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The Matchmaker is a good bet at Theatre Above the Law

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:41:00 +0200

The Matchmaker, through 6/28, Theatre Above the Law at Jarvis Square Theater
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Damn Yankees brings old-fashioned charm to Theo

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:26:00 +0200

Damn Yankees, through 7/5, Theo at the Fred Anzevino Theatre, Evanston
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Going Bacharach focuses on the music rather than biography

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:10:00 +0200

Going Bacharach: The Songs of a Icon, through 6/21 at Apollo Theater Chicago
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A Black woman and an Irish man share romance and literary references in keerah

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:49:00 +0200

keerah, through 6/28 at Definition Theatre
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Event discovery platform EverOut launches in Chicago

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:00:00 +0200

CHICAGO, IL — Noisy Creek announced today the expansion of event discovery platform EverOut to Chicago, alongside advertising launch partners Goose Island Beer Company and 16” on Center. First launched in 2019 by The Stranger in Seattle and the Portland Mercury, EverOut currently boasts over 700,000 users in both cities. The platform combines curated expert […]
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A heated rivalry between sports and politics

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:33:00 +0200

Seven months ago, Loyola grad student Nathan Perl first fed his curiosity for amateur adult hockey at the Warren Park ice rink, armed with no hockey experience and a used pair of skates. But his passion for the ice germinated inside his shared studio apartment as he beheld his Samsung TV. Born in Colorado, Perl […]
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‘Let’s find out who you are’

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Matthew Keller, 47, is from all over, but he grew up in northwest Ohio. “I went to college and got my bachelor’s degree and lived my life,” he told me. “And then I decided at fortysomething, I was going to move back to Ohio and buy a Victorian house. And I did that, and I […]
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Pidgeon and Sarah-Ji’s 16-year friendship embodies the expansiveness of queer chosen family

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

Despite the structural barriers to traveling between Chicago’s 77 community areas, many friends are willing to face the city’s geographic hurdles and sustain relationships that transcend race, gender, age, and class. In an effort to chronicle human connection and love in spite of these challenges, the Going the Distance series examines the enduring friendships between […]
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Chicago drag shows up and shows out

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

“Drag performers fill a lot of roles in the community, and one that we’ve always filled from the beginning is—not only the jester or the town crier—but the community organizer, the person that brings people together,” says legendary drag performer Lucy Stoole. Lucy learned early on that organizing and community support were just part of […]
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Chicago Reader Volume 55, Number 17

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:20:00 +0200

Chicago Reader Volume 55, No. 17. June 2026.
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Where Chicago’s leather history lives

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Social Fabric is a glimpse into the vibrant lives, objects, and spaces that shape our city, cocurated with community archives and local photographers. There is a former synagogue on North Greenview Avenue in Rogers Park that holds the memory of a world most people don’t know exists. The Leather Archives & Museum is one of […]
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‘We really try to be a place where they can be themselves’

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Back in March, Jackalope Theatre Company produced the first show for young audiences in their history. The Dress-Up Play, written by Juliet Kang Huneke and directed by Karina Patel, showed four kids (played by adults) in a play session where they tried on clothes and took on characters, all while sharing aspects of their own […]
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Queer Wrath

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Recently, I saw Derry Queen start her headlining set for a comedy variety show at the Hideout by announcing a fake Snapple sponsorship. “The brand paid me $500 to say this,” she said, as she unfolded a piece of paper, then composed herself for the audience. “Throw this down your throat, faggots!” That’s kind of […]
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Gamjatang at To Soc Chon

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0200

A popular saying in Korea, “Fight fire with fire,” argues that the best way to cool down during the sweltering summer months is to sip on a hot bowl of soup. The method may seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually scientifically proven. Raising your internal temperature triggers your body’s thermoregulation response; in other words, it makes […]
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Support Illinois’ fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by purchasing a 7X Bingo Multiplier ticket

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

The Illinois Lottery has a long-standing history of launching specialty tickets that spread awareness and support worthy causes impacting our local communities. In 2008, the state of Illinois launched the Quality of Life Illinois Lottery game, the nation’s first lottery ticket that would designate funds to support HIV/AIDS education, prevention programs, and services. So far, […]
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Spend your summer immersed in art and performance at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

For nearly 60 years, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) has sought to nurture and showcase some of the world’s most-renowned interdisciplinary contemporary artists. Nestled into the heart of the city, just off Michigan Ave near the Water Tower and John Hancock building, the MCA has grown to become home to a collection of […]
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Southeast Spotlight: The Bodi Shop

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

The Bodi Shop8754 S. Stony Island Ave, Hours by class and appointment(773) 930-9022, calendly.com/arithebodi, Instagram @arithebody Summertime Chicago is officially here, and so is your summer body. Yes really, because at The Bodi Shop, fitness meets fun. It’s not about becoming an influencer on social media for this crew, it’s about influencing those around you […]
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Southeast Spotlight: PODS School + Developmental Center

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

PODS School + Developmental Center1401 E. 79th Street, Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM(773) 221-7171, projectorg.com, hello@projectorg.com, Instagram @podspreschooldevcenter, Facebook: PodsPreschool At PODS School + Developmental Center, children get to be kids. Safely, joyfully, on field trips to museums and trampoline parks, in inclusive classrooms built around curiosity, in a building on East 79th Street where every […]
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In 32 years of incarceration, memories of my great-grandmother have kept me from disappearing into the system

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

I keep the picture pressed between thin, worn pages. It’s creased at the edges, softened by time, like my childhood memories. Every time I open my Bible, it falls to the same page where it sits, as if guided by something greater than habit. And there is Ruth: my great-grandmother, my anchor, my first teacher […]
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Jackie Robinson West’s title strip remains an open wound for south siders

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Recently, I watched a documentary detailing the events of 12 years ago that rocked Black Chicago in a way where the sheer mention of what took place could negatively impact someone’s mood. One Golden Summer tells the story of Jackie Robinson West, the first all-Black baseball team to win the U.S. bracket of the Little […]
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Flowers in the mirror, moon in the water

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0200

“Martin Wong: Chinatown USA" through 7/18 at Wrightwood 659
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Don’t call it a Philly when Windy City Burger Social Club returns to the next Monday Night Foodball

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:06:00 +0200

Nas Masoud’s cheesesteak took ten months to perfect. “I was in Philly a couple years ago, and I went to Angelo’s,” says Masoud, the peripatetic sandwhichero behind Logan Square’s South Loop Market. “They’re one of the top-ranked cheesesteaks—and it changed my life. So I got the inspiration to create my version, and it took me […]
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In bed with Andrew Sa

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:48:00 +0200

It’s hard to imagine Andrew Sa as lonely. Since 2019, he’s been performing as Lonesome Andrew in the Cosmic Country Showcase, a tripped-out roving variety show where he’s often flanked by comedians, drag queens, extraterrestrials, and more. In 2020, he began hosting Andrew Sa’s Lonesome Holiday, a campy, music-driven annual revue whose ragtag camaraderie and […]
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Sparklmami steps into the spotlight with a debut album for Verve

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:05:00 +0200

On Friday, June 5, Verve Records (in conjunction with Los Angeles boutique label Slowplay) will release In This Body, the debut album from multidisciplinary Chicago artist Ariella Granados, who makes music as Sparklmami. Granados is a visual artist too, working with video, costuming, makeup, and sculpture, and her music similarly occupies several lanes at once. […]
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Review: I Love Boosters

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:38:00 +0200

I Love Boosters in wide release in theaters
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Review: Backrooms

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:38:00 +0200

Backrooms in wide release in theaters
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Big Payback People’s Assembly calls for overdue reparations for Black Chicagoans

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:11:00 +0200

For some, reparations for the centuries of harm done to Black Americans can look like affordable housing, investing in disinvested communities, and direct payments to the descendants of chattel slavery. These were some of the ideas presented during the Big Payback People’s Assembly on Saturday, May 30, in Alt Space’s Austin location. “Reparations looks like […]
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At Jem Junkies, grillz tell a story

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

On the fourth floor of Lacuna Lofts in Pilsen, Doechii’s Tiny Desk relaxes a small group of clients at Jem Junkies who wait for custom grillz and tooth gems. Jem Junkies, a Black-, queer-owned studio opened by couple Kristy Ramsey and Kimberly “Kim” Randall in 2025, offers custom grillz and tooth gems, dental decorations rooted […]
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Penelope Trappes ruminates on life and death amid haunting ambience

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:46:00 +0200

Penelope Trappes Sun 6/7 at Sleeping Village
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Chicago newcomers Ache play hardcore that can make you a believer

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:38:00 +0200

Ache Opening for Terror on Thu 6/4 at Metro
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Queers on the Rocks builds community among LGBTQ+ climbers

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0200

Rock climbing is all the rage right now, with most specialty gyms in Chicago opening in the last decade. But with high membership costs and a predominantly white, heterosexual audience, the sport struggles to prove itself accessible to marginalized groups. Queers on the Rocks, an organization fostering community between queer, trans, nonbinary, and gender-non-conforming climbers […]
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Ron Steele has kept the gears inside Chicago music turning

Fri, 29 May 2026 20:53:00 +0200

I’ve been writing the Secret History of Chicago Music for more than two decades, and some artists have taken me years to track down. But for all that time, my white whale has been Ron Steele, whose name I’ve been seeing on loads of local recordings since I started paying attention in the 1990s. This […]
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Review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Fri, 29 May 2026 18:47:00 +0200

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu in wide release in theaters
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Review: Corporate Retreat

Fri, 29 May 2026 18:47:00 +0200

Corporate Retreat in limited release in theaters
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Stoner metal titans High on Fire rev up for Motoblot weekend

Fri, 29 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

High on Fire Sat 6/20 at Ramova Theatre
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Singer and rapper Elujay calls for realness on A Constant Charade

Fri, 29 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Elujay Sun 6/28 at Empty Bottle
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Prostitute make postpunk noise rock with a global conscience

Fri, 29 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Prostitute Sat 6/27 at Empty Bottle
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Hyperpop standout Underscores makes music that can go toe-to-toe with the biggest pop acts

Fri, 29 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Underscores Fri 6/19 at Radius
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Macerelli’s conjures a Pittsburgh red sauce Sunday lunch at the next Monday Night Foodball

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:24:00 +0200

“Bugga” Macerelli hid full pots of Sunday gravy under her bed to keep her kids from stealing it. If she didn’t, the piccole pesti would dip the bread in it—and loaves of Mancini’s simply weren’t growing on dogwoods in mid-50s McKeesport, a steel town just outside of Pittsburgh. As a little girl, Levia Maria and […]
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Pure visions

Thu, 28 May 2026 22:16:00 +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. Congratulations to fellow Reader contributor Joshua Minsoo Kim on the occasion of the first Tone Glow Film Festival, which took place last weekend. It was four days of extraordinarily deep cuts […]
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Why is Pistols and Pilates selling out? Inside the women’s class at an Orland Park gun range

Thu, 28 May 2026 17:34:00 +0200

It’s a Saturday morning at the gun range in Orland Park, and pilates mats are set up in the VIP room—a first for me. To my left are chilled, handcrafted matchas and iced coffees, and to my right is a room full of semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, and rifles. Between three Palestinian-owned businesses—Cello Cafe, Olive Pilates […]
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New gallery tête-à-tête-à-tête proffers an intimate setting for art

Thu, 28 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

“Shadow" through 7/4 at tête-à-tête-à-tête
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ICE deported them. Cook County prosecutors still want them arrested for missing court.

