Beyonce holds on to Billboard's top spot
Beyonce holds on to the top spot on Billboard's album sales chart this week with 115,000 more sales of her new disc “4,” MTV....
Get the full story >>Odd Future booking puts Pitchfork festival in an odd position
In a summer loaded with music festivals, this weekend's Pitchfork Music Festival inUnion Park consistently stands apart: large but not too...
Get the full story >>Ramsey Lewis unveils a few bright 'Colors'
The last several years have been signficant for Chicago pianist Ramsey Lewis, who has enjoyed a burst of creativity at an age when many...
Get the full story >>Dave Matthews rules his Caravan, but other acts shine in the heat
Dave Matthews couldn't have been a more gracious onstage host at his namesake three-day Caravan festival held on the city's Southeast Side...
Get the full story >>Britney Spears and her dazzling distractions
There was a lot going on during Britney Spears' almost sold-out show at the United Center on Friday night. From pyrotechnics to dancers...
Get the full story >>It's 'Liszt Vegas' as superstar Lang Lang wows Ravinia crowd at CSO summer opener
It seemed only fitting that Ravinia's summer-long celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of the 19th century's most eminent showman of...
Get the full story >>Katy Perry Allstate show postponed due to food poisoning
Katy Perry's Friday concert at the Allstate Arena has been posponed due to "an attack of food poisoning leading to severe dehydration,"...
Get the full story >>Classical corner
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Christoph Eschenbach concludes his weekend Ravinia Festival engagement with two concerts. At 8 p.m....
Get the full story >>Judy Roberts proves you can go home again
As homecomings go, this was about as good as it gets. The house was packed, the audience engaged, the musicians primed.
Get the full story >>Country a career commitment for Elizabeth Cook
Country singer Elizabeth Cook is talking about what made last year's hilarious and poignant "Welder" such a leap in sophistication beyond...
Get the full story >>Ramsey Lewis lifts the curtain on his newest work: 'Colors'
In recent years, Chicago pianist-composer Ramsey Lewis has penned ambitious works exploring epic themes such as love ("To Know Her …"...
Get the full story >>U2 brings enormous concert in for a safe, risk-free landing
Bono was reminiscing about the good old days ofU2, circa 1997, with 63,000-plus co-celebrants Tuesday at sold-out Soldier Field.
Get the full story >>Guitarist Larry Coryell ranges freely at the Jazz Showcase
Some musicians play smarter, better, sharper as they age.
Get the full story >>Loretta Lynn plays Taste like a family reunion
As our true American music legends grow fewer and fewer, the surviving road warriors among them become more precious with each passing year....
Get the full story >>Judy Roberts keeps coming back like a song
Four years ago, fans grieved when singer-pianist Judy Roberts left Chicago in a huff.
Get the full story >>Tristen returns to her roots
This weekend, Tristen Gaspadarek is coming home. Four years ago the singer-songwriter uprooted herself from south suburban Lansing, where...
Get the full story >>Setting off holiday fireworks – in jazz
Much of the city shuts down for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, but the jazz scene never quits.
Get the full story >>Michael J. Miles makes the banjo sing
"Being a banjo player is a risky business," Michael J. Miles told the crowd Friday night at theOld Town School of Folk Music.
Get the full story >>The Flaming Lips: It's hard work being weird
You know how the Flaming Lips are always doing weird things? Like floating around in humongous bubbles, or conducting strange sonic...
Get the full story >>Pick of the week
Indiana University Summer Festival Orchestra: The commanding violinist Joshua Bell pays tribute to his alma mater, the university's...
Get the full story >>Jimmie Dale Gilmore takes another unusual turn
It could have been a group of talented friends playing together on a back porch, except for the extraordinary voice at the center of the...
Get the full story >>Wilco announces record release date, concert tour
Wilco announced today via Twitter that they will release their new studio album ...
Get the full story >>Spin with Frankie Knuckles during Friday lunch hour
What did you do on your lunch hour yesterday? You probably rushed out, grabbed something and took it back to your desk. We'd like to suggest...
Get the full story >>Claudio Roditi channels the sweet sounds of Brazil
Not every jazz soloist chooses to bowl over listeners with acrobatic technical feats and other displays of instrumental prowess.
Get the full story >>Bloodiest a band of multi-taskers
It’s not a requirement, but it helps to multi-task if you’re part of Chicago’s music scene. Just about everybody is in...
Get the full story >>Best of the year to date: Jazz
If the second half of the year proves as viscerally exciting as the first, there will be some remarkable listening ahead. The sheer range of...
Get the full story >>California Wives: Not from California, and not wives
A decade ago, Chicago played home to some of the most exciting bands to break out of the insurgent "emo" scene — including Fall Out...
Get the full story >>Best of the year to date: Classical music
What a topsy-turvy winter it has been for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra! It began in early February with Riccardo Muti's podium tumble...
Get the full story >>St. Louis brilliantly reaffirms 'Klinghoffer' as a landmark American opera
ST. LOUIS – Year after year, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis attracts opera fans from all over North America to its spring festival...
Get the full story >>CSO to tour Russia as part of cultural festival
Although they won't technically be back in the USSR, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will mark a cultural milestone next April as the first...
Get the full story >>Eddie Vedder gets most out of ukulele jam
The ukulele is not built to rock. Eddie Vedder knows this, but it didn’t stop him from trying to get the biggest sound possible out of...
Get the full story >>R. Kelly's smooth moves from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde
R. Kelly began his spectacle Thursday at a fairly full Allstate Arena with a brief black-and-white film modeled off a bar scene in...
Get the full story >>Top rock shows
Derrick Carter: The house DJ found fame in the '90s by mixing his respect for the club classics with contemporary beats, an...
Get the full story >>Beyonce gets experimental in latest studio release
Beyonce, '4': 2.5 stars (out of 4)
Get the full story >>Top weekend shows: Derrick Carter, Skysaw
Derrick Carter: The house DJ found fame in the ‘90s by mixing his respect for the club classics with contemporary...
Get the full story >>Best of the year to date: Pop and rock music
Here are my five favorite concerts of the year so far: Greg Kot
Get the full story >>