ANCHR Magazine

Holding you down with the best new music

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PHOTOS: Hatchie and Girlpool at Lincoln Hall 04.18.19

This past Thursday night, Hatchie and Girlpool shared the stage at Lincoln Hall, putting on a stunning show. Hatchie performed a mix of her first EP and singles, as well as songs from her upcoming debut album Keepsake, out June 21st.

See where you can catch Hatchie next here, and check out photos from the evening below!


PHOTOS: Durand Jones & The Indications and Divino Niño at Thalia Hall

On Thursday Night last week, Durand Jones & The Indications returned to Chicago for their third show at Thalia Hall— this time headlining to a sold out crowd. Check out photos of the night, including Divino Niño’s set, below.

See Durand Jones & The Indications’ upcoming tour dates here and keep up with them on Instagram.

PHOTOS: Ex Hex at Thalia Hall 04.10.19

On Wednesday night last week, Ex Hex brought their electrifying show to Pilsen’s Thalia Hall. Check out photos of the neon-colored night below!

PHOTOS: Bad Sounds and Broods at Metro 04.10.19

Earlier this week, Emily Nava caught an energetic show from Bad Sounds and Broods at Metro Chicago. Check out her photo coverage of the night below!

See the rest of Bad Sounds’ upcoming tour dates here.

PHOTOS: ANCHR's In the Round Showcase at Thalia Hall

A couple of weeks ago, we hosted our biggest showcase yet at the beautiful Thalia Hall with Varsity, Pool Holograph, Stuyedeyed, and Rookie. If you missed out on the monumental occasion, check out some photos from the evening by Cat Florea below!

Get tickets to the next ANCHR Showcase with Town Criers, The Edwards, In the Pines, and Dreamboats here.

PHOTOS: Tomberlin and Hand Habits at Hideout 04.04.19

On Thursday night, Tomberlin and Hand Habits shared the stage at Chicago’s The Hideout for the first of two sold out shows there with Hand Habits. Both musicians put on a mesmerizing performance that had the crowd enchanted and attentively listening the entire time.

See photos from the show below, and see the rest of Hand Habits’ upcoming tour dates here.

Listen to Hand Habits’ album placeholder and keep up with them on Facebook and Instagram.

PHOTOS: Ten Fé Make Their Chicago Debut to a Sold Out Schubas Tavern

London’s Ten Fé finally played their first show in Chicago over the weekend at Schubas Tavern, and unsurprisingly, the show was completely sold out. The evening’s setlist featured a good mix of songs from Ten Fé’s 2017 debut album Hit The Light and their brand new record Future Perfect, Present Tense.

Stay tuned for an interview with the band coming to ANCHR soon, but in the meantime check out photos from their Chicago debut!


Live Recap: Stella Donnelly's Sold Out Soiree at Schubas Tavern

“I just took a Malört shot to the eye!” Stella Donnelly exclaimed to the sold out crowd at Schubas Tavern on Friday night, March 29th. *Record Scratch, Freeze-Frame* You’re probably wondering how we got here…so let’s start at the beginning, when Faye Webster opened up the show at 9PM.

The music room had filled in, with fans eager for the evening’s performances, when Webster took the stage accompanied by only one bandmate; Pistol, who played a pedal steel guitar. Webster’s gentle vocals made for the perfect way to ease everyone into the concert, with Pistol’s pedal steel providing a dreamy, surfy vibe to the songs to put everyone in the room in a groovy trance. Webster threw in some surprises during her set too; first with a creative cover of “Cheap Thrills” by Atlanta rapper Father and second, when she pulled out a yo-yo to show off some tricks she’d recently learned. The best surprise came when Webster invited an audience member by the name of Xion onstage to perform some serious yo-yo tricks, which were greeted with thundering applause and cheers from the crowd.