Thu, 28 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

This story was produced by Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago that investigates issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system. Sign up here to get their weekly newsletter. It seemed, at first, to be a typical day in traffic court. A steady flow of people trickled in and out of […]
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Chicago sound artist Kikù Hibino collaborates with his noise hero Merzbow

Wed, 27 May 2026 19:24:00 +0200

Experimental Chicago producer and sound artist Kikù Hibino has long dreamed of collaborating with Japanese noise artist Merzbow, aka Masami Akita. Hibino, a Japanese native, traces this desire to 2002, when he noticed Merzbow backstage at the inaugural stateside edition of artist-curated music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties, held at the University of California, Los Angeles. […]
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Spaceman is a tour de force for Ashley Neal

Wed, 27 May 2026 19:00:00 +0200

Spaceman, through 6/13, [producing body] at Edge Off Broadway
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Hyde Park Academy students sound alarm on removal of Peace Room from high school

Wed, 27 May 2026 18:47:00 +0200

Students at Hyde Park Academy are speaking out after they said the principal removed organizers and a Peace Room from the Woodlawn high school. The move comes after a town hall that took place on Wednesday, May 13, where students voiced frustrations about the lack of resources and support at the school following the deaths […]
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Gee’s Bend provides a vibrant tapestry

Wed, 27 May 2026 18:24:00 +0200

Gee's Bend, through 6/7, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre at Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Evanston
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CIRCA Pintig gives King Lear a new adaptation

Wed, 27 May 2026 18:09:00 +0200

King Lear, through 5/30, CIRCA Pintig at the Rizal Center
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CAConrad’s poems are “breathing wild creatures”

Wed, 27 May 2026 15:44:00 +0200

“First Light" through 8/1 at Poetry Foundation
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Chicago actor Netta Walker adds ‘playwright’ to her résumé

Tue, 26 May 2026 19:26:00 +0200

keerah, 5/29-6/28 at Definition Theatre
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Pokémon Fossil Museum makes its North American debut

Tue, 26 May 2026 18:12:00 +0200

“Pokémon Fossil Museum" through 4/11/27 at the Field Museum
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Taj Mahal tops an eclectic multigenerational bill at the 2026 Chicago Blues Festival

Fri, 22 May 2026 20:50:00 +0200

Chicago Blues Festival Thu 6/4 at Ramova Theatre, Fri 6/5-Sun 6/7 at Millennium Park
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The best films you’ll never see

Fri, 22 May 2026 20:43:00 +0200

Last month, I provided full review coverage of a film festival for the first time. Over 12 days, I watched 15 feature films and nine shorts from 17 different countries, catching as many as three movies in a day, enduring the exhausting but fulfilling whiplash of quickly alternating between genres (and sometimes quality) and filing […]
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Girls, wives, and . . . sheep?

Fri, 22 May 2026 16:38:00 +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. An ardent moviegoer’s life is largely one of scheduling. Admittedly, I have it easier than most, as I help run a site, Cine-File, that catalogs what’s screening on a weekly basis. […]
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Pioneering underground pop act Worldpeace DMT will make you a laptop-twee believer

Fri, 22 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Worldpeace DMT Tue 6/16 at Schubas
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Chicago indie-folk group Widemouth drop a debut that invites your closest listening

Fri, 22 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Widemouth Fri 6/5 at Schubas
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Brazilian DJ Marcal brings his hard-driving futuristic sound to Smart Bar

Fri, 22 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Marcal Sat 6/13 at Smart Bar
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The Targeted is a smart and empathetic look at conspiracies and paranoia

Thu, 21 May 2026 22:09:00 +0200

The Targeted, through 6/14, A Red Orchid Theatre at Chopin Theatre
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In the Continuum remains a compelling drama about Black women and HIV

Thu, 21 May 2026 21:44:00 +0200

In the Continuum, through 6/14, Pegasus Theatre Chicago at Chicago Dramatists
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Spamalot brings the bright side of parody to life

Thu, 21 May 2026 21:29:00 +0200

Spamalot, through 5/31, Broadway in Chicago at CIBC Theatre
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An Enemy of the People kicks open the doors of TimeLine’s new home

Thu, 21 May 2026 21:13:00 +0200

An Enemy of the People, through 6/14 at TimeLine Theatre
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The life and times of the Harold Washington Library

Wed, 20 May 2026 21:15:00 +0200

I’ve been going to the Harold Washington Library Center diligently since I was 18. The summer between high school and college, I would write four days a week on the fourth floor, in the wooden cubbies that face State Street. It was at this age that I began to take writing seriously, so seriously that […]
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Le Bal gives us history without words

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:52:00 +0200

Le Bal, through 6/20 at Trap Door Theatre
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The Golden Girls: The Cheese Pyramid balances kitschy homage and diva drag perfection

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:39:00 +0200

The Golden Girls: The Cheese Pyramid, through 6/21, Hell in a Handbag Productions at the Clutch
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True grift

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:23:00 +0200

Tartuffe, through 6/7, the Conspirators at Stars & Garters
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A tale of two Rogers Parks

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:21:00 +0200

Two Summers on Hayes Avenue screening Thu 5/21 at 7 PM at the Berger Park Cultural Center
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Work Hard Have Fun Make History looks at the destructive impulses behind Big Tech

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:01:00 +0200

Work Hard Have Fun Make History, through 6/6, First Floor Theater at Raven Theatre
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Fire House offers stories about burning down and rebuilding

Tue, 19 May 2026 19:42:00 +0200

Fire House, through 5/30, Chicago Shpatz at Firehouse Art Studio
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Urban legend and teenage tragedy combine in Hookman

Tue, 19 May 2026 19:25:00 +0200

Hookman, through 5/30, Bump in the Night Theatre Company at Bramble Arts Loft
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Parallel Play invites you to listen closely at Sonic Study Hall

Tue, 19 May 2026 19:11:00 +0200

This past Sunday, self-described Humboldt Park “listening room and learning center” Parallel Play (825 N. California) debuted Sonic Study Hall, a weekly series that invites a local artist or other music lover to spin records and discuss them with an intimate crowd. Daku, a producer and DJ specializing in music from South Asia, inaugurated the […]
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Cook County expands Flock license plate reader network

Tue, 19 May 2026 16:58:00 +0200

The Cook County Board of Commissioners on May 14 approved roughly $1 million to nearly double the size of Sheriff Tom Dart’s license plate reader network. The vote came a day after the sheriff’s office admitted it had worked with the surveillance company Flock Safety for years without an active contract governing the collection or […]
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Death-metal lifers Cryptopsy never say die

Mon, 18 May 2026 20:22:00 +0200

Cryptopsy Sat 5/23 at Bottom Lounge
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Stygian Bough examine magic and interconnectedness on Volume II

Mon, 18 May 2026 20:11:00 +0200

Stygian Bough always catch lightning in a bottle. The trio combines the two members of Seattle doom duo Bell Witch, bassist-vocalist Dylan Desmond and drummer-keyboardist Jesse Shreibman, with guitarist-vocalist Erik Moggridge, who makes dark folk as Aerial Ruin. They’d already been collaborating for years, with Moggridge providing guest vocals on Bell Witch’s albums, when they […]
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Modern sarangi master Sabir Khan brings his lyrical playing to the Old Town School of Folk Music

Mon, 18 May 2026 20:11:00 +0200

Sabir Khan Wed 6/3 at Old Town School of Folk Music
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Chicago rapper Heavy Crownz celebrates Trench Baby Turned Farmer with a homegrown lineup

Mon, 18 May 2026 20:10:00 +0200

Heavy Crowns Fri 5/22 at Lincoln Hall
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Strength in Fragility: The Material Truths of Jenn Hassin

Mon, 18 May 2026 18:20:00 +0200

There is something Jenn Hassin knows about paper and clay. Not just how it forms, tears or holds pigment, but what it remembers. Across the twenty-nine works gathered in Strength in Fragility, she returns again and again to the idea that surfaces carry histories, and that histories, pulped and pressed, reformed and fired, can become […]
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Help the United Negro College Fund make higher education possible for Illinois students by purchasing a 7X Bingo Multiplier ticket

Mon, 18 May 2026 18:20:00 +0200

For more than 80 years, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has been providing educational scholarships and opportunities to students in Illinois. In 2024, the Illinois Lottery launched a joint specialty ticket that contributes directly to ten different admirable causes, including UNCF. With its vibrant design and rich purple background, the 7X Bingo Multiplier ticket […]
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The Chicago Reader Names Malik Jackson New Publisher

Mon, 18 May 2026 17:14:00 +0200

CHICAGO, IL — Noisy Creek announced today that Malik Jackson will be the new publisher of the Chicago Reader starting June 1. Jackson most recently served as executive director and publisher of South Side Media Works, which operates community newspapers South Side Weekly and the Hyde Park Herald. Founded in 1971 in a tight Kenwood […]
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Meet the Reader‘s new publisher, Malik Jackson

Mon, 18 May 2026 17:14:00 +0200

We’re excited to announce that Malik Jackson will be the next publisher of the Chicago Reader! Jackson most recently served as the executive director and publisher of South Side Media Works, which operates community newspapers South Side Weekly and the Hyde Park Herald. You can read the full press release here. We sat down with […]
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Take Your Show Beyond Chicago With These 7 Need-to-Know Tips for Touring Musicians

Mon, 18 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Chicago has long been a launchpad for musicians. From intimate neighborhood venues in Logan Square to packed stages in Wicker Park and River North, the city gives artists countless opportunities to sharpen their sound and connect with audiences. However, eventually, many musicians hit the same turning point and want to successfully take their show beyond […]
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Celebrating the textiles of everyday life

Mon, 18 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

“Side by Side: Color and Textiles" through 6/5 at Cochrane Woods Arts Center
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Tofu tikka masala at Arya Bhavan

Fri, 15 May 2026 21:17:00 +0200

The tofu tikka masala at Arya Bhavan tastes of sunsets melting on the tongue. Thinly sliced onions and bell peppers—green, yellow, orange, and red—are cooked in a fragrant tomato sauce until their flavors are so sweet and vibrant they threaten to wither. To swallow a heaping spoonful is to invite a striation of sensation; each […]
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Review: The Sheep Detectives

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:56:00 +0200

The Sheep Detectives in wide release in theaters
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Review: LifeHack

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:56:00 +0200

LifeHack in wide release in theaters
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Hungary for discovery

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:56:00 +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. In my estimation, one of the most exciting film-related things happening in Chicago right now is the Judit Elek: Reality by Itself series at the University of Chicago’s Doc Films. (It […]
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Do Something Pretty is an aching look at adolescent longing and fear

Fri, 15 May 2026 17:45:00 +0200

Do Something Pretty, through 6/6 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
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Covenant is a compelling Southern Gothic thriller with a sorrowful soul

Fri, 15 May 2026 17:22:00 +0200

Covenant, through 5/31 at the Goodman Theatre
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Online affordable housing pilot advances to City Council for a vote

Fri, 15 May 2026 17:21:00 +0200

A tool to make finding affordable housing easier to locate may soon be a reality after the Committee on Housing and Real Estate advanced an ordinance to pilot a centralized online affordable housing portal. “We’ve all heard the issues with how difficult it is to find affordable housing in Chicago and to navigate the multiple […]
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Always . . . Patsy Cline celebrates the singer and her superfan

Fri, 15 May 2026 17:06:00 +0200

Always . . . Patsy Cline, through 6/21 at American Blues Theater
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Desire and refusal

Fri, 15 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

“Dispossessions in the Americas” through 7/18 at Wrightwood 659
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Ketapanen Kitchen’s bison and wild blueberries return to the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 14 May 2026 19:19:00 +0200

