PHOTOS: Whitney and NE-HI at Millennium Park 8.12.18

The Millennium Park free summer concert series rolled on over the weekend, this time featuring NE-HI and Whitney. The Chicago bands revisited plenty of crowd favorites from their past albums, but both also debuted some brand new material to the crowded park. If you missed the hometown celebration, check out photos from the show below. 

Live Recap: The Inaugural Bellwether Festival

Bellwether Festival made its debut over the weekend, bringing some of the freshest names in indie music as well as some celebrated classics to the festival site, which usually plays home to a renaissance festival. The first-time, two-day festival encountered some setbacks, like a storm that forced the cancellation of Friday's headliner MGMT, but Bellwether also excelled in other ways. Limiting its grounds to feature only two stages within easy walking distance and limiting the lineup to rule out any schedule overlap allowed for the festival attendees to focus on the music and see every artist.

If you missed out on the fest, check out the top five moments of the weekend below. 

"Golden Days" Met The Golden Hour During Whitney's Set

Following the success of their debut project Light Upon The Lake, Whitney toured relentlessly for the better part of two years, playing several headline runs and appearing on the major festival circuits. Their early evening set at Bellwether marked a rare live set from the group this year, as they've been slowly, but surely chipping away at their sophomore effort. Beginning with a quick sprinkle of rain, Whitney's set revisited their beloved first album, including their popular single "Golden Days." The band performed the anthemic break up song just after the sun had broken through the rain, delivering the perfect soundtrack to Friday's golden hour. The set also included a Neil Young and NRBQ cover, as well as Whitney's unreleased song "Rolling Blackout" that has become a staple of their live shows. As the set closed out, lead singer Julien Ehrlich left the crowd with the promise of new music soon; "See you next time. With a new album. We've been working on it...we're happy about it."

Local Natives Egged on the Rain

Like Whitney, Los Angeles' Local Natives are between albums at the moment, but lead singer Taylor Rice also teased their next album. "We're almost done with the fourth record. We can't say much but we like it," Rice told the crowd. While the news gave the audience something to look forward to with the future of Local Natives, the crowd also got a chance to celebrate the past with the band. Kelcey Ayer of the band reminisced on the band's history, noting that they just hit their ten year anniversary. "In honor of that we're gonna close the set with a few Gorilla Manor songs," the band announced before revisiting songs from their first album. Just before playing their final song of the set, "Sun Hands," Rice commented on the fact that they'd managed to hold off the rain despite the lightning filling the sky behind them. "If it rains, just go crazier. It's our last song so give it everything you've got," the frontman said, egging on the inevitable storm brewing, which let loose just as Local Natives left the stage. 

Japanese Breakfast Invited The Flaming Lips to Olive Garden

Fronted by Michelle Zauner, Philadelphia outfit Japanese Breakfast has been hitting the road consistently following the release of Soft Sounds From Another Planet last summer. Despite their taxing tour schedule, Zauner and her band brought their usual energy and witty stage banter to their Bellwether Fest set. Between songs, Zauner called attention to the fact that the festival site also hosts a renaissance fair; "I should have worn my John Snow Outfit," she joked, adding that she was hoping to see more capes in the crowd. She also shared the band's excitement to be a part of the small but mighty lineup, expressing her admiration of that night's headliner, The Flaming Lips. "If they're here, we would like to extend an invitation to the Olive Garden," Zauner said about Wayne Coyne and co before ending the set with an explosive, high energy jam with her band. 

The Psychedelic Furs and Echo & The Bunnymen Evoked 80's Nostalgia

After Japanese Breakfast's set, the lineup turned back to the era of The Breakfast Club, with back to back sets from post punk bands The Psychedelic Furs and Echo & The Bunnymen. The Psychedelic Furs kicked off the nostalgic streak, attracting zealous fans to the front rows to chant frontman Richard Butler's name just before they took the stage. Their set had fans from all generations singing along to the hits like "Pretty in Pink" and "Love My Way," and the band sounded as tight as ever. Butler's signature vocals remained strong throughout the whole set, and the band's saxophone player added some spice to the songs. Echo & The Bunnymen kept the post punk train rolling during their set, frontman Ian McCulloch also sounding great as the band played through their hits. Again, fans from all different generations flocked to see the iconic group, one fan in the front even donning a Donnie Darko mask as a nod to the band's song "The Killing Moon" being featured on the film's soundtrack. 

