In 2014 our Editor-in-Chief and lead photographer Dan Garcia teamed up with Pigeons & Planes to cover Lollapalooza, live at Chicago’s Grant Park. Returning to the festival the next year, Garcia got to witness some of the best moments from the premiere festival in the past couple years. Returning to Grant Park this year, Lollapalooza is expanding the festival to include a fourth date for its 25th Anniversary, and many expect festival organizers to release its best lineup yet by the end of the month. So to celebrate Lolla’s 25th Anniversary and built up anticipation until it’s forthcoming lineup is announced, we are sharing some of our favorite moments and photos from Lollapalooza since our publication’s inception.
First Drake and DJ Khaled and now none other than Chance The Rapper has his own show on Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio show. Set to debut soon, the talented Chicago rapper