Jessica Walks First smudged the bison with smoldering sage. Smoke rose from her left hand and she fanned it with the eagle feather in her right as she walked the length of the livestock trailer. Inside were three cows, two juvenile males, and a bull. Then the tailgate opened, and the bull loped onto the […]
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The unsettling beauty of the life cycle

Thu, 14 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

In the project 60 wrd/min art critic, writer Lori Waxman explores how art writing can serve an expanded field of artists—including those incarcerated, trying to gain visas, working to establish themselves professionally, or just wanting feedback for a secret hobby. For this iteration, Waxman reviews work by Chicago-based artist Victor Olaoye. Victor Olaoye The paintings […]
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Confronting the monster of the Internet—through song

Wed, 13 May 2026 17:44:00 +0200

Octet, through 6/21 at Raven Theatre
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Scaramouche is a fun theatrical fandango

Wed, 13 May 2026 17:29:00 +0200

Scaramouche, through 6/14 at City Lit Theater
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Spark provides history lessons, inspiration, and a call to action

Wed, 13 May 2026 17:14:00 +0200

Spark, through 5/22, Free Street Theater at Pulaski Park Building
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Circle stories

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:57:00 +0200

The Hula Hoopin' Queen, Young People's Theatre of Chicago at the Greenhouse Theater Center
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Dirt, death, and redemption

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:41:00 +0200

Crime and Punishment, through 6/28 at TUTA Theatre
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A fractal and heartfelt Architecture of Memory

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:19:00 +0200

Architecture of Memory, through 5/23 at Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble
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Hothouse

Wed, 13 May 2026 14:52:00 +0200

In the project 60 wrd/min art critic, writer Lori Waxman explores how art writing can serve an expanded field of artists—including those incarcerated, trying to gain visas, working to establish themselves professionally, or just wanting feedback for a secret hobby. For this iteration, Waxman reviews a recent exhibition on view at M House in Chicago. […]
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The Save Our SNAP Block Party rallies musicians to fight food insecurity

Tue, 12 May 2026 21:01:00 +0200

On Saturday, May 16, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) and the Greater Chicago Food Depository team up to host the Save Our SNAP Block Party. Some of the finest Chicago acts who blur hip-hop, R&B, and jazz will perform for the cause, including emerging rapper Zion Ali, singer-producer (and former Reader staffer) Shawnee Dez, […]
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‘You don’t want to put your heroes on a pedestal’

Mon, 11 May 2026 21:28:00 +0200

Chicago-born and raised muralist Robert Valadez remembers the song “Cult of Personality,” a 1988 single from the band Living Colour. “In the song, they say ‘Only you can set you free,’” Valadez said while taking a break, slightly stained from painting the side of CocoBar restaurant on the Chicago Riverwalk at Wabash and Wacker in […]
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Sheriff Tom Dart’s wandering eye

Mon, 11 May 2026 21:28:00 +0200

Sheriff Tom Dart is quietly lobbying the Cook County Board of Commissioners to expand surveillance both inside the Cook County jail and on the streets. Within the jail’s walls, he’s eyeing a system that uses artificial intelligence to monitor cameras for drug use, while outside, he’s seeking nearly $1 million to fund his office’s growing […]
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Data centers are cropping up all over Illinois. How do they work?

Mon, 11 May 2026 14:43:00 +0200

The explosion of proposed data centers across Illinois has sparked a fierce, bipartisan backlash and even legislation to curb the long-lasting effects on people’s air quality, water quality, and energy bills. In town halls from Pekin to Joliet to Chicago’s southeast side, people have packed rooms and spent hours discussing the impact of potential developments […]
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Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson carried west-side blues around the world

Fri, 08 May 2026 19:15:00 +0200

The Secret History of Chicago Music covered bluesman Jimmy Johnson in 2020, and I recently got a nice message about it from a fan named John Suiter. He offered me a free copy of Margo Cooper’s Deep Inside the Blues: Photographs and Interviews, which he’d helped get published in 2023. Suiter took the bus from […]
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Laughing into the abyss

Fri, 08 May 2026 17:54:00 +0200

Pandemonium, Please Hold, open run at Second City
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Abstraction as investigation

Fri, 08 May 2026 17:54:00 +0200

“Story Structure, Pt. 2" through 6/28 at Neubauer Collegium
 
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Frasier and family ties

Fri, 08 May 2026 17:33:00 +0200

Spinoff, through 5/16 at the Neo-Futurist Theater
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Rock gods

Fri, 08 May 2026 17:12:00 +0200

Loki—The End of the World Tour, through 6/14 at Lifeline Theatre
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Review: Widow’s Bay (Season one)

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Widow's Bay streaming on Apple TV+
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Review: The Devil Wears Prada 2

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

The Devil Wears Prada 2 in wide release in theaters
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Review: Mortal Kombat II

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Mortal Kombat II] in wide release in theaters
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Punk-funk legends ESG pass the torch to the next generation of femme and queer artists at the first Ragbagalia Fest

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Ragbagalia Fest Sat 5/16 at Sleeping Village
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Philadelphia band Evil Sword make the evilest lo-fi punk

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Evil Sword Fri 5/15 at Burlington
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Lolina’s mischievous avant-pop sound collages defy expectations

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Lolina Thu 5/14 at Empty Bottle
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Australian indie rockers Armlock reinvent an old wheel with new polish

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Armlock Sun 5/17 at Schubas
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Spencer & Melanie are public transit baddies, traversing the city to sustain their friendship

Fri, 08 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Despite the structural barriers to traveling between Chicago’s 77 community areas, many friends are willing to face the city’s geographic hurdles and sustain relationships that transcend race, gender, age, and class. In an effort to chronicle human connection and love despite systemic and structural barriers, the Going the Distance series examines the enduring friendships between […]
The post Spencer & Melanie are public transit baddies, traversing the city to sustain the

Review: Hekla

Thu, 07 May 2026 22:21:00 +0200

Hekla screening Sun 5/10 at 7 PM at the Music Box Theatre
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Review: Erupcja

Thu, 07 May 2026 22:21:00 +0200

Erupcja in limited release in theaters
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Review: Blue Heron

Thu, 07 May 2026 22:21:00 +0200

Blue Heron screening through Thu 5/14 at the Siskel Film Center
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Sapphopalooza, the Music Box Theatre’s lesbian film series, returns for a second year

Thu, 07 May 2026 19:07:00 +0200

Elizabeth Arnott, 36, is a local film programmer and the director of marketing and publicity at Music Box Films. Last year, she guest programmed Sapphopalooza, a new sapphic film series hosted at the Music Box Theatre throughout May. The 13-film program included queer classics, cult favorites, and exploratory options such as Bound (1996), But I’m […]
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Johnny Jones is telling North Lawndale stories

Thu, 07 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Johnny Jones, aka MrLingoHimself, is a Chicago-based filmmaker, entrepreneur, and community builder. He spent his early years at the west-side public housing project Rockwell Gardens before moving to North Lawndale at age eight following the death of his mother. He was primarily raised by his grandmother alongside his two sisters and grew to be an […]
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Our neighbors

Thu, 07 May 2026 15:00:00 +0200

I don’t remember the exact day that Simmy and I met on the quiet street where I’d recently put down roots. When he asked to clean my car, as he does for all the cars on the block, I brushed past him. Eighteen months later, Simmy and I are close friends: two mercurial Gemini companions. […]
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Exploitation masked as ‘charity’ and other thoughts from our readers

Thu, 07 May 2026 15:00:00 +0200

Bianca Pastel’s article [in the April 2026 issue, entitled “What Kyoto taught me about designing cities for humans”] was beautiful and brilliant, just like her work. It would be incredibly thoughtful and nice if people who design public spaces made them accessible and welcoming for everyone. I have always been intrigued by Kyoto, and now […]
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Solitary confinement is a mental health crisis

Thu, 07 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

I began work that day as I did any other, sweeping the floor in solitary confinement at Pinckneyville Correctional Center in my $0.04-per-hour job. The cacophony of dozens of men roaring over one another, competing to be heard from behind the steel confining them, never allowed for silence during my eight-hour work shifts. As I […]
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Margot’s Fusion Kitchen opens a Guatemalan market at the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 07 May 2026 01:11:00 +0200

Shirley Cisneros spent four months perfecting her rose water flan. “It was a challenge because I didn’t want people to eat perfume,” she says. “I had to figure out how to balance it with the caramel, because if you go slightly over with the sugar, it leaves that bitter aftertaste.” It was an early triumph […]
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Saul, Barack, Andy, and Pam

Wed, 06 May 2026 18:55:00 +0200

I Killed Andy Breitbart, through 5/17 at Apollo Theater Studio
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Sun Tea is a refreshing celebration of Black women’s friendships

Wed, 06 May 2026 17:30:00 +0200

Sun Tea, through 5/31, MPAACT at the Greenhouse Theater Center
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Celestial silliness

Wed, 06 May 2026 17:14:00 +0200

moonwatchers, through 5/17, Lazy Susan Theatre Co. at the Greenhouse Theater Center
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Mars and mortality

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:52:00 +0200

Farewell Opportunity, through 5/17 at Filament Theatre
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Chicago Reader Volume 55, Number 16

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:13:00 +0200

Chicago Reader Volume 55, No. 16. May 2026.
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Tool or threat?

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Artificial intelligence as a narrative subject is popping up a lot onstage right now. In Ryan Stevens’s Static-Head—which recently received a local premiere with the Impostors—an AI-enabled social media app at a tech college begins consuming the students’ minds and lives. Earlier this year, Shattered Globe Theatre produced Kirsten Greenidge’s Morning, Noon, and Night, in […]
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The last days of Legion Park, before the city swept it

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This story is the second installment in a Reader accountability series, Just Neighbors, examining the city’s homeless encampment sweeps and focusing on the human impact of a fragmented, interdepartmental process. At their request, all unhoused and undocumented people and some housed people who spoke to the Reader for this story are identified by their first […]
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Fresh churros at a Little Village stoplight

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

If you’re the sort of lead foot who believes a yellow signal just means there’s room for one more, you’re prioritizing risk over reward at this traffic light. Blow the red, and on the odd chance you cross paths with a CPD patrol car, there’s an only slightly odder chance you’ll get a ticket. But […]
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‘All of us go together’

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Social Fabric is a glimpse into the vibrant lives, objects, and spaces that shape our city, cocurated with community archives and local photographers. shira@chicagoreader.com I spoke often with Tita Carmen, a 73-year-old unhoused grandmother and community leader, in the weeks leading up to the planned Legion Park eviction on the city’s northwest side. On March 17, […]
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Weaving together past and present

Wed, 06 May 2026 15:19:00 +0200

“My Future Heritage" through 8/7 at the Swedish American Museum
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Southeast Spotlight: The Retro Grill

Wed, 06 May 2026 15:00:00 +0200

The Retro Grill8126 S Stony Island Ave, Chicago, IL 60617Mon–Fri 11 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun 12 PM–10 PM (773) 902-2800, www.theretrogrills.com, Instagram @TheRetroGrillonStony “Everything made fresh” is the infamous motto of the Southeast Side institution, The Retro Grill. If you’re craving a nostalgic diner vibe, walking into The Retro Grill is like being transported back in time, […]
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Southeast Spotlight: BuenGro

