Illinois - Newslocker

Mike DFG plays the rap game as a team sport

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 20:22:00 +0200

Rising Chicago artists, whether they sign to major labels or stay independent, often partner with established local managers as their careers gain traction. South-side rapper Recoechi, fresh off last year’s Flavaz, works with John Monopoly (best known for managing Kanye West) and Alexander Fruchter (aka DJ RTC, cofounder of local label Closed Sessions). Thirteendegrees° is […]
The post Mike DFG plays the rap game as a team sport appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The power is in the people at the Chosen Few Picnic

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:10:00 +0200

In the more than 40 years since house music emerged from Chicago’s gay Black nightlife scene, it’s become vital to survival for many. Chicago-born DJ crew the Chosen Few helped turn the music into a movement, and since 1990, their annual Chosen Few Picnic has helped sustain that movement. Wayne Williams started the Chosen Few […]
The post The power is in the people at the Chosen Few Picnic appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Review: The Odyssey

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0200

The Odyssey in wide release in theaters
The post Review: The Odyssey appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Is southeast Chicago at the quantum crossroads?

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:11:00 +0200

The post Is southeast Chicago at the quantum crossroads? appeared first on Chicago Reader.

SAIC’s Palestine problem

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:01:00 +0200

Savneet Talwar is a well-respected art therapist, a subject she has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for nearly 20 years. Talwar’s approach to art therapy is rooted in anti-colonial frameworks, social justice, and intersectional feminism. One former student told the Reader she chose SAIC’s art therapy program to study with […]
The post SAIC’s Palestine problem appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Getting Wilde with SALOMÉ

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:20:00 +0200

SALOMÉ, 7/19-7/31 at United Church of Rogers Park
The post Getting Wilde with SALOMÉ appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Parts and sums

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:40:00 +0200

The Moviegoer is the diary of a local film buff, collecting the best of what Chicago’s independent and underground film scene has to offer. Movies are the sum of their parts, but those parts are also the sum of themselves. As my cinephilia continues to evolve, I find myself focusing on different things about the […]
The post Parts and sums appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Indigenous-inspired fermentation fraternity Piñatta comes out of retirement at the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:16:00 +0200

The 33-week-old anti–foie gras protest outside Lincoln Park’s Galit is a bonfire of the inanities that shows no signs of extinguishing. There are all sorts of productive measures for responding to such nontroversies. You can satirize. You can journalize. You can ignore. Or you could be moved to make something delicious, elegant, accessible, and ethically […]
The post Indigenous-inspired fermentation fraternity Piñatta comes out of retirement at the next Monday Night Fo

Disaster rehearsal

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0200

This piece was copublished with n+1 as part of City Mouse, a column by Morley Musick. At 7 AM on a Saturday in September 2025, I participated in a mass-casualty simulation drill held in the firefighter training area of O’Hare International Airport. Before the exercise began, the other volunteers and I gathered inside a retired […]
The post Disaster rehearsal appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The Huns exemplify Chicago’s joyful 1960s garage-rock explosion

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:55:00 +0200

Last year I walked into the Laurie’s Planet of Sound in Lincoln Square, and owner John Laurie handed me a copy of a new compilation called A Blast From the Cellar! Lost Gems From the ’60s Chicago Garage Rock Explosion. Released by Cheap Kiss Records in Villa Park, the album collects tracks from many killer […]
The post The Huns exemplify Chicago’s joyful 1960s garage-rock explosion appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Turning trash, and DNA, into art

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:30:00 +0200

Doyle Chappell exhibition through 8/7 at First Free Church Chicago
The post Turning trash, and DNA, into art appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Review: Our Hero, Balthazar

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Our Hero, Balthazar screening Thu 7/23 at 7 PM at Facets
The post Review: Our Hero, Balthazar appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Here comes a regular

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:56:00 +0200

Dive, through 8/1, Dark Room District at Fritzy's Tavern
The post Here comes a regular appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The Best Musical Ever is a loving but sharp-elbowed parody fest

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:39:00 +0200

The Best Musical Ever, through 8/1, Corn Productions at the Cornservatory
The post The Best Musical Ever is a loving but sharp-elbowed parody fest appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Newsies returns with Surging Films & Theatrics

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:20:00 +0200

Newsies, through 8/2, Surgings Films & Theatrics at Theater Wit
The post Newsies returns with Surging Films & Theatrics appeared first on Chicago Reader.

It’s Wall Street vs. Main Street in Dry Powder

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:57:00 +0200

Dry Powder, through 7/26, Gwydion Theatre Company at Greenhouse Theater Center
The post It’s Wall Street vs. Main Street in Dry Powder appeared first on Chicago Reader.

No Dogs in the Kitchen brings comic physicality to The Importance of Being Earnest

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:40:00 +0200

The Importance of Being Earnest, through 7/26, No Dogs in the Kitchen at Facility Theatre
The post No Dogs in the Kitchen brings comic physicality to The Importance of Being Earnest appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Tongue of a Bird marks the first flight for Rosebud Theatricals

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:18:00 +0200

Tongue of a Bird, through 8/1, Rosebud Theatricals at Greenhouse Theater Center
The post Tongue of a Bird marks the first flight for Rosebud Theatricals appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The School of Memory explores the Spanish Civil War through one family’s shifting POV

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 20:56:00 +0200

The School of Memory, through 7/19 at Theatre Y
The post The School of Memory explores the Spanish Civil War through one family’s shifting POV appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Max Subar grows into a sophisticated folk sound on his debut album

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 19:12:00 +0200

Singer-songwriter Max Subar got a feel for the local scene by gigging at house shows and playing open mikes at Uncommon Ground and the Elbo Room. In 2017, he made his recorded debut by self-releasing a rough-hewn folk EP called In a Dream. By the time he finished his third EP, an eponymous 2020 release, […]
The post Max Subar grows into a sophisticated folk sound on his debut album appeared first on Chicago Reader.