The Flaming Lips Covered MGMT 

While the weather forecast showed a chance of storms all weekend, the rain managed to hold off most of Saturday. Despite the clear skies on day two, the muddy grounds and disappointment of headliner MGMT's cancelled set lingered in the air and reminded the festival goers of the previous night's storm. The festival staff offered some perks, like free Saturday entry for Friday ticket holders, to lessen that sting, but The Flaming Lips were the ultimate festival heroes when they covered MGMT's song "Kids" at the beginning of their set. Lead singer Wayne Coyne set up the cover saying that the cancellation from the rain was obviously no one's fault, and MGMT had left him a note in the green room. The "note" ended up being lyrics to "Kids," which Coyne began reading slowly, before the band pitched in with the melody and Coyne began singing. The cover came after the group had opened their set with "Race For The Prize," which they paired with a confetti cannon, giant balloons, and lots of fog. The theatrics continued nonstop for the entire show; the bright lights and colorful props lifting the spirits of everyone at the festival and ending the weekend on the most magical note. One of the absolute highlights of The Flaming Lips' production came towards the end of the set, when the band covered Bowie's "Space Oddity"; Coyne stepped inside of a giant bubble and floated along the top of the crowd during the performance. As Coyne said, the rain that had put a damper on Friday's headlining set was no one's fault, and the spectacular close of Saturday night outweighed the set backs. 

Check out more photos of the whole weekend below, featuring Whitney, Dr. Dog, Local Natives, Allah-Las, Japanese Breakfast, The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen, and The Flaming Lips. 

Bellwether returns next year on August 9th and 10th. Get more details here. 

PHOTOS: Lala Lala, Torres, Wolf Parade at House of Vans 8.08.18

Last Wednesday night, the House of Vans summer house party series came to a close with an evening curated by Wolf Parade. Check out photos of the show below, featuring Lala Lala and Torres warming up the stage. 

PHOTOS: Durand Jones and the Indications and Tank and the Bangs 8.03.18

Thalia Hall hosted an official Lollapalooza aftershow on Friday night for Durand Jones & The Indications and Tank and the Bangas. If you missed out on the festivities, check out photos from the show below!

Live Recap: The Wombats Bring New Music, The Hits, and Infectious Energy to Their Lollapalooza Aftershow

This past Thursday night, The Wombats closed out the first day of Lollapalooza 2018 with a sold out aftershow at Lincoln Hall

---

As the clock struck midnight, hoards of music fans had piled into Lincoln Hall to celebrate the end of the first day of Lollapalooza with The Wombats. Although they had just performed out in Tinley Park with The Pixies last month and at Lollapalooza earlier that day, the last time The Wombats had performed as a headliner in Chicago was more that two years ago, when they played The Metro in support of their album Glitterbug. Despite the late start time of the aftershow, old and new fans of the band buzzed with anticipation during the moments leading up The Wombats’ entrance to the small stage, everyone anxious to hear some of their old favorites as well as the freshest material from this year’s Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life.

The set began with the new; The group opened with “Cheetah Tongue,” the first track off their fourth studio album, but from there on, the setlist took twists and turns through The Wombats’ extensive catalog of material. Following “Give Me a Try” from Glitterbug, the band threw it back to 2011 and 2007 with “1996” and “Kill The Director.” While The Wombats did a great job at compiling a setlist of songs that highlighted each of their album eras, one of the best experiences of the show was looking around and seeing fans scream the lyrics along with lead singer Matthew Murphy and dance throughout the night with unwavering gusto, during every single song. Murphy and bandmates Dan Haggis and Tord Øverland have continuously mastered creating music that blends clever and sharp narratives with danceable melodies and grooving bass lines, allowing for fans to connect with the lyrics while dancing it out.

Live, the trio translates their records to life with a keen stage presence and unmatched chemistry, which stems from their years and years of playing music together. Despite their grueling tour and travel schedule as of late and the fact that they had played Lollapalooza earlier that afternoon, The Wombats never skimped on the energy during their show at Lincoln Hall; Øverland still delivered his signature kicks and jumps as he played bass and Murphy often paraded around the stage with his guitar. The entire room was already beaming from ear to ear as the set came to a close, but the band still had one more surprise up their sleeves. During iconic tune “Let’s Dance To Joy Division,” three people dressed up head-to-toe in wombat suits rushed the crowd and stage to close out the night, and everyone (even the wombats) clapped along to the athemic bridge of the song.