Wed, 06 May 2026 15:00:00 +0200

BuenGro3016 E. 92nd St, Tues–Thu 11 AM–6 PM, Fri 1 PM–6 PM, Sat 1 PM–4 PM(773) 824-5131, buengro.com, Instagram @BuenGro_LLC Looking for those May flowers that Spring always promises? BuenGro is buzzin’ with all of your plant and floral needs to make your space beautiful and picturesque, just in time for Chicago’s best seasons. In […]
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One Fair Wage: Separating fact from fiction

Wed, 06 May 2026 15:00:00 +0200

After the chicken caesar wrap at the bar Little Victories went “super mega viral” on TikTok last year, bartender Eddy Gordillo says he’s making the most he’s ever made in his 15 years as a tipped worker across 60 bars and restaurants. The spike in customers has brought his hourly wage with tips up to […]
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Cook County state’s attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s complicated relationship with the Pretrial Fairness Act

Wed, 06 May 2026 15:00:00 +0200

On a Wednesday in mid-March, Janica Barnes sat in the gallery of room 102 at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse and waited for a judge to decide what would happen to her son, 22-year-old James Jones. He was accused of illegally possessing firearms while on parole for a prior firearm possession case, and a prosecutor with […]
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Conspiring with ‘Style’

Tue, 05 May 2026 20:50:00 +0200

Tartuffe, or, the Charlatan, 5/8-6/7, the Conspirators at Stars & Garters
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Fire-Toolz levels up to Warp Records

Tue, 05 May 2026 19:01:00 +0200

Chicago multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and recording engineer Angel Marcloid is so prolific that a list of the credits for all her many projects would be as heavy as a phone book. Longtime Reader readers will know Fire-Toolz, the name Marcloid uses for an alter ego that smashes together prog, screamo, plunderphonics, smooth jazz, and pop […]
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Inga steps into her own sound

Mon, 04 May 2026 21:52:00 +0200

At 26, Inga has emerged as one of Chicago’s most compelling new voices—a singing artist whose work lives, as she puts it, “where art meets ritual.” Born Inga Mutimura and shaped by her Rwandan heritage, she roots her singing career in spirit, care, and self-examination. Her 2025 release “Leo Venus,” the first single from her […]
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The faces of quantum

Mon, 04 May 2026 18:19:00 +0200

This story is part of Quantum Crossroads, a series examining the impact of the quantum computing megadevelopment in South Chicago. The push to transform Chicago into a world leader in quantum computing research and development has been yearslong and required collaboration among local, state, and federal governing bodies, universities, tech companies, and nonprofits. Now, Chicago […]
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Road hard

Fri, 01 May 2026 18:22:00 +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. I’ve never taken a proper road trip. I haven’t driven in almost 15 years, and the last time I did was before moving to Chicago from Ohio, where I drove for […]
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What’s on for spring? Summonings and symbolic systems

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:50:00 +0200

There is something crude in attempting to locate a theme or thesis of what’s going on in the pluralistic “art world” while the rest is seemingly going belly up. Exhibitions in Chicago seem to ask very different questions; some concern our shared existence, others reshape the logics of symbolic order, testing the context and conventions […]
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What’s on for spring? Spiritualism and symbolic systems

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:50:00 +0200

There is something crude in attempting to locate a theme or thesis of what’s going on in the pluralistic “art world” while the rest is seemingly going belly up. Exhibitions in Chicago seem to ask very different questions; some concern our shared existence, others reshape the logics of symbolic order, testing the context and conventions […]
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Chicago ambient-pop sensation Gia Margaret goes wide-screen with Singing

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:22:00 +0200

Gia Margaret Tue 5/12 at Thalia Hall
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Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart form a trio of great Chicago string improvisers

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:21:00 +0200

Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart Thu 5/7 at Constellation
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The 12th Chicago Jazz String Summit celebrates the diversity of string-mediated improvisation

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:21:00 +0200

Chicago String Jazz Summit Fri 5/8 and Sat 5/9 at Constellation, Sun 5/10 at the Hungry Brain
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The 12th Chicago Jazz String Summit celebrates the diversity of string-mediated improvisation

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:21:00 +0200

Chicago String Jazz Summit Fri 5/8 - Sun 5/10 at Constellation and Hungry Brain
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Liz Cooper steps up her songwriting and embraces her true self on New Day

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:21:00 +0200

Liz Cooper Thu 5/7 at Empty Bottle
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Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month on local stages (and abroad)

Fri, 01 May 2026 16:50:00 +0200

Fifty years ago, congressional staffer Jeanie Jew attended the bicentennial celebration of the United States—and noticed the absence of recognition given to Asian Americans. Jew was a fourth-generation Chinese American whose great-grandfather had helped build the railroad as an immigrant before being murdered during a period of anti-Chinese violence in Oregon. She felt certain that […]
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How does our shoegaze grow?

Fri, 01 May 2026 15:00:00 +0200

On September 29, a newish music festival called Slide Away announced its first Chicago event, to be held at the Aragon Ballroom in late May. Champaign space-rock band Hum, whose highest-charting Billboard single came out more than 30 years ago, will headline. The other midwestern projects on the bill at that point—Sunshy, Cloakroom, and Lovesliescrushing—tend […]
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How Julyssa Rose turned Chicago into a jewelry box

Fri, 01 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

There is something old-world and whimsical about a Chicago woman pulling beauty through fire and shaping metal into a precious animal, as if the act itself were part of a private mythology, using a gentle touch to coax something ethereal from the material. Julyssa Rose, a Latina artisanal metalsmith and a north sider, has built […]
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Chicago’s May Day events celebrate workers’ struggle and solidarity

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:12:00 +0200

May Day was born out of the fight for an eight-hour workday in Chicago. Over the preceding decade, an international movement had grown to regulate the length of a working day, which could often run around 16 hours. Joining the fight, the American Federation of Labor set May 1, 1886, as the date that U.S. […]
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Make America Sane Again with the Street Vendors Association of Chicago at the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:52:00 +0200

Last year, when an armed and violent gang of government-enabled goons stormed through the city kidnapping Chicagoans, some of their easiest targets were street vendors. The chaos and fear emptied the streets, depressing the foot traffic and spending power that sustains this vulnerable but mighty economic engine. In some ways, it was nothing new. For […]
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Cosmic connections

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

In the project 60 wrd/min art critic, writer Lori Waxman explores how art writing can serve an expanded field of artists—including those incarcerated, trying to gain visas, working to establish themselves professionally, or just wanting feedback for a secret hobby. For this iteration, Waxman reviews work by artist Natalia Titova. Natalia Titova What would the […]
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Review: Mother Mary

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 23:46:00 +0200

Mother Mary in wide release in theaters
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Review: Michael

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 23:46:00 +0200

Michael in wide release in theaters
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West-side rap pioneer Twista plays two intimate hometown sets with a full band

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:17:00 +0200

Twista with the Cabrini Kings Sat 5/9 at City Winery
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Warm Love Cool Dreams builds the case for the Salt Shed as a hub for music fests

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:17:00 +0200

Warm Love Cool Dreams Music & Arts FestivalSat 5/23 and Sun 5/24
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Singer and violinist Mehrnam Rastegari fires up a Persian psychedelic fusion

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:17:00 +0200

Mehrnam Rastegari Wed 5/13 at Old School Town of Folk Music
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Michigan death-doom crew Temple of Void get more focused and filthy on The Crawl

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:17:00 +0200

Temple of Void Sat 5/16 at Reggies Music Joint
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Guitarist Marisa Anderson follows the global gaze of folklorist Harry Smith

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:17:00 +0200

Marisa Anderson Sat 5/30 at Constellation
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Anjimile welcomes love and liberation on You’re Free to Go

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:17:00 +0200

Anjimile Wed 5/20 at the Hideout
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The Beatles and Brendan Hunt

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:36:00 +0200

The Movement You Need, through 5/10 at Steppenwolf Theatre
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Ice fishing in America

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:23:00 +0200

Eelpout!, through 5/30, Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit
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Fault falters at Chicago Shakes

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:24:00 +0200

Fault, through 5/24 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
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A glitzy Gatsby

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:53:00 +0200

The Great Gatsby, through 5/3, Broadway in Chicago at Cadillac Palace Theatre
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A city made of brick

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

When I moved to Chicago in 2019, my dad wanted to make sure I was prepared for life in the big city. Whereas he had come of age in public housing in postwar New York City, I spent the first 22 years of my life in the suburban hellscape of Clearwater, Florida. He peppered me […]
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Weirdo dance night Hot on the Heels celebrates 20 years with its biggest bill ever

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:48:00 +0200

More than 20 years ago, Chicago producer and DJ Beau Wanzer and his friend Chris Pappas decided to launch a dance series dedicated to underground sounds. “At the time, there really wasn’t a night where you could hear old industrial with punk, techno, and electro—the stuff on the fringes of normal music and normal dance […]
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Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Chicago

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:45:00 +0200

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month—and there’s no shortage of ways to celebrate in Chicago. Reader staff have put together a sprinkling of recommended events, from the 29th Annual Asian American Showcase at the Siskel Film Center to a staging of choreographer Chih-Jou Cheng’s new dance piece Unfinished Island Songs to […]
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‘Salsa is back on Division Street’ with Studio E

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:52:00 +0200

Humboldt Park was quiet on October 3. That afternoon, Austin Moulder walked to the neighborhood Health Wellness Center, but he was turned away because the Center had shut down early after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deployed under Operation Midway Blitz had questioned their staff. As he left, he noticed the shells from tear […]
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Light shift

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:29:00 +0200

In the project 60 wrd/min art critic, writer Lori Waxman explores how art writing can serve an expanded field of artists—including those incarcerated, trying to gain visas, working to establish themselves professionally, or just wanting feedback for a secret hobby. For this iteration, Waxman reviews a recent exhibition by artist Matthew Herriot. Matthew Herriot If […]
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On a Saturday in April, families of the missing came to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office with binders, DNA swabs, and 30 years of questions

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:15:00 +0200

A middle-aged woman in thin red glasses carried two binders bursting at the seams with photos of her missing daughter. She showed picture after picture of a little girl with bright pink glasses and an even brighter smile to Chicago Police Department officers. It was when she showed the officer a photo of her holding […]
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A portrait of Chicago, decades in the making

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

John A. Knudsen (1938-2014) was not the first artist to fall for Chicago’s transit system, and he won’t be the last, but few have used it as a motif over decades, across several media, the way he did. Knudsen’s oil paintings, watercolors, woodblock prints, etchings, and engravings teem with train cars and canyons of brick […]
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How fire is reviving Illinois’s vanishing prairie

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0200

As a red-tailed hawk swoops from the scraggly burr oaks above us, the smell of burning brush cuts through the crisp air at the entrance of Northbrook’s Somme Preserves. The fires, set by “burn bosses,” crackle while volunteers and staff of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves greet each other for a day of restoration, using […]
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Real life

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 22:00:00 +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. It’s time I make a confession: I watch reality television. And like many women (and for a variety of things), I have Tom Sandoval to blame. Several years ago, having forsworn […]
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Windfall gets a stirring world premiere at Steppenwolf

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:42:00 +0200

Windfall, through 5/31 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
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Static-Head imagines a toxic AI-generated world

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:22:00 +0200

Static-Head, through 5/2, the Impostors at the Den Theatre
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12 Ophelias imagines another chance at life for Shakespeare’s wronged woman

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:06:00 +0200

12 Ophelias, through 5/24, Strawdog Theatre at Factory Theater
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Dozzy’s Grill settles the great jollof debate at the next Monday Night Foodball

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 23:38:00 +0200

The debate rages: Which country makes the best jollof rice? Is it Senegal, where the one-pot, tomato-based long grain rice dish was born? Sierra Leone? Liberia? Cameroon? Or is it one of the two most populated players: Ghana or Nigeria? As the dish migrated and adapted across West Africa and the world, the argument followed, […]
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Guitarist Vince Black has crossed oceans and genres

