watching the aglet from my shoelace shake a little. […]
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  • For decades, Scabby the rat has stood for workers’ rights

    For decades, Scabby the rat has stood for workers’ rights
    What does a 20-foot-tall inflatable rat have to do with the long history of public expression in the labor rights movement? The answer: a lot more than you’d expect.
    The post For decades, Scabby the rat has stood for workers’ rights appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  • Chicago hip-hop godfather Duro Wicks celebrates his birthday with a bash to remember

    Chicago hip-hop godfather Duro Wicks celebrates his birthday with a bash to remember
    Chicago hasn’t always been welcoming of hip-hop. In the late 80s and early 90s, its artistic viability was often overlooked or ignored by local clubs and radio stations. That disregard lasted long enough that when Chicago hip-hop finally blew up internationally years later, many people were blindsided. But those in the know have always been […]
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  • Black Man Wrongfully Jailed For 16 Years Fatally Shot By Police

    Black Man Wrongfully Jailed For 16 Years Fatally Shot By Police
    Photo: Getty Images
    A Black man who was exonerated after 16 years of wrongful imprisonment was shot and killed by a Georgia deputy during a traffic stop.
    On Monday (October 16), 53-year-old Leonard Allan Cure was fatally shot by a Camden County deputy, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a statement per People.
    After being pulled over, Cure got out of his car and was compliant until he was told he was being arrested, according to the GBI.
    “After not complying with the deputy&
  • Piñatta paints the tortilla black at the next Monday Night Foodball

    Piñatta paints the tortilla black at the next Monday Night Foodball
    Back in October 2015 Burger King’s limited edition black-bunned Halloween Whopper provided an unanticipated spooky surprise: it turned people’s poop green. Such a thing never would have happened in October 1492 when most people in the western hemisphere were mostly eating plants—and didn’t eat artificial food coloring. Or burgers. Such a thing will not happen […]
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  • Josh Piotrowski, DIY haunted-house builder and noise musician

    Josh Piotrowski, DIY haunted-house builder and noise musician
    Josh Piotrowski was born to make you scream. The 41-year-old Chicago native grew up in Albany Park as part of a family full of haunt enthusiasts, including a younger sister who worked on a haunted trail for the Park District. In his late teens and early 20s, he worked in costume shops and party-planning stores, […]
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  • Target: rats

    Target: rats
    My hair is neatly combed these days, no longer the “rat’s nest” my mom affectionately called it when I was a child. But, as I enter Harold Washington Library on a recent autumn day, I still feel an affinity for the creature multiple mayors have identified as Chicago’s top public enemy. I’m here to look […]
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  • Chicago Reader Volume 53, No. 1

    Chicago Reader Volume 53, No. 1
    Chicago Reader Volume 53, No. 1. October 19, 2023. The Rats Issue.The post Chicago Reader Volume 53, No. 1 appeared first on Chicago Reader.
  • An art project visualizes the migrant crisis

    An art project visualizes the migrant crisis
    Oscar B. Castillo and Wil Sands’s ongoing project “BordersCruzadas: A Collaborative Story,” on view at the new Community Engagement Hub on Columbia College Chicago’s 600 S. Michigan campus, forces viewers to confront ingrained assumptions about American exceptionalism. Part photography, part archival material, “BordersCruzadas” features Castillo and Sands’s documentarian work completed over the past year as […]
    The post An art project visualizes
  • Rats—now and forever

    Rats—now and forever
    Rats run rampant on Chicago streets, but on Chicago stages? Not so much. Kids’ productions of Charlotte’s Web may shine a light now and again on Templeton, the sneaky (but ultimately praiseworthy) barn rat who helps save Wilbur’s life, as well as Charlotte’s progeny. Some versions of The Nutcracker go with a Rat King instead […]
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  • EXPLR Ignites Youth Passion for STEM with National Online Competition

    EXPLR Ignites Youth Passion for STEM with National Online Competition
    Students of color from grades 6-12 are encouraged to apply for this first-ever STEM challenge. Deadline is Nov. 12.
    STEM education, encompassing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is life — literally. Everyone from physicists to electricians and everyone in between utilizes it in some form or fashion. At its highest use, it can effect genuine, sustainable change in our communities by tackling the most critical issues of our time. 
    That’s the message that EXPLR, a
  • Black Family Wins 12-Year Court Battle With Stranger Trying To Take Land

