Prathloons, Caleb Nichols, Winefred RT, Silo’s Choice
Prathloons is the Chicago-based songwriting project of Collin Dall formed in 2018. Dall’s songwriting layers poetic, melancholic lyrics atop glacial arrangements on guitar, drums, piano, & violin. The songs reminisce on the mess of getting old, the woes of long-term relationships, & accepting that the meaning of our time on earth is simpler than we think: to love and listen, and to hope for the same in return.Caleb Nichols is a queer poet and musician from a working class family in California. Caleb’s critically acclaimed rock opera “Ramon” was released on iconic indie label Kill Rock Stars in 2022, and his next KRS album is out in fall 2023. Winefred RT is the indie folk-rock solo project of Zoe Bockhorst. Coming out of Madison, WI and now based in Chicago, IL, Winefred RT’s music weaves together clever, cutting lyrics and delicate vocals. Described once by a fan as like “if Joni Mitchell […] grew up with internet access”Silo’s Choice is the alias of Jon Massey, Chicagoan, who since 2010 has amassed an encyclopedic catalog that bridges Verlaines-ish indie, folk, and contemporary classical.
Gosh Diggity, Sparkling Urbana, Wyldfire
Gosh Diggity is 3 piece chiptune rock from the Windy City.Sparkling Urbana blends 90’s queercore energy with folk and punk storytelling for grungy songs with a melodic crunch. You + Sparkling Urbana: Reminders that existence is resistance. Wyldfire is hyperpop with Synth undertone duo of Danelle’s soulful vocals and Naomi’s poppy beats. Making the slutty trashy trans pop music you never knew you always needed.
Sin, Supercorp, tunnel
Sin. is a supersonic psychedelic garage rock project based out of the depths of the underground music scene in Chicago, Illinois. The band is fronted by Ethan Oliver on vocals and guitar, Brian Chindblom on lead guitar, Joe McTague on bass and Caleb Nelson on drums. This 4 piece powerhouse of a group uses glamourous sparkly chords, fuzzy and spacey guitar tones, simple yet effective rock beats, exhilarating bass lines, and chilling vocals to create a beautiful amalgamation of “Do It Yourself”, psychedelic rock fusion.At its core, Sin. Is a rock and roll group through and through. However, conceptually, Sin. goes much deeper. Front man Ethan Oliver grew up in the Evangelical Christian church, surrounded by missionaries, pastors, and devout followers of Christ. With this upbringing came a lot of shame surrounding things like human desire and emotions, condemned and called Sin, without him fully understanding why. Ethan named the project Sin. as a sort of positive reclamation of the term. Sin. as a project aims to embrace the human experience and reject spiritual transcendence, giving in to desire, lust, gluttony, wrath, etc… Sin. wants you to take pride in your animalistic instincts, and some of the darker parts of your psyche.
King Sans, Killmoves, Bull Heather + The Bloodflowers, Damage Dames
Chicago’s altrock/noisepunk duo: King Sans set out with each performance to combine visceral raw energy with melancholic lulls to deliver a night you won’t soon forget.Killmoves is a 4 piece alternative/post-hardcore band founded in Chicago in 2022.Bull Heather is a musical project and persona that is as much inspired by glam and drag culture as she is alt metal or 2000s diva pop music, performing songs that explore the experience of queerness in our current tumultuous era through the lens of heavy and off-kilter rock music influenced by acts such as Black Dresses, the Pixies, and Mitski.Damage Dames is a catchy two-piece lofi dance punk with a skosh of weirdness.
John Forrest & The Model Citizens, North Warren, Sin.
John Forrest & The Model Citizens are an alternative band based in Minneapolis Minnesota. With an upbeat danceable sound the music tries to capture the changing dynamics of love, self-destruction, loneliness, and isolation in the digital age.
Deserta, Sunshy
Deserta: Through a patchwork of reverb-tinged textures – drone guitars, lingering synths and driving percussion – the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matthew Doty weaves together stories of care, frustration and catharsis that ultimately stretch to a gentle resolve. On new album Every Moment, Everything You Need, Doty chronicles the kind of year we all fear, full of uncertainty, tension and sustained pressure, and transforms it into a celebration of perseverance. It’s an essential reminder that we have the power to shape the stories we tell. The LP was mixed by Dave Fridmann (Tame Impala, Mogwai, Interpol), with Beach House and Slowdive producer Chris Coady engineering and co-producing.Sunshy is a noise pop band from Chicago. Their sonic signature weaves together swirling, distorted chords, searing guitar riffs, and captivating vocals, conjuring a cathartic tapestry of ethereal chaos.
Creaturefight, Cam, The Racing Pulses
Creaturefight is good music for moody people.Cam is a singer, rapper, songwriter and producer who has been making music in Chicago since 2018. She’s collaborated with various Chicago indie staples such as Billy Lemos, Jackie Hayes and Don’t Be Kendall, as well as heavy hitter names in the industry like Redveil. They strive to create music and spaces for queer, Black, youths.
Neil Jendon, Dead Bandit, Vertonen, Dungeon Blossoms
Neil Jendon plays solo modular electronic minimalist drone. Get comfortable.Dead Bandit is Ellis Swan and James Schimpl — the former a noted solo singer-songwriter from Chicago with a penchant for eerie, witching hour murder ballads and the latter an accomplished Canadian multi-instrumentalist with a bias towards heartworn, roaming soundscapes. vertonen has been the solo project of Blake Edwards since 1991. His most recent work has focused on reappropriating and manipulating dead and dying media to accentuate communication and its various limitations / frequent failings.
Chrissy Corazza, Curt Oren, Extravision
Chrissy is an Iowa-born Chicago musician who plays bass for a variety of local acts including Janet Blackwell, The Megan Esther Band, and b.lake. Primarily, she sings, writes, and plays bass for the highly collaborative six-piece band Public Ritual.Extravision is a band from Iowa and makes psychedelic prairie music. Their new album “Temporary Fountain” explores a blend of acoustic and electronic instrumentation and experiments with glitchy textures a la Animal Collective, Bon Iver, and Frank Ocean.
somesurprises, Twin Talk, RAYS
somesurprises is the musical project of Egyptian/English American songwriter and guitarist Natasha El-Sergany. Born in Letterkenny, Ireland, and raised in the north of England before moving to Florida at age ten, El-Sergany eventually found home in the evergreen mist of Seattle, WA. What began as a bedroom project focused on spectral balladry and late-night exploration has evolved into a dynamic four-piece band. Motorik beats, reverb-drenched vocals, washes of fingerpicked guitars, and hazy synths expand El-Sergany’s delicate and blissful songwriting.For over a decade, Chicago’s Twin Talk has steadily drifted from the conventions of the saxophone trio. While reedist Dustin Laurenzi, bassist-singer Katie Ernst, and drummer Andrew Green are deeply rooted in jazz tradition, they’ve spent their time on the band stage together making their music more elastic, spontaneous, and open, embracing new inspirations without stifling the improvisational heart of their work. Twin Talk uses live performances as opportunities to stretch—expanding on composed material and ditching set lists in favor of calling tunes on the fly.RAYS is a new band of Chicago music scene stalwarts Andrew Scott Young, Jake Acosta, Skyler Rowe, and Brian Sulpizio. They’re throwing improvisation and composition right into the KitchenAid™️ Stand Mixer and you will not be dissatisfied by the dough they pull out of there. And maybe the oven is the stage or something. The music is the bread or cookies I guess?