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:24:00 +0200

In 2024, the Secret History of Chicago Music covered hippie counterculture band Yama & the Karma Dusters. An outgrowth of an early-70s rock sound company called Euphoria Blimp Works, this musical collective had several names and tons of members during its few years in existence. When I wrote about the Karma Dusters, I couldn’t reach their […]
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Recapping EXPO Art Week

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:08:00 +0200

EXPO Art Week kicked off with the Renaissance Society’s RenBen, where over 400 guests attended Maurizio Cattelan’s Silent Party at the Chicago Athletic Association. Sticking a pin in the vacuousness of small talk at art socials, Cattelan and Ren director-curator Myriam Ben Salah guided guests through a roving gala with one condition: two hours of […]
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Out Here explores the liminal spaces in divorce

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:04:00 +0200

Out Here, through 5/10 at Court Theatre
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Redtwist stages a riveting revival of ʼnight, Mother

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:50:00 +0200

'night, Mother, through 5/24 at Redtwist Theatre
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An anguished tech employee and a therapist face off in Job

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:35:00 +0200

Job, through 6/14 at Writers Theatre
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Both gives a chilling spin to a family drama

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:22:00 +0200

Both, through 5/10, Teatro Vista and Steppenwolf Theatre Company at Steppenwolf 1700 Theater
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The Angel Next Door offers a heaven-sent take on a classic

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:55:00 +0200

The Angel Next Door, through 5/10, Northlight Theatre at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie
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Ghostlight Ensemble stages a pre-Pooh play by A. A. Milne

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:33:00 +0200

The Dover Road, through 5/3, Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre Company at Glessner House
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Heartbreak Hotel shows us three faces of Elvis

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:18:00 +0200

Heartbreak Hotel, through 5/31 at Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire
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Teaching for justice

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:14:00 +0200

In fall 2001, weeks after the September 11 attacks, Teachers for Social Justice held their first curriculum fair, themed around what it meant to teach for justice in that tense, heavy national moment. On March 14, almost 25 years after that first fair, and as the U.S. is engaged in more destructive and dubious wars […]
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Alt-country progenitors Souled American drop their first album in 30 years

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 20:24:00 +0200

Last week, Oregon label Jealous Butcher Records released Sanctions, the first album from Chicago alt-country group Souled American in 30 years. That’s a long time for any band to go without a new full-length record, especially a band that previously put out six albums in less than ten years. Before Sanctions, the most recent Souled […]
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Amy Pearl Lang’s semiotic puzzle

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:51:00 +0200

“Castle" through 5/17 at Sawhorse
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10 Best Adult Cam Sites with Live Cam Girls of 2026

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:00:00 +0200

The world of adult cam sites has evolved significantly in recent years, offering a diverse range of platforms catering to every imaginable desire and preference. Whether you’re exploring intimate one-on-one experiences with a cam girl, interactive group chats, or engaging live performances, the options are more plentiful and exciting than ever. In 2026, the best […]
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Review: The Christophers

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:58:00 +0200

The Christophers in wide release in theaters
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Review: Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:58:00 +0200

Lee Cronin's The Mummy in wide release in theaters
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Shivani Gupta’s debut poetry book centers her relationship with her mother

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:46:00 +0200

“Next on deck is Shivani!” There aren’t many poetry spaces in Chicago where I share a name with someone else. There is typically no need for my last name on a sign-up sheet at an open mike. But at this particular open mike in 2023, as I, Shivani Kumar, stood up, so did Shivani Gupta. […]
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This year’s Doc10 Film Festival comes with a call to action

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 22:03:00 +0200

Documentary film reflects the world—its strangest corners and its most pressing issues. At this year’s Doc10 Film Festival, falling at a time when humanity feels overwhelmed with a tempest of sociopolitical issues, the question is: What happens after we’re exposed to the problem? “When you have a really great story that engages people,” says Doc10 […]
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These Are the 7 Best Destinations for Pop Culture Exhibits

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:15:00 +0200

Chicago is famous for music, sports and festivals year-round. Pop culture is vibrant in the Windy City and has been for over a century. If you want to appreciate art and history, there are numerous places to absorb it. Here’s a guide to pop culture exhibits in the Chicago area. What Are the Best Destinations […]
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The Messthetics continue their heavy jazz-punk explorations with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:00:00 +0200

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis Thu 4/30 at Constellation
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The Afghan Whigs celebrate 40 years ahead of a new album

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:00:00 +0200

Afghan Whigs Sat 5/9 at Metro
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Chicago indie-rock darlings Friko go for broke with Something Worth Waiting For

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:00:00 +0200

Friko Sat 4/25 at Metro
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Ambient composer Colleen stares down fear on Libre Antes del Final

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:00:00 +0200

Colleen Wed 5/6 at Constellation
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Gelli Haha creates an immersive dance-pop world for your inner child

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:41:00 +0200

Gelli Haha Sat 4/25 at Schubas
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Projection events

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:33:00 +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. I’d argue Chicago is one of the great cities for experimental film, and the Onion City Experimental Film Festival is a big reason for that. Last week’s edition was its 36th, […]
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Panlasa bridges the seas at the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:29:00 +0200

More than 5,500 miles of ocean separate the salt beds of Pangasinan from the cacao orchards of North Hilo. But Roland Floro Calupe found a way to close the distance. He’s watched seawater flood the clay reservoirs on the northwestern coast of Luzon in the Philippines, where the water evaporates in tropical heat, leaving behind […]
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Public art that isn’t

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:25:00 +0200

Chicago takes its public art seriously. The murals and installations we have on view represent us, our communities, our values—from the Haymarket Memorial in the West Loop to Alexander Calder’s iconic Flamingo to Kerry James Marshall’s gorgeous mural on the side of the Chicago Cultural Center. After Casa Aztlan was whitewashed by developer City Pads […]
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The workers at the world’s largest library association have a story they want to tell

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0200

Workers at the American Library Association announced on March 2 that they are forming a new union, ALA Workers United. After registering with the National Labor Relations Board in early April, the nonprofit’s workers will vote on April 24 on whether to recognize it. Headquartered in Chicago, ALA advocates for libraries across the country at […]
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Review: Exit 8

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:33:00 +0200

Exit 8 in wide release in theaters
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The Real Housewives of Windsor

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:43:00 +0200

The Merry Wives of Windsor, through 5/3 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
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Goodnight Moon wins over the youngest critics at Chicago Children’s Theatre

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:30:00 +0200

Goodnight Moon, through 6/7 at Chicago Children's Theatre
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Mrs. Krishnan’s Party delivers a warmhearted good time

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:14:00 +0200

Mrs. Krishnan's Party, through 4/26, Indian Ink Theatre at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
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Maybe Tomorrow draws from a disquieting real story about marriage and isolation

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:58:00 +0200

Maybe Tomorrow, through 5/24, Wild Door Theater at Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture
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Odessa gives a poignant twist to a story of human and extraterrestrial relationships

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:43:00 +0200

Odessa, through 4/19, Subtext Studio Theatre Company at UrbanTheater Company
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‘We’re standing in the middle of something that should have always existed’

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:23:00 +0200

After years of planning, fundraising, lobbying, and other preparations, leaders at the Chicago South Side Birth Center are closer than ever to establishing the first independent, Black midwife–led maternity care facility in the city’s majority Black south-side neighborhoods. In early April, the nonprofit’s leaders were joined by political representatives, community partners, neighbors, birth workers, funders, […]
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Review: The Testaments

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:36:00 +0200

The Testaments (Season one) streaming on Hulu
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Rogers Park gets a new brick-and-mortar record store

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:53:00 +0200

Record Store Day returns this Saturday, April 18, and the following week, Chicago will get its newest brick-and-mortar music shop. High Voltage Records & Hi-Fi will open its Rogers Park storefront on Saturday, August 25. Owner Daniel Ranegar has been tabling as High Voltage Records at Chicagoland record shows and pop-ups since 2024. He’s also […]
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Eddie Condon deserves his due as a forefather of jazz

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:53:00 +0200

Why aren’t more jazz pioneers associated with the Windy City? Sure, we have legends such as the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Von Freeman, and Fred Anderson, but we definitely get short shrift compared to New York City and New Orleans. No figure is more foundational to Chicago jazz than Eddie Condon, who helped build the […]
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Best dressed

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:32:00 +0200

Thursday night at Navy Pier, outside of the typical crowd that tends to fill the halls of Chicago’s landmark by the lake, hundreds of artistically minded locals and flashily dressed visitors made the lengthy trek out to Festival Hall for the 13th EXPO Chicago. Running through Sunday, this year’s art fair features 130 galleries, alongside […]
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Review: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:00:00 +0200

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in wide release in theaters
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Croissant bánh mì at Haibayô Café

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:22:00 +0200

The best culinary discoveries often remind me how refreshing it is to wander off the beaten path. Haibayô Café’s croissant bánh mì gives you the heat and pickled veg of a classic bánh mì but subs out the Vietnamese baguette for another French-style bread: the croissant. The sandwich will not only win you over—it’ll stand […]
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Avant-garde filmmaker Angelo Madsen doesn’t want to make easy work

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 20:57:00 +0200

When body piercing began shifting in the late 80s and early 90s from an obscure underground practice to something more mainstream, there was a particularly fascinating but fraught character at the center of it all: Fakir Musafar. Born Roland Loomis, the South Dakota–raised former Lutheran lived as an adult in the San Francisco Bay Area, […]
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Lyric Opera unveils its 2026-27 season

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:29:00 +0200

Lyric Opera of Chicago announced Thursday that its 2026-2027 season will feature seven mainstage operas and—after a four-year hiatus—the return of the spring musical with a new (2025) production of Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls. Also on deck: two movies—Encanto and Amadeus—with live performance of the score by the Lyric Opera Orchestra (and, for Amadeus, […]
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Aliah Sheffield is sick of earth and wants you to sing along

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:58:00 +0200

Aliah Sheffield Sun 4/19 at Ramova Loft
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Unsheathed Glory transports you to the peaceful depths of dungeon synth

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Unsheathed Glory Sat 4/18 at Cole's Bar
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Swedish cloud-rock pioneers Horse Vision bring their cheeky indie rock to Chicago

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Horse Vision Thu 4/16 at Sleeping Village
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Sunn O))) are one with nature on their new self-titled album

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Sun O))) Thu 4/16 at Salt Shed
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Saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi and guitarist Matt Gold team up on Devotional Fade

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Matt Gold & Dustin Laurenzi Sun 4/19 at Color Club
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At the Sticks, woodworking is for everyone

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0200

I made two mistakes in my beginner woodworking class at the Sticks, a woodshop and makerspace that opened in June 2025. First, I ran the wrong edge through the joiner, a machine used to flatten and smooth rough pieces of wood. Gary Hou, one of my instructors, gently pointed it out after the mistake was […]
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Going beyond

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:48:00 +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. The first iteration of Beyond Chicago, an expansion of the LA-based genre festival, took place at the Music Box Theatre from April 2–5. It seemed to be a big hit; the […]
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The horrors and miracles of the 25th Chicago Palestine Film Festival

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:29:00 +0200

“No director could re-create the horror of Gaza.” A woman says this in Hala Bou Saab’s 2025 documentary The Miracle of Gaza; the titular miracle is her daughter, Halmia, who, at six years old, was presumed dead following an Israeli air strike. She remained in the morgue for several hours and was even prepared for […]
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Review: The Serpent’s Skin