    Black Family Wins 12-Year Court Battle With Stranger Trying To Take Land
    Photo: Getty Images
    A Black family has successfully fought off a stranger who’s been trying to take their land in Alabama for the past 12 years, per Insider.
    Michael Robinson said his family inherited 127 acres of land in Barlow Bend, Alabama after his grandfather Joe Ely died. Robinson was unaware of the inheritance until a stranger, James E. Deshler, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to “force them to sell their shares of their land.”
    Deshler had previously purchased 1/15 of the
  • The Chicago Public Library Foundation invites you to make the future now

    The Chicago Public Library Foundation invites you to make the future now
    Join Colson Whitehead, Rebecca Makkai, Richard Hunt, and Bob Wislow on November 1 to celebrate the power of public libraries. This November, the Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards returns for its 23rd year, in celebration of the Chicago Public Library’s 150-year legacy of serving Chicagoans through community-building and access to information while highlighting the crucial […]
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  • Carolyn Adams Ticket for the Cure saves lives in Illinois

    Carolyn Adams Ticket for the Cure saves lives in Illinois
    Senator Mattie Hunter shares the backstory of the first Illinois Lottery specialty ticket dedicated to breast cancer support The Carolyn Adams Ticket for the Cure (TFTC) is an Illinois Lottery specialty ticket where 100 percent of profits go towards breast cancer research and support services in Illinois. Initiated by Senator Mattie Hunter and Senate President […]
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  • Gladys Knight Brings Down the House at the Hard Rock

    Gladys Knight Brings Down the House at the Hard Rock
    Seven-time Grammy Award Winning Empress of Soul Gladys Knight brought the house down in front of a sold-out crowd at the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana this past Sunday.
    For those who’ve never seen the legendary singer in concert, you are missing an extraordinary experience. At 79, Ms. Knight still hits every alto note beautifully, especially when singing fan favorites. 
    The Hard Rock in Gary, unlike many other venues in America, cherishes the rich history of great Black American m
  • Gladys Knight Brings Down the House at Horseshoe Hammond

    Gladys Knight Brings Down the House at Horseshoe Hammond
    Seven-time Grammy Award Winning Empress of Soul Gladys Knight brought the house down in front of a sold-out crowd at the Horseshoe Hammond this past Sunday.
    For those who’ve never seen the legendary singer in concert, you are missing an extraordinary experience. At 79, Ms. Knight still hits every alto note beautifully, especially when singing fan favorites. 
    The Horseshoe Hammond in Indiana, unlike many other venues in America, cherishes the rich history of great Black American music.
  • Gladys Knight Brings Down the House at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana

    Gladys Knight Brings Down the House at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
    Seven-time Grammy Award Winning Empress of Soul Gladys Knight brought the house down in front of a sold-out crowd at the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana this past Sunday.
    For those who’ve never seen the legendary singer in concert, you are missing an extraordinary experience. At 79, Ms. Knight still hits every alto note beautifully, especially when singing fan favorites. 
    The Hard Rock in Gary, unlike many other venues in America, cherishes the rich history of great Black American m
  • The Carr Report: Investing 101…A Beginner’s Guide to Building Wealth

    The Carr Report: Investing 101…A Beginner’s Guide to Building Wealth
    Couple discussing their finances and planning retirement with a trusted agent at home. – Getty Images stock photo
    There’s a big difference between building your income and building wealth. Building your income is about increasing your earning potential by developing your knowledge and/or skill allowing you to become more marketable. Building wealth is about purchasing assets that increase in value and/or generate income. Building wealth ensures you continue to maintain your standard
  • MR. SONNY KNOWS for Oct. 18

    MR. SONNY KNOWS for Oct. 18
    The post MR. SONNY KNOWS for Oct. 18 appeared first on Chicago Defender.
  • National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Meets in the Big Easy This Weekend

    National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Meets in the Big Easy This Weekend
    The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation brings their 6th Annual NJOF Directors and Planners meeting to New Orleans, Oct. 19 – Oct. 22.  
    Founded by Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr. M.D. (1956-2018), NJOF achieved passage of the National Juneteenth Independence Day legislation in 2021 under the leadership of President Steve Williams. 
    Williams recently said,  “As we celebrate the founding of the NJOF and the first success of our mission in advocating for the federal
  • 1 Student Dead In Jackson State University Shooting

    1 Student Dead In Jackson State University Shooting
    Photo: Getty Images
    A shooting at Jackson State University left one student dead.
    On Monday (Oct. 16), classes were suspended at the HBCU after student Jaylen Burns was killed in an on-campus shooting, President Elayne Hayes-Anthony said.
    Burns was taken to the hospital and later died after shots were reportedly fired at the University Pointe Apartment Complex on the Valley Street side of campus, according to the president.
    Hayes-Anthony said Burns, an industrial technology major, was a leader o

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