Following the humorous guest appearance, The Wombats (the band) returned for an encore, bringing along the costumed wombats again. The three song encore consisted of one of their recent singles, “Turn,” “Tokyo-Vampires & Wolves” from their earlier days, and “Greek Tragedy” from their third album, once again equally representing all of their eras. No matter what year your favorite song from The Wombats comes from though, there’s no denying their music and their live show has a timeless quality to it; it will always be a challenge to find anyone having a bad time at a Wombats show.

Check out photos from the show below, and see where you can catch The Wombats next here. 

Listen to Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life in full below.

PHOTOS: This Is The Kit and Aimee Mann 7.30.18

The city's free Summer concert series continued this past Monday night with This is the Kit and Aimee Mann. Check out photos from the show below, and see the rest of the upcoming concerts here. 

PHOTOS: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Shamir, and True Blue at House of Vans 7.27.18

Last week, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and House of Vans started our weekends right with another successful Vans House Party. The headliners curated the show, hand picking Shamir and True Blue to open up the show. 

Check out photos of the show below, and RSVP to the next Vans House Party on August 8th, featuring Wolf Parade, Torres and Lala Lala here. 

Listen to Unknown Mortal Orchestra's latest album Sex & Food in full below and keep up with them on Facebook + Twitter

PHOTOS: Taking Back Sunday and Coheed and Cambria 7.26.18

Last Thursday night, Taking Back Sunday and Coheed and Cambria stopped by Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago on their co-headlining Summer tour, and The Story So Far opened the show. Check out photos of all three bands below, and see the rest of the upcoming tour dates here. 

Pitchfork Festival Recap 2018

Thousands of music fans returned to the familiar stomping grounds of Union Park for another successful Pitchfork Music Festival this past weekend. Looking at the thunderstorm-filled weather forecast during the days leading up to the festival, many of the festival goers speculated if the schedule would stay on track and if any sets would be canceled, but surprisingly the weather turned out to be close to perfect with minimal rain and lots of breeze. In addition to the ideal festival weather, P4K 2018 also featured more Chicago artists than it ever has in the past, and they also had a fair balance of female and male performers, which is something many other music festivals have failed to provide with recent line ups. If you missed out on the festival this year, dive in below to see what other standout moments happened over the weekend. 

Friday

Julie Byrne and her her harpist eased the crowd into Day 1

Friday morning and early afternoon did end up having some rain showers, but by the time singer songwriter Julie Byrne took the stage just before 3PM, the drizzle had died down, leaving a cloudy, cool breeze in the air. Bryne's mellow music and ethereal vocals perfectly complimented the gray skies, giving everyone a tranquil introduction to their festival weekend. Byrne's live band also included a rare harpist, which further hypnotized the crowd and eased them into what would inevitably be a long weekend of lots of great music. Byrne also gave a shout out to Chicago when she reminisced on her time she spent living here, before playing her song "Melting Grid" from her 2017 album Not Even Happiness. 

Julien Baker Captivated a Large Crowd on her Own

Most of the time when solo artists perform live, they're joined by a live band to help them fill out the arrangements and make a more dynamic performance, but Julien Baker took the stage at Pitchfork completely alone at the beginning of her set. Armed with her guitar and her powerful vocals, Baker completely captivated the large crowd that overflowed the area around the Blue Stage, opening with "Turn Out The Lights." After performing the title track of her latest album, the chilling track "Appointments" from the same album, Baker was eventually joined by a violinist, who added a special touch to Baker's narratives. Again, it's rare to witness a solo performance as powerful as Baker's but with her vocal gusto and emotive stage presence, her shows are always something special.

SYD Celebrated The Internet's New Album

Lead vocalist of The Internet and solo artist SYD hit one of the festival's main stages in the early evening hours, bringing her silky smooth vocals and effortlessly cool demeanor to the growing crowd. Earlier that day, The Internet had released their brand new album Hive Mind, and fans and Pitchfork were eager to see if any of the new songs would make it into SYD's solo set. After performing songs like "All About Me" and "Got Her Own" from 2017's Fin, as well as her Kaytranada collaboration "You're The One," SYD did in fact bring out some of The Internet to perform a few of their brand new tracks. The hypnotizing set finished with one of The Internet's most popular tracks, "Girl," allowing for the audience to get the full experience of SYD's discography. 