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:11:00 +0200

The Serpent’s Skin screening Sat 4/11 at Alamo Drafthouse Wrigleyville
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Review: Alpha

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:11:00 +0200

Alpha in limited release in theaters
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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom returns to the Goodman

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:57:00 +0200

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, through 5/3 at Goodman Theatre
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The Sugar Wife explores capitalist exploitation and philanthropy

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:48:00 +0200

The Sugar Wife, through 5/3, the Artistic Home at Theater Wit
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It’s the end of the world as she called it

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:32:00 +0200

Kassandra at the Top of the World, through 4/18, Fat Theatre Project and the Terror Cottas at Berger Park Coach House
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Eos Theatre Company makes its debut with a new version of The Trojan Women

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:31:00 +0200

The Trojan Women, through 4/19, Eos Theatre Company at Bramble Arts Loft
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The Official Biography explores the murky gap between truth and fiction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:24:00 +0200

The Official Biography, through 4/19, Her Story Theater at the Den Theatre
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Chicago mayor visits Illinois prison, meeting with Northwestern Prison Education Program students

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:32:00 +0200

On Sunday, March 15, Mayor Brandon Johnson met with 60 of us graduates and current students of Northwestern University’s Prison Education Program at Sheridan Correctional Center. It was an extraordinary, history-making event: According to Brandon Wyatt, one of the students who spoke, Johnson was the first sitting Chicago mayor, at least in recent history, to […]
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The Chicago underground rock community grieves engineer Simon Small

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:38:00 +0200

Around a year into the pandemic, Into It. Over It. main man Evan Weiss got a message from UK musician and recording engineer Simon Small. Weiss knew Small casually. They’d met in the 2010s at Fest, an annual multiday punk gathering in Gainesville, Florida, where Small was playing with his old band Apologies, I Have […]
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Omnia Sol, glitch artist and cinematic raver

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:15:00 +0200

Syd Ross resists tidy categorization, but as an artist they’ve made contributions that echo throughout Chicago’s creative avant-garde. Ross, 35, has been vibrating in the city’s background since moving here in 2018: They’ve made signs for the Exchange in Wicker Park that look like video-game-themed crop circles, and they have a bit part in Monogamy […]
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“Nocturne” glows at Document

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:04:00 +0200

“Nocturne" through 6/6 at Document
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The Chicago Electronic Music Conference returns for year two

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0200

The Chicago Electronic Music Conference debuted in 2025 at the Ramova Theatre, and for year number two it’s returning to the same venue on Saturday, April 11. Like any good music conference, CEMC will have a vendor hall (in this case loaded with DJ and synth gear), a record shop pop-up, and plenty of panels, […]
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Review: The Drama

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:17:00 +0200

The Drama in wide release in theaters
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There will be no kings when Gilda returns to Monday Night Foodball

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Two years ago, the Basque separatist Euskal Herria Bildu party rejected the legitimacy of Spain’s King Felipe VI. Along with Catalan and Galician independence parties, they declared that the monarchy was “incompatible with essential democratic principles.” If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because last year, Chef Jeremy Leven of the Basque-inspired pop-up Gilda, along with […]
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Review: Faces of Death

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Faces of Death in wide release in theaters
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Missives from the Midwest: Detroit in 24 Hours with Abby Pucker, Chanelle Lacy, and Emma McKee

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Meet the Flyover Gals: Gertie’s Abby Pucker and Chanelle Lacy, alongside Mariane Ibrahim Gallery’s Emma McKee—three women rooted in Chicago’s art scene, sending back vivid dispatches from their art world journeys across the midwest. In this Chicago Reader series, the trio captures the creativity, grit, and unexpected beauty shaping the heartland’s cultural landscape. We’ve all […]
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Detroit is the mirror that Chicago needs

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Meet the Flyover Gals: Gertie’s Abby Pucker and Chanelle Lacy, alongside Mariane Ibrahim Gallery’s Emma McKee—three women rooted in Chicago’s art scene, sending back vivid dispatches from their art world journeys across the midwest. In this Chicago Reader series, the trio captures the creativity, grit, and unexpected beauty shaping the heartland’s cultural landscape. We’ve all […]
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Review: Kontinental ’25

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:37:00 +0200

Kontinental ’25 screening through Thu 4/9 at the Siskel Film Center
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North Carolina band Verity Den do indie rock right

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:58:00 +0200

Verity Den Sun 4/12 at Hideout
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Rami Gabriel makes music like no one else in Chicago

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Rami Gabriel Thu 4/9 at Empty Bottle
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Lala Lala went west and emerged with the dramatically stripped-down Heaven 2

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Lala Lala Thu 4/9 at Thalia Hall
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Drummer Tim Daisy hosts a residency of improvised and composed music that searches for shades between

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Tim Daisy Homeroom Residency Every Monday in April at Elastic Arts
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Cult legend Kath Bloom brings her homespun visionary folk to the Hideout

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Kath Bloom Fri 4/10 at the Hideout
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Cult legend Kath Bloom brings her experimental folk to the Hideout

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Kath Bloom Fri 4/10 at Hideout
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Yasmin Williams finds folk music for everyone on her guitar

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:56:00 +0200

Yasmin Williams Fri 4/17 at SPACE
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The first Imminence Festival celebrates the diversity of the spontaneously made music presented by Elastic Arts

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:56:00 +0200

Imminence Festival Thu 4/16 -Sat 4/18
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Snow Tha Product’s bilingual barrio party rolls into the Ramova Theatre

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:56:00 +0200

A concert by Snow Tha Product is part no-holds-barred political rally and part barrio party, full of rhythm and humor. I witnessed such an evening last summer at Ruidosa Fest in New York’s Lincoln Center, where the San Jose rapper born Claudia Alexandra Madriz Meza lit up the crowd with her rapid-fire rhymes, incisive lyricism, […]
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Poison Ruïn express their fatalist worldview on Hymns From the Hills

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:56:00 +0200

Poison Ruïn Wed 4/22 at Subterranean
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GZA brings his tour for the 30th anniversary of Liquid Swords to Avondale Music Hall

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:56:00 +0200

GZA Fri 4/24 at Avondale Music Hall
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Dance Mania Legends Year 2 celebrates the past and future of ghetto house, footwork, and juke

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:56:00 +0200

Dance Mania Legends Year 2 Sat 4/18 at Avondale Music Hall
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Campus wars

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:50:00 +0200

The Ally, through 5/2 at Theater Wit
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The new Monday Night Foodball spring schedule is stormproof

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:34:00 +0200

I’m crouched like a vampire over the counter in my half-lit kitchen, wondering why I left the house yesterday. I haven’t slept in almost 24 hours, and my drooping flesh bag needs to drag itself back to the coffin before sunrise. My brain has other ideas. Bad ideas. It wants to stay awake and relive […]
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Ten must-see shows for EXPO Art Week

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

EXPO Chicago—our city’s premier art fair, now in its 13th edition—returns this week, bringing with it gallerists, collectors, and art enthusiasts from around the globe. Much ado has been made about the downsizing of this year’s fair—the first under the direction of Kate Sierzputowski and the third since Frieze acquired it. The number of participating […]
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Start making sense

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:31:00 +0200

Theater of the Mind, through 7/12, presented by Goodman Theatre at 333 N. LaSalle
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Undesirable friends

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:11:00 +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. Julia Loktev’s five-and-a-half-hour documentary My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow (2024) is a movie of its moment. Loktev follows several Russian journalists in fall 2021 and winter […]
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Community members, legal advocates speak out over pending charges against Broadview ICE jail protesters

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:48:00 +0200

Community members and legal advocates spoke out Wednesday in Daley Plaza against what they see as brutal arrests and unjust prosecutions stemming from protests outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. A group of people facing or who have faced criminal charges in Cook County stemming from the protests joined attorneys with the National Lawyers […]
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Charles Joseph Smith brings his music aboveground

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0200

Dr. Charles Joseph Smith wants to stage an opera called War of the Martian Ghosts. In 2018, he issued an album of neoclassical piano pieces with that title through local indie Sooper Records. On April 3, the label will release a compilation of Smith’s recordings that spans a 30-year period called Collected Works and War […]
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Review: Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen streaming on Netflix
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Review: Forbidden Fruits

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Forbidden Fruits in wide release in theaters
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What Kyoto taught me about designing cities for humans

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0200

On a recent trip to Kyoto, Japan, I experienced something rare in American cities: a world shaped by thoughtful design. It made me realize something simple but radical—the people building our world should think like artists. Kyoto’s environment felt like it had been designed for the human nervous system, especially people with ADHD and anxiety. […]
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The warehouse model of prison isn’t working, education is

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0200

I have been in prison for 33 years now, and for 28 of those years I tried, unsuccessfully, to get an education. When I was on death row, I was told by corrections officers that getting an education would be a waste of time. After I got off death row, I tried, once again, to […]
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In situ minimus

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

“Barely Fair", 4/3–4/19
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Review: They Will Kill You

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:52:00 +0200

They Will Kill You in wide release in theaters
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Review: Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:52:00 +0200

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come in wide release in theaters
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From steelworkers to care workers

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:02:00 +0200

In December 2024, Advocate Health announced plans to invest $1 billion into new locations on Chicago’s south side, often colocated with churches and community centers, in addition to a brand-new hospital at the former U.S. Steel South Works plant, which will soon be home to a multimillion dollar quantum computing campus.Last year, state regulators overwhelmingly […]
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Hunt for treasure at the 36th Onion City Experimental Film Festival

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:08:00 +0200

When I asked Onion City Experimental Film Festival programmers Elise Schierbeek and Nicky Ni what they hope will draw people to the 36th iteration of the festival, their answers were somewhat surprising. Schierbeek hopes “that treasure hunting draws people in.” Ni (also an occasional Reader contributor) hopes people come to the fest “to check out […]
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A living archive on the west side

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:17:00 +0200

Social Fabric is a glimpse into the vibrant lives, objects, and spaces that shape our city, cocurated with community archives and local photographers. shira@chicagoreader.com Chicago’s west side is rich in history, not only in its monuments and institutions but also in the everyday rituals of memory: family photographs passed hand-to-hand, kitchen table stories told between bites, […]
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The Pynk Portal is open

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:06:00 +0200

Editor’s note: Sex work remains criminalized in Illinois. Some sources in this story are identified by first name or stage name only; their full names have been withheld to protect their safety. They are marked with an asterisk on first mention. The room on Lawndale The students had gone home. The studio’s luminous neon sign, […]
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Random ICE raids have slowed for now, but this popular neighborhood chef still isn’t cooking outside

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:00:00 +0200

Editor’s note: Bertin, Ricardo, and Chuy’s names have been changed for this story out of concern for their safety. They are marked with an asterisk on first mention. Ricardo* squeezes behind his little cousin, who sits cross-legged on an office chair, playing on an iPad. “We have Coke, we have Sprite, we have water,” he […]
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Southeast Spotlight: TNT Ramen

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

TNT Ramen8929 S. Commercial Ave, Wed–Sun 11 AM–8 PM (773) 300-1020, tntramen.com, info@tntramen.comInstagram @TNTRamen Like actual TNT, Chicago’s Southeast Side has a new ramen spot that is entering the neighborhood with a bang! Founded by partners Mari and Tony Macias, TNT Ramen keeps community at its core. Since opening in August of 2025, the Macias […]
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Southeast Spotlight: Colibri Coffee