After the exhilarating yo-yo tricks at the end of Webster’s set, the room was buzzing with nothing but good vibes when Stella Donnelly took the stage shortly after. The last time I had seen Donnelly, she had played a solo set opening up for Natalie Prass at Lincoln Hall, and her debut album Beware of the Dogs had not yet been announced. At the Lincoln Hall show, Donnelly had completely commanded the room with just her voice, her guitar, and her witty banter. And at the Schubas show on Friday, Donnelly once again showed off her chops as a solo performer by opening her set playing a handful of songs sans her touring bandmates. For most of this first portion of the show, Donnelly had an infectious positive attitude about her, and she kept the mood light with some cheeky humor. When it came time for Donnelly to perform “Boys Will Be Boys,” a weighted song that tackles the subject of sexual assault, she gave a content warning about the subject matter before sharing that the song was inspired by an incident that happened to a close friend. Donnelly’s candid and fearless approach to her songwriting comes across on many of her songs, but particularly in this track, which acts as a timely reminder for everyone to believe and support survivors.

When it came time for Donnelly’s full live band to join the mix, the infectious energy that she had exuded on her own only multiplied, and you could feel the joy bouncing between bandmates as they looked to be having the time of their lives playing together. They all had such an easy-going manner and their chemistry as bandmates came across as natural, like they were all just old friends jamming out. Between the laid-back nature of the bandmates and Donnelly’s flawless vocal execution and charm, you couldn’t help but be hooked on this performance. The feel-good mood came to a high when Donnelly invited Faye Webster and Xion (and their yo-yos) back up on stage for the ironically upbeat tune “Die.” The bandmates, Webster, and Xion ended the song in a coordinated dance, which was obviously met with deafening cheers by the audience.

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for...the Malört shots. Earlier in the set, Donnelly had mentioned between songs that one of her bandmates had yet to try the infamous Chicago liquor, which is a rite of passage for anyone visiting our city. Luckily for Donnelly’s band members, Malcom Brown (of Whitney) was in the crowd that night, and he saved the day by bringing up a tray full of Malört just as the final full-band song of the night, “Tricks,” was coming to a close. Cue: Donnelly taking her shot and getting some of it in her eye. Like a champ, Donnelly went on with the show and wrapped up her first sold out headline show in Chicago with a solo rendition of  “Mechanical Bull,” throwing in some improvised lyrics; “There’s Malört in my throat” in place of “You've been at my throat.”

Between the impeccable musicianship, cheery stage presence, and moments of humor, I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect start to the weekend than Stella Donnelly’s show. Easily one of the best shows I’d seen in a while, Stella Donnelly is not to be missed if she’s performing in a city near you. Check out her upcoming tour dates here, and relive the fun of Friday’s gig with the photo gallery below.


PHOTOS: Roman Lewis, Jungle Green and Matt Maltese at Beat Kitchen 3.27.19

This past Wednesday night, London singer-songwriter Roman Lewis celebrated his 18th birthday by playing his first show in Chicago at Beat Kitchen. Lewis played alongside Matt Maltese and Chicago’s Jungle Green— check out photos of the evening below.

For more on Roman Lewis, revisit our interview with him here.

Better Oblivion Community Center Takes Over Lincoln Hall for Two Sold Out "Meetings"

This past weekend, the collaborative project of singer songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst took over Lincoln Hall for two very sold out shows, marking their debut performances in Chicago. Deemed Better Oblivion Community Center, the duo just recently announced their musical partnership with a self-titled ten track album, released January 24th via Dead Oceans, and their current tour has treated fans to live versions of every track on the record.

In addition to playing the entire record, Bridgers and Oberst also performed another brand new single they had written together as Better Oblivion Community Center, which was available for fans to purchase as a 7” at the merch table. Throughout the setlist, Bridgers and Oberst both took on the challenge of singing lead vocals on one another’s songs; with Bridgers singing Bright Eyes’ “Lime Tree” and Oberst enchanting the crowd with “Scott Street” and a sped up version of Bridgers’ melancholic “Funeral.” During the entire show, there was a spirit of camaraderie—both between the bandmates on stage and between the audience members soaking in the experience—that filled the entire room, making the evening truly feel more like a community gathering than a spectacle.

See where you can attend the next Better Oblivion Community Center meeting here, and check out photos from March 24th’s show below.

The Setlist for 3/24/19

  1. Didn’t Know What I Was in For

  2. Dylan Thomas

  3. Service Road

  4. Big Black Heart

  5. Sleepwalkin’

  6. Lime Tree

  7. Exception

  8. Forest Lawn

  9. Little Trouble

  10. Chesapeake

  11. Can’t Hardly Wait

  12. Bad Blood

  13. My City

  14. Scott Street

  15. Funeral

  16. Dominos