Big Thief Made a Comeback

It seem's like the members of Brooklyn's Big Thief never take a day off; after releasing full albums in 2016 and 2017 and touring in between, Buck Meek of the group also somehow managed to release his debut solo album and tour it this year. Buck Meek has played a couple of times in Chicago as his solo project, but this performance at Pitchfork was the first time the full band had played a show in town this year, and they were welcomed back by the Chicago audience with open arms as they performed crowd favorites from both of their albums. Their show stood out among all of the performances of the weekend with lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker's emotive delivery of her narratives and the magnetic chemistry among the group.

Courtney Barnett Had a Hype Man

Before Courtney Barnett performed as the second to last act on Friday, flocks of fans had gathered in front of the red stage, anxiously buzzing for the Australian singer to take the stage. A lone fan started a chant for their apparent favorite song off Barnett's new album Tell Me How You Really Feel: "Nameless, Faceless." Before long, the majority of the crowd was chanting the song title along with the no longer lone fan and the anticipation for the show peaked. Barnett and her band rewarded the enthusiastic audience with another stand out set of the weekend, amplifying the already high energy on the studio versions of Barnett's records. 

Tame Impala Made it Rain

Following Courtney Barnett's set, fellow Australians in Tame Impala hit the Green stage, closing out the first night of the festival. Before they even walked onstage, trippy lighting and visuals illuminated the stage, prefacing their psychedelic rock tunes. A couple of songs in, the rain that had been looming in the forecast all day finally fell upon the massive crowd watching Tame Impala, falling just after the band had already showered the front rows with confetti. The rain couldn't put a damper on the infectiously jovial mood of the audience, and the rain even added another dynamic layer to the multicolored visuals swirling around on the stage screens. Just as soon as it hit though, the rain had passed leaving the crowd to dance around in the aftermath of the storm. 

Saturday

Paul Cherry Played His Debut Album in Full

Chicago's own Paul Cherry checked a huge accomplishment off his bucket list when he opened up the second day of the festival. Cherry brought his dreamy psych-pop debut album to life with the help of a full band, which included Kevin Krauter from Hoops and Mat Roberts from Mild High Club. The super group performed the 2018 album Flavour in full--"even the instrumentals," as Cherry pointed out. Although the early set definitely had a thinner crowd than the later performances, plenty of festival goers made sure to get there on time and show their support to one of their own. 

Zola Jesus Made a Theatrical Entrance

Singer songwriter Zola Jesus took the stage in the early afternoon to suspenseful introduction music, donning a layered red dress that covered her entire body and face. She began her set singing through the garment, eventually pushing the red veil back to reveal her face. The extensive catalog of Zola Jesus explores different sonic pockets, ranging from delicate piano melodies to ominous synths, but her powerful and evocative vocals always stand out on her records. During her Pitchfork performance, Zola Jesus and her band brought all those aspects of her records to life, pairing them with a simple yet theatrical production featuring her outfit and choreography. Despite the heaviness of her songs, between them, the singer made light-hearted banter with the crowd, shouting out any audience members from Wisconsin, where she had attended college. 

Moses Sumney Walked the Catwalk

Moses Sumney's incredible vocal range and live band lineup that even included orchestral instruments would have been enough to make his set stand out as a highlight, but his showmanship and interaction with the audience is what really set his show apart from others. Sumney worked the entire stage as he played songs from his 2017 album Aromanticism and his latest single "Make Out in My Car," giving the whole audience his attention throughout the show. Towards the end of his set, Sumney got even more up close and personal with the crowd when he left the stage to walk up and down the catwalk barricade in front of the stage. 

Girlpool Reminisced About Myspace

Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad, better known as Girlpool took the Blue Stage on Saturday afternoon, providing festival goers a chance to sit back and relax to their laidback indie rock tunes. Girlpool have a sound that's instantly like-able, drawing in a huge crowd of both their avid listeners as well as curious passerby looking to discover new music at a festival. Between songs, the pair made witty banter to keep the entertainment rolling; Harmony Tividad even reminisced about Myspace at one point, sipping Gatorade and recalling that she had once included the drink in her Myspace bio. The duo's natural stage presence continued to add another layer to their performance, making them a fan favorite.

