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After living in Chicago for 16 years, I finally made it to Ravinia to see a show. It’s a beautiful venue, with a huge park and sculpture garden on the grounds along with a newly renovated pavilion. A mere 30 minute train ride from my home, I did not envision such a wondrous landscape. And what event lured me all the way up to Ravinia? …
First and foremost let me say thank you to the organizers of the Post Festival for their hard work getting everything together. We went to the event at Hi-Fi Indy and the Hi-Fi Annex for one day, and it was absolutely wonderful. Not only was the music great, but the venue was clean and welcoming, the other festivalgoers were polite and courteous, and the dang …
I haven’t been able to open my phone for over a month without seeing something about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. So, naturally, my mind has been drifting to my favorite telling of that story, The Coen Brothers’ O Brother Where Art Thou? So it seems to be kismet that I would receive an email about an upcoming show featuring a bluegrass/americana band playing nearby. The …
A couple of months ago I bought one-day tickets to The Post. Festival. I was born in Indiana and spent my first 22 years there. Never in that time did anything this cool take place. Three days of music, all in the post-rock/metal genre. I’ll admit, post-rock isn’t my favorite genre. However, looking at the lineup, this fest has managed to collect a whole bunch …
I was lucky enough to catch one of the four farewell shows put on by Foxing as they kicked off their indefinite hiatus. I immediately wondered how long it would be until they started releasing music with other projects, and as it turned out, not long at all. Smidley has been the solo project of frontman Connor Murphy for about a decade now. Last week …
Since it was announced a couple months ago, I’ve been getting more and more excited for the Evanston Folk Festival. A handful of my favorites are playing, including Margaret Glaspy. Her last album, 2023’s Echo The Diamond, landed on my best-of list and I saw her put on a fantastic show at Sleeping Village. She’s back with a new album coming soon. Today she released …
For the second time in the history of Music.Defined. a New England band has managed to stay off my radar for years despite being right in my wheelhouse. The first, a twee group from Vermont called The Smittens that recommend checking out. And now, Perennial, a fun mod group out of Connecticut. The latter just put out a new single, ahead of a full-length that …
We took a trip to the cinema yesterday to see the new Boots Riley film, I Love Boosters. Absolutely terrific movie. One of those rare pieces of entertainment that reminds you just how powerful the medium can be. Below, what I think are the best 20 films to come out since this website started in 2011. As always, limited to one entry per filmmaker. 20. …
It’s impressive what a skilled musician like Morten Larsen can do with a 4-track recorder. When my high school band, Tax Evasion, put together a tape using my dad’s equipment, our cassette was a hissy, garbled mess. Larsen, who performs under the name Wynd, weaves together a dazzling triumph of sound on “The Shores.” It’s a beautifully written song about memory and how it changes …
I’ve known the name Josh Chicoine for a long time now. Back in 2008 he co-founded CIMMFest, a movie and music festival that I covered a couple of times. He’s been working in the Chicago area for decades, and he’s back with a new band called Temp Wishes. The members all have a strong Windy City pedigree: Edward Anderson (1900s, Mazes), Colby Starck (Mar Caribe, …