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Colibri CoffeeSun–Fri 7 AM – 4 PM, Sat 8 AM – 4 PM (773) 437-3584, order.dripos.com/Colibri-CoffeeInstagram @ColibriCoffeeChi Like the hummingbird it’s named after, Colibri Coffee has fluttered into the hearts of East Side residents. The coffee shop cafe has filled a void in the community by providing quality sources of caffeine and a casual daytime space […]
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Out Here gives a fresh musical spin to the family drama

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Out Here, 4/10-5/10at Court Theatre
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Community Cinema makes moviegoing accessible

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Movie theaters, like libraries, have no limitations on who is welcome through their doors. However, as ticket prices and the runtime of preshow trailers steadily rise, the financial cost for moviegoing is becoming a burden, and patrons are forced to sit through excessive advertisements. In 2019, with support from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, the […]
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Chicago Reader Volume 55, Number 15

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:25:00 +0200

Chicago Reader Volume 55, No. 15. April 2026.
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Chicago thaws, worlds emerge

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0200

April is Chicago’s season of transition from dark to light as the great thaw hits and buried bulbs finally emerge. Spring is the opening of the many worlds that make up this city, especially those that hide in plain sight. Drive down any street or look down any alley: without recognition, sometimes in deliberate quiet, […]
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A long, strange trip

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Walking into Doyle Chappell’s Rogers Park apartment feels like it belongs to Willy Wonka, if Wonka had a one-bedroom on the north side of Chicago—it was vivacious, organized chaos. With the landlord’s consent, the 87-year-old painted his walls a deep red and arranged his vibrantly colored acrylic portraits edge-to-edge like a gallery in his living […]
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Chicago is having a poetry moment, and here’s where to be

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:22:00 +0200

In honor of National Poetry Month, we’ve rounded up a selection of readings, performances, workshops, and celebrations of poetry’s vital place in our city’s culture. Whether you’re a poet, poetry lover, or just poetry curious, head out to Chicago’s bookstores, libraries, stages, and shared spaces to not just listen to great poems but to participate […]
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Modern Gentleman depicts transition with humor and heart

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:14:00 +0200

Modern Gentleman, through 4/18, About Face Theatre at Raven Theatre
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The Three Musketeers swashes all the buckles at Idle Muse

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:52:00 +0200

The Three Musketeers, through 4/25, Idle Muse Theatre Company at Edge Off Broadway
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Out, Darn Spot! gives a darkly comic twist to Lady Macbeth

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:39:00 +0200

Out, Darn Spot!, through 4/12 at the Chopin Theatre
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Gift Theatre’s Ten 25th! celebrates the art of the short play

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:25:00 +0200

Ten 25th!, through 4/4, Gift Theatre at A Red Orchid Theatre
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DIY institution the VCR closes after nine years

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:29:00 +0200

After nearly a decade in operation, north-side DIY space the VCR will shut down in April. Last week, sound engineer and musician Chris Lee announced that he’d decided to close the venue he’d cofounded before his lease on the building lapses in June. Lee is the sole tenant on the lease, and despite sharing the […]
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A bookstore to get lost in the flock

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:00:00 +0200

Super Exclusive eXpo 2, Fri, 4/11 at Sheep Cult Comics
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The passion of the critic

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 17:43:00 +0100

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. Before I prematurely exited the mid-March screening of Todd Verow’s 2012 documentary Bottom at the Leather Archives and Museum—not because I was shocked by the film’s subject, but because I had […]
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Power and grace

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:52:00 +0100

During Trinity Irish Dance Company’s February 28 performance at the Auditorium Theatre, founder and artistic director Mark Howard came out and announced that Chelsea Hoy, longtime associate artistic director for the company, is now co-artistic director. It’s not surprising, given that Hoy has been instrumental in the company for years as a performer and choreographer […]
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Enmolada blasts off with happy tuna, mole, and lots of masa at the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:57:00 +0100

Nick Muniz found a nice tuna for you. The tuna’s name is Colin. He’s been fed a diet of sheep’s milk, soy, and hazelnuts. He’s a happy little guy who swims around in an ocean located about two thousand miles east of Chicago. No. But you can expect a happy tuna like that on your […]
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Experimental keyboardist and composer Kelly Moran gives you something to reflect on with Don’t Trust Mirrors

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:02:00 +0100

Kelly Moran Sun 4/5 at Constellation
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Ratboys graduate but don’t move out

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:33:00 +0100

It was a frosty February night in Chicago, but the Beat Kitchen was warm and cozy. Ratboys were playing their sixth album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair—released that morning on the band’s new label, New West—from start to finish. Ratboys have made a tradition of playing their albums in full on release day (except 2021’s […]
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Anne Hills carries folk music’s Chicago heyday in her head and heart

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 22:52:00 +0100

One of my favorite ways to discover a local artist is to study the liner notes of a thrift-store LP. I always grab albums by local folk legend Bob Gibson when they turn up at the nearby Salvation Army. His 1980 record The Perfect High, recorded live at Charlotte’s Web in Rockford and the Earl […]
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Forever Deaf Fest 7 champions heavy sounds from near and far

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:33:00 +0100

Forever Deaf Fest 7 Fri 4/10 and Sat 4/11 at various locations
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The Hallogallo crew celebrate a scene-defining compilation at the Empty Bottle

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:31:00 +0100

Red Xerox release show Sun 4/5 at Empty Bottle
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Experimental bass clarinetist Emily Rach Beisel drops a new album of heavy winds

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:31:00 +0100

Emily Rach Beisel Fri 4/10 at 8:30 pm
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Review: Miroirs No. 3

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:00:00 +0100

Miroirs No. 3 screening through Thu 4/2 at the Siskel Film Center
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Silver screen shenanigans

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:52:00 +0100

Grelley Duvall Best Actress, through 4/12 at Chopin Theatre
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A depressed artist, a dead pope, and a Temu Übermensch walk into a theater . . .

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:25:00 +0100

The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview, through 4/25 at Trap Door Theatre
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Poison, patriarchy, and purgatory

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:11:00 +0100

The Posthumous Trial of Giulia Tofana, through 4/5, Larkspur Productions at the Den Theatre
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Tenants at Chinatown’s storied Richland Center food court brace for potential rent increases

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:05:00 +0100

For more than 15 years, the lower-level Richland Center food court on Wentworth Avenue near Archer Avenue in Chinatown has been a hub for regional Chinese cuisine and a launchpad for immigrants seeking to establish businesses. The renowned Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings got its start from the basement, as did the dearly departed Lao Pi […]
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Review: Reminders of Him

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 22:16:00 +0100

Reminders of Him in wide release in theaters
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Review: Imperfect Women (Season one)

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 22:16:00 +0100

Imperfect Women streaming on Apple TV+
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Stuck take a sleek turn on their third LP, Optimizer

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:05:00 +0100

Stuck front man Greg Obis forged his band in response to bad times. The group dropped their gnarly, serrated debut album, Change Is Bad, a couple weeks after the pandemic shut down the country in 2020, and their 2023 follow up Freak Frequency skewed even more wound-up and aggressive. This Friday, Exploding in Sound will […]
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Fake eyes and forklifts

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:34:00 +0100

“I got a fake eye that a guy gave to me. He wants it back,” says comedian and singer-songwriter Ryan Oliver. I let out a “whoa,” like a little kid, and Oliver nods. “It was at a comedy show. I’d seen him a few times. He was saying he really likes my jokes. I think […]
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Unwritten

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:34:00 +0100

In the project 60 wrd/min art critic, writer Lori Waxman explores how art writing can serve an expanded field of artists—including those incarcerated, trying to gain visas, working to establish themselves professionally, or just wanting feedback for a secret hobby. For this iteration, Waxman reviews an exhibition by recent SAIC MFA student Abdulrahman Hamdi. Abdulrahman […]
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El ultimo sueño de Frida y Diego is a fanciful take on a well-worn story

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:28:00 +0100

El ultimo sueño de Frida y Diego, through 4/4 at Lyric Opera
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Evanston faith leaders denounce Chicago real estate firm for contracting with ICE

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:41:00 +0100

Interfaith clergy, immigrant rights advocates, and a former prisoner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gathered at Evanston’s Sherman Plaza on Friday to announce their opposition to Chicago-based real estate investment trust Highlands Real Estate Investment Trust’s plan to lease a vacant jail near Denver to the federal government for immigration detention. “Our message […]
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Filter Photo’s annual survey show

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0100

“Context 2026" through 4/18 at Filter Photo
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The trippy vibe at Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 22:03:00 +0100

After my son’s basketball games, it’s not uncommon for us to take the kids out for ice cream. But this time, we got a lot more than a simple sugar high. It was late in the evening, and we innocently headed to the closest ice cream shop Google Maps had to offer. Little did we […]
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Local witch-house artist Häxa welcomes spring at Reggies Music Joint

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:54:00 +0100

Häxa Sun 3/29 at Reggies Music Joint
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Acoustic guitarist Gwenifer Raymond plays sci-fi-themed fingerstyle blues at escape velocity

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:54:00 +0100

Gwenifer Raymond Sun 3/29 at the Hideout
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One TRiiBE, divided?

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:39:00 +0100

*Disclosure: Chicago Reader social justice reporter Devyn-Marshall Brown is a unionized employee represented by the Chicago News Guild, which currently represents workers who are unionizing at the TRiiBE. What do the Christian Bible and the National Labor Relations Board have in common? They both say you only need a minimum of two people to start […]
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Blowouts, quince curls, and 27 years of miracles at Margarita’s Hair Design

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0100

In October 1998, Margarita Duarte did not know that a short walk with her husband would lead her to the hair salon that would shape nearly 27 years of her life. She thought they were headed to the corner store near their home in Avondale. Instead, he opened the door to the space and told […]
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The fight over Illinois’s data center boom is coming to a head

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:35:00 +0100

At a packed and contentious Joliet City Council meeting on Tuesday night, opponents outnumbered supporters of a proposed data center at the edge of the city, not far from a large warehouse development. People spilled out of the chamber. Some wore union shirts bearing the names of their local chapters, and representatives for IBEW 176 […]
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You’ll feel beautiful when Eat Steak Chips and Late Night Noods unite at the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 22:44:00 +0100

Last week, Tony B and Chef T were shopping for fresh chicken paws at Costco. At roughly $11 for a five-pound package, that’s a good score. B, the chef and steak chip tycoon formerly known as Tony Balestreri, gave pedicures to the paws he purchased, with rainbow polish and a topcoat. “It took forever,” he […]
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Memories of a Window captures a revolutionary portrait of Iran

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 20:11:00 +0100

In Memories of a Window, revolution arrives framed by a phone screen. The documentary short by Chicago-based Iranian filmmakers Mehraneh Salimian and Amin Pakparvar had its world premiere in February at the 2026 Berlinale. Assembled from footage the pair recorded as students in Tehran alongside videos posted online during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, […]
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Colors that rhyme, clash, and dance

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:54:00 +0100

“Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color" through 6/1 at the Art Institute of Chicago
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The Drowsy Chaperone delights at Theo

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 19:04:00 +0100

The Drowsy Chaperone, through 4/19 at Theo, Evanston
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White Rooster examines ghosts, longing, and desire at Lookingglass

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:49:00 +0100

White Rooster, through 4/26 at Lookingglass Theatre
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The Jackie Wilson Story returns to Black Ensemble Theater

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:25:00 +0100

The Jackie Wilson Story, through 4/26 at Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center
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When words fail

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:06:00 +0100

Song About Himself, through 4/5, Theater Oobleck at Facility Theatre
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A tasty amuse-bouche

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:53:00 +0100

Fully Committed, through 3/28 at the Den Theatre
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A nose for sweetness