 Blood Orange Brought a Production and New Music

Dev Hynes, known by his stage name Blood Orange, returned to Pitchfork Music Festival this year, delivering a full production and new music. Hynes and his full band performed in front of revolving videos being projected on the screen behind them. In addition to the visual layer added to the performance, Hynes added choreography and dance moves as well as backup singers to fill out the layered production. While most of the set consisted of tracks from his 2016 album Freetown Sound, Hynes threw a couple of new songs in, including "Charcoal Baby" from his upcoming album Negro Swan, out August 24th. 

Sunday

Kweku Collins Had High School Classmates in the Audience

Evanston rapper and producer has been buzzed about in Chicago for a couple of years now, but his early Sunday performance marked his Pitchfork Chicago debut. Despite his 2:30PM start time on the third of the festival and the rainy morning, Collins still drew a large crowd of enthusiastic fans. Among the throngs of festival goers echoing the lyrics back to Collins, he recognized some of the audience members as his former high school classmates. Being 21, Collins admitted that his high school days weren't that long ago, but you could tell it meant a lot to him to have some hometown support. Collins also used his performance time to put his platform to good use; during his set he addressed one of the common issues at music festivals. "Guys watch your space. Your presence is not a burden until you make that shit a burden," continuing on to add that if we all go about it the right way and be respectful, everyone can have a great time. His statement set the tone for the final day of the festival and left everyone walking away with a smile. 

RAVYN LENAE Made the Crowd Pinky Promise

Immediately following Kweku Collins' performance, another young Chicago artist took the Red Stage across the way: Ravyn Lenae. The R&B singer certainly made an entrance when she sauntered onstage draped in a sparkling fringe dress and carrying a microphone covered in red faux fur. Lenae's impressive range and vocal chops backed up her glittery stage set up, and she quickly had the crowd wrapped around her finger. Early on in her set, Lenae asked for the audience to raise their pinkies and promise to dance and sing along to her music, and they happily obliged. 

Japanese Breakfast Collaborated With An Old Tour-mate

Michelle Zauner, known under her moniker of Japanese Breakfast, made her Pitchfork Festival debut with her usual exuberant stage presence, projecting that positivity out into the crowd. Following her incredible set that featured songs from her two albums as well as a cover of "Dreams" by The Cranberries, Zauner returned to the Blue Stage a short time later, this time joining her former tour mate (Sandy) Alex G during his set. The two had toured together in 2017, and at Pitchfork they reunited to perform the crowd favorite "Brite Boy."

Chicago Artists Made the City Proud

Chicago remained the name of the game on Sunday at Pitchfork; following the performances of Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Kweku Collins, and Ravyn Lenae, the Chicago acts just kept rolling. Rapper Noname delivered a special show with her full backing band and a few guest appearances from her fellow Chicagoans Ravyn Lenae, Smino, Saba, and Joseph Chilliams. The guests during Noname's set showcased the collaborative nature in this city's music scene. 

The legendary Chaka Khan, another Chicago native, took the Red Stage next, keeping the hometown theme going. Her set consisted of nonstop hits, from her solo songs like "I'm Every Woman" to "Ain't Nobody," as well as songs from her funk band Rufus, the crowd never stopped singing along. 

Lauryn Hill Actually Showed Up

Throughout the entire day and even the entire weekend, festival goers continued to speculate if Lauryn Hill would show up, and if she did show up, how late she would be. The legendary artist has earned herself an infamous reputation for cancelling shows last minute or showing up hours late. Needless to say, no one really had high expectations as the night began to come to a close and the headliner was scheduled to begin, but everyone got a pleasant surprise when Ms. Hill's DJ took the stage right on time. After about thirty minutes of hype brought on by the DJ and her other band members who began to trickle onstage, Lauryn Hill finally graced the Green Stage, rewarding the swarm of eager fans that spanned multiple generations. The weekend ended on a high note as the festival goers got to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill with the icon, who has since cancelled some of her upcoming tour dates. 

Check out more photos of the entire weekend below

PHOTOS: Grapetooth at Lincoln Hall 7.21.18

This past Saturday night, the dynamic duo of Chris Bailoni and Clay Frankel (better known as Grapetooth) headlined a sold out show at Lincoln Hall. The unofficial Pitchfork aftershow came on the heels of the pair's announcement that they'd been signed to Polyvinyl Records, who will release Grapetooth's debut record some time this fall. If you missed out on the rambunctious show--which ended with fans climbing onstage during debut single "Trouble"--check out our photos of the show below. 

Keep up with Grapetooth on Facebook + Twitter + Instagram