The WGCI Summer Jam is coming back to Chicago this year and the lineup just got that much better! In addition to the stacked list of artists performing, which include Fetty Wap, Young Jeezy, 2 Chainz, T.I., Migos and more, ‘Panda’ rapper Desiigner and DJ Khaled signee Kent Jones will take stage at the Summer Jam as well. You won’t want to miss out on Friday, June 17th at the United Center to see Kanye West’s newest signee perform his #1 breakout single, ‘Panda’ and more!
Tickets are on sale now, so check out WGCI’s official website for more information.
In support of their new studio album, PersonA, indie-folk band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros brought their summer tour to the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI. Following their memorable 2015 performance at the city’s lakeside festival, Summerfest, the sold-out crowd was more than excited to see the talented indie favorites, and they didn’t travel alone either. Joining the band tonight were Los Angeles-natives and alternative rockers, Harriet. While Harriet introduced themselves to many in Milwaukee tonight, the guys certainly picked up a number of new fans with performances from 2014, What’s Mine Is Yours EP.
Following Harriet’s opening performance, it was time for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, led by singer Alex Ebert, to hit the stage. The Up from Below artists emerged on stage with the house lights on, waving to fans while Alex shook hands and even signed a young woman’s vinyl. Soon after, they opened their set with a performance of their PersonA track ‘Somewhere’. As expected, the band performed the majority of their new album, which released just last month. Perhaps the highlight of the night came though as Edward Sharpe performed their biggest hit single to dates, ‘Home’. Although the band wasn’t joined by former member Jade Castrinos, the lead female singer on ‘Home’ who parted ways with the band in 2014, it didn’t matter because Alex Ebert and company gave 110% into the performance.
If you go into an Edward Sharpe concert thinking that ‘Home’ is their only record, you couldn’t be any more mistake. The 1,000+ in attendance tonight can personally vouch behind the live performances and studio recordings of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s PersonA, their fourth studio album. ‘Home’ has certainly survived as the band’s stand out song to date, but tracks like ‘No Love Like Yours’ and ‘Let It Down’ have definite potential to be the group’s next breakout track.
What was even more impressive was Ebert’s relationship with his audience. Instantly as he greeted the crowd he paid tribute to the beautiful Pabst Theater, and told fans how his father performed there as an actor many decades ago. Throughout the night the band took multiple song suggestions from the crowd, Ebert would sit down with the crowd, even letting audience members tell their favorite jokes while the rest of the band prepared their instruments, and even small things like Ebert’s eye contact with audience members made the performance an especially intimate and memorable one. Whether you know every one, one song, or none, everyone can leave an Edward Sharpe concert having a great night.
Check out our photos from tonight’s performance below and check out the remaining dates for the tour here.
If its initial lineups are any indication, this will be the best year for Riot Fest yet, as festival organizers have announced the first wave of Denver and Chicago artists. Hitting the stage at Riot Fest this year will not only be the reunion of the original Misfits, but Morrisey, Death Cab For Cutie, Rob Zombie, Jane’s Addiction, Sleater-Kinney, Fitz & The Tantrums, Jimmy Eat World, All Time Low, Death Grips and many more will be performing at this year’s Riot Fest. And don’t assume that it is all rock either, fans will also catch memorable performances from Nas, Tyler The Creator, Joey Bada$$ and Method Man & Redman this year.
Riot Fest will kick off this year in Chicago on September 16-18th at Douglas Park, and September 2-4th in Denver at the National Western Complex. You’ll definitely want to grab your festival passes fast for this one, so visit RiotFest.org or Ticketfly.com for more ticket info.
Check out the first wave of Chicago and Denver performers below.
Music fans have been more than excited that a new Gorillaz LP is currently under works, and we have now learned that a familiar face in Chicago is likely working on the new and highly anticipated project. Hours ago, Gorillaz-affiliated producer Remi Kabaka (voice of the Gorillaz’s Russel Hobbs) posted a photo of Vic in the studio in Chicago. While we can’t say for sure whether they were all working on the Gorillaz’s forthcoming album, it’s a definite possibility. This may seem like an unlikely collaboration on the surface, but Mensa definitely is a rock star, as much as he is a rapper. Whether it’s providing feedback or a guest feature, a Vic and Gorillaz record would be amazing.
It’s Bad Boy for life in 2016 as Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/whichever moniker you prefer has just announced a huge Bad Boy reunion tour. Featuring Lil Kim, Mase, Faith Evans, French Montana and more, this will definitely be a special event next fall. The reunion tour will get started August 25th in Columbus, OH and will make 25-stops in total (New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta & more) until the tour comes to an end October 8th in Oakland. Tickets go on sale this Friday (May 20th), so don’t miss out because for a tour this huge, they will go fast!
If you missed Sia’s amazing and rare performances at Coachella this year, don’t fear, because the ‘Chandelier’ singer will be hitting the road this fall for a huge headlining North American tour. She won’t be traveling solo either, as singer Miguel and electronic duo AlunaGeorge will be joining her along the way. Kicking off things on September 29th at Seattle’s Key Arena, Sia will hit stops in Chicago, Phili, Los Angeles, Toronto and many more until her Nostalgic For The Present Tour concludes November 6th in Austin, TX. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday at 10 AM, with a special fan presale beginning tomorrow (May 17th), so don’t miss out!
Childish Gambino news is rare in 2016 while Donald Glover has shifted his focus on his forthcoming FX show Atlanta. So when Chance The Rapper gave a fan on reddit this weekend a simple one-word response, Chance and Bino fans everywhere rejoiced. During Chance’s reddit “ask me anything” fan Q&A, a fan asked the Chicago rapper:
“Does the Chance and Childish Gambino collab album/mixtape still exist?”
With just a few letters, Chance gave the answer we were all hoping for by replying yes. While he didn’t give any details, the fact that the music has been actually recorded gets rap fans everywhere hopeful that the project will be released. However, since Chance just released his highly anticipated album/mixtape, Coloring Book, and given how busy Childish Gambino is, don’t expect the project anytime soon.
Stream some of our favorite Chance/Gambino songs below.
Earlier this week, the lovely and talented Alessia Cara teased a remix to her second single ‘Wild Things’, from her debut album Know-It-All. Recruiting the talents of ‘Me, Myself & I’ rapper G-Eazy, Cara and G-Eazy go well together on the addictive record. While the Canadian singer’s parts remain unchanged, G-Eazy gives a great verse to the record. Alessia Cara, while pop, has definitely been embraced by the hip-hop community so we are excited to see more of her rapper collaborations in the future.
Chance The Rapper’s highly anticipated follow up to his breakout sophomore project Acid Rap is less than a day away! Titled Chance 3, today fans have another sneak peak of the project with the Chicago rapper’s new Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz collaboration, ‘No Problem’. Debuting on Zane Lowe’s Beats1 this morning, ‘No Problem’ sticks with the gospel infused sound that Chance has helped bring to rap music, especially in the past year, and the track is fire. His first solo project since 2013, get excited for Chance 3 tomorrow, May 13th.
Zayn is doing things as a solo artist that he never saw in One Direction. Whether it’s breaking records that 1D never reached, or making the type of music that he otherwise wasn’t allowed to, it is really cool to see Zayn doing Zayn. And while this one doesn’t have the awesome steamy cameo from Gigi Hadid that ‘Pillow Talk’ had, Zayn’s new music video for ‘Like I Would’ is amazing in its own right. Full of futuristic visuals, neon body suits and laser lights, ‘Like I Would’ is definitely a must see for any Zayn fan, or any fan of music generally.
The Early Registration 