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:40:00 +0100

Cyrano, through 4/12, Theatre Above the Law at Jarvis Square Theater
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Review: Project Hail Mary

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0100

Project Hail Mary in wide release in theaters
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Heavy Crownz aims for the Chicago rap canon with Trench Baby Turned Farmer

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0100

Last week, Englewood rapper Heavy Crownz released his accomplished new album, Trench Baby Turned Farmer. “Clap for Me!” makes a great showcase for his earthy vocals, emotive flow, and forthright lyrics, and its lightly funky, dragging melody sounds like a sun-beaten G-funk track played backward. Crownz clearly wants to canonize himself in Chicago hip-hop history, […]
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How the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin got their land back

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0100

The Oneida people have inhabited the Great Lakes region for millennia, and their ancestral lands include approximately six million acres in present-day New York state. During the American Revolution, the Oneidas served as crucial allies of George Washington’s colonial army, delivering hundreds of bushels of corn to feed his starving soldiers at Valley Forge. After […]
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The Sunny Naqvi case shows how outrage, politics, and incomplete information collide

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:34:00 +0100

As a journalist, it’s always been important for me to center the people directly impacted by injustice and tell stories that capture their full humanity, not just ones that fixate on their trauma. So, when I opened Instagram last Friday and learned that 28-year-old Sundas ‘Sunny’ Naqvi, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, had allegedly […]
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Review: Undertone

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0100

Undertone in wide release in theaters
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After O’Grady

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0100

“I Dream I Cross the River in One Stride" through 3/28 at Mariane Ibrahim
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Review: Divine Hammer

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 22:26:00 +0100

Divine Hammer screening Wed 3/18 at Facets
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Review: André Is an Idiot

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 22:26:00 +0100

André Is an Idiot in limited release in theaters
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Framing a new Butterfly

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 21:03:00 +0100

Madama Butterfly, through 4/12 at Lyric Opera
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Rapper Chris Patrick hopes his good luck holds on Pray 4 Me

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:01:00 +0100

Chris Patrick Wed 3/25 at Subterranean
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Portland’s Spoon Benders will transfix you with their timeless vintage grooves

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0100

Spoon Benders Fri 3/20 at the Hideout
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Lamb of God hew to their antiauthoritarian roots on Into Oblivion

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0100

Lamb of God Wed 3/25 at Aragon Ballroom
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Footballhead prove that butt-rock nostalgia is real

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0100

Footballhead Sat 3/21 at Reggies Rock Club
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Imagining a world where the people win

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0100

Ask an independent Chicago bookseller what’s been a consistent bestseller over the last few years, and they’ll point you to an aqua blue paperback emblazoned with a New York City subway map and the five boroughs in varying shades of red. It’s called Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune 2052-2072, […]
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Drawing is magic

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:39:00 +0100

“Cataclysmic Ecstasy and Apocalypse" through 3/15 at UIC 5th floor gallery
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Sandy Shinner: a godmother of Chicago theater

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:56:00 +0100

Women’s History Month can feel like a joke sometimes (a whole month? For us? Golly!), given the ways that women’s rights are being torn apart here and elsewhere. But one thing I’ve learned in my many years of covering the performing arts is that women are often the backbone of these organizations as administrators, artists, […]
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Bland ambition

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 22:00:00 +0100

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. “Ambitious” can mean many things when it comes to a movie. Sometimes it’s used reverentially—for example, one might call a film like Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 […]
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Review: Vladimir

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:31:00 +0100

Vladimir streaming on Netflix
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Review: The Bride!

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:31:00 +0100

The Bride! in wide release in theaters
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Age gaps and power traps

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:51:00 +0100

“Emancipation Park" through 3/28 at SkyART South
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Chekhov in the tropics

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:43:00 +0100

Two Sisters and a Piano, through 3/29 at Writers Theatre, Glencoe
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The Dress-Up Play encourages kids to embrace their identities

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:29:00 +0100

The Dress-Up Play, through 3/22, Jackalope Theatre at the Broadway Armory
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The ‘Red Scare’ and the small screen

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:08:00 +0100

Changing Channels, through 4/12 at City Lit Theater
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Scratching under the surface

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 20:54:00 +0100

Cats, through 3/29, Music Theater Works at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie
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Walkabout jumps back onstage

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:55:00 +0100

Poor Poor Lear, 3/12-3/15, Walkabout Theater at Chopin Theatre
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What are REITs—and what do they have to do with immigration jails?

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:23:00 +0100

The rapid growth of immigration jails across the U.S. is an unfolding horror story—one financed by more ordinary Americans than many would care to imagine, often without their knowledge. On February 27, Chicago Reader news editor Shawn Mulcahy reported on one such prospective detention facility, Big Horn Correctional Facility in Hudson, Colorado. The 1,200-bed prison […]
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Preview the new and uncompromising Kimski menu at the next Monday Night Foodball

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:16:00 +0100

Won Kim plated up the kimchi-topped Polish sausages at Maria’s to keep the freeloaders from taking advantage of the bar. The year was 2015, and Kim, a culinary student, graffiti artist, and DJ, had become a regular at Bridgeport’s Maria’s Packaged Goods. On Mondays—industry nights—Ed and Mike Marszewski began offering free Polish sausages topped with […]
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In Pursuit Of updates Crime and Punishment

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:39:00 +0100

In Pursuit Of, through 3/15, Sub Rosa Theatre Collective at Greenhouse Theater Center
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The new Roadhouse Magazine comes with an OK Cool option

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 20:10:00 +0100

Since its launch as an online publication in 2023, Roadhouse Magazine has been covering Chicago’s independent rock and punk scene. Its turf includes classic-rock lovers Damager, good-vibes queer pop-punks Pinksqueeze, and art-punk imps Background Character, who often play at venues such as Gman Tavern, Beat Kitchen, and the downstairs space at Subterranean. Readers of the […]
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Review: Sirāt

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0100

Sirāt in limited release in theaters
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Review: Hoppers

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0100

Hoppers in wide release in theaters
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‘What does real investment look like to you?’

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:12:00 +0100

What if the $500 million in state dollars dedicated to the development of a sprawling quantum computing campus in South Chicago was instead given to local residents to invest in their community as they see fit? That was the question at the heart of the Southeast Side People’s Assembly, a gathering organized by the community […]
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Best Free Sexting Websites and Apps for NSFW Messaging Online in 2026

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 07:26:00 +0100

‘The days of romantic ink and parchment love letters are long gone, and digital seduction has become all the rage. Why wax poetic when you can hammer out a few crass lines and toss in some dubious emojis? Whether we like it or not, sexting has become a widespread and normalized part of modern communication, […]
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Reader-recommended Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr events

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 22:07:00 +0100

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan—a time when Muslims come together for prayer, shared meals, charity, and moments with family and community. After a month of fasting from dawn to sunset, Eid arrives as a celebration and a time of togetherness for Chicago’s Muslim communities, which span many cultures, traditions, […]
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The death of diversity

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 21:56:00 +0100

The University of Illinois (UI) system’s administration emailed department heads on October 14 that it was pulling funding for scholarships awarded to students based on race. Jeremiah Abiade, head of a program created to support Black students pursuing careers in science and engineering at the college’s Chicago campus, didn’t get the message. “Communication was not […]
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Wao wows at the Goodman

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 21:29:00 +0100

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, through 4/12 at Goodman Theatre
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Ed Wilkerson Jr. has helped Chicago jazz turn a sound into a community

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 21:29:00 +0100

On November 1, 2025, I saw an incredible show at the Empty Bottle as part of the club’s 33⅓ Anniversary Series. The concert also celebrated the release of a new box set of live recordings from the Empty Bottle Jazz & Improvised Music Series, which John Corbett and Ken Vandermark ran from 1996 till 2005. […]
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Chicago Opera Theater’s Der Silbersee

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 18:30:00 +0100

Der Silbersee, through 3/8, Chicago Opera Theater at the Studebaker Theater
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South siders Lost Legion make oi! for everyday people fighting back against the feds

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0100

Lost Legion Sat 3/14 at Cobra Lounge
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Nuestro Chicago Archives and the power of family photographs

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0100

Nuestro Chicago Archives values the nostalgia of physical media. The act of printing photographs, picking them up from Jewel or Walgreens, and placing them in a physical photo album is now a deliberate practice, given the ubiquity of digital photography. Established in 2024, our community archival project intentionally seeks submissions of printed family photographs taken […]
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Clarinetist James Falzone makes solo music that imagines a long-overdue better world

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0100

James Falzone Sat 3/14 at 2156 W. Fulton
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Chicago’s Broken Left Foot draw from alt-rock’s deep well on Adaptor

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0100

Broken Left Foot Wed 3/18 at Beat Kitchen
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Chicago experimental duo Cleared make drone tracks for ambient dance heads

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0100

Cleared Sat 3/14 at Constellation
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Paletero bells to whistles: Latine creation is an act of resistance in Chicago

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:02:00 +0100

I grew up on Chicago’s south side, in the heart of Little Village, surrounded by the sounds of paleteros ringing the bells of their ice cream carts, the bright colors of freshly cut fruit, and the aroma of tamales filling the streets. The bells meant summer. They meant joy. They meant children running outside with […]
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An AI character comes to life in Morning, Noon, and Night

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 20:14:00 +0100

Morning, Noon, and Night, through 3/28, Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit
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Theatre Y’s Charges (The Supplicants) updates Aeschylus for the urgency of our times

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 19:53:00 +0100

Charges (The Supplicants, through 3/29 at Theatre Y
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A wedding and a funeral

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 19:39:00 +0100

Pivot, through 3/21 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
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Going through the motions

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:54:00 +0100

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Winter Series, which ran February 26 to March 1 at the Harris Theater, featured a mixed bill of three full company works by Amy Hall Garner, Juel D. Lane, and Nacho Duato. The works by Garner and Duato were created on different cohorts of the company, 17 years apart. In Garner’s […]
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Estrella del Mar’s pan-Latin-Hawaiian coastal cooking comes to the next Monday Night Foodball

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:03:00 +0100

It is often said that the best poke on Oahu is served at Foodland Farms supermarkets. But for Star Urquidi, her best poke was her first poke: at a little restaurant near her junior high school in Honolulu. “Me and my friends would go whenever we could come up with some money and get spicy […]
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Meet me in the middling

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0100

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. As many of my fellow film critics will attest, the hardest films to write about are often the middling ones. Perhaps you even liked such a film, enjoyed the time you […]
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Gasoline and slot machines

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0100

It’s long been frowned upon to drink beer at a gas station. But a quirk in Illinois law has recently led such businesses across the state to secure liquor licenses that let customers drink on premises. It’s not really about the booze. It’s about gambling. In 2009, Governor Pat Quinn signed the Video Gaming Act, […]
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Reform in reverse at the State’s Attorney’s Office

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:24:00 +0100

It has been just over a year since Eileen O’Neill Burke took office as Cook County state’s attorney. Now is an appropriate time to assess how her policies are impacting our communities. The state’s attorney is one of the county’s most powerful elected officials, determining who receives mercy and who faces lengthy sentences, whether law […]
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Best Chicago DJ bottling music into scent

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:09:00 +0100

Zernell Gillie I first heard of Zernell Gillie when midwest perfumer Alie Kiral (Pearfat Parfum) mentioned him on Instagram, which led me to discover his fragrance House, a lush scent named for the homegrown electronic music style. One whiff and I was back at Smartbar in 2016 with my husband, bodies in motion under the […]
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Best way to see Black Chicago (and beyond) through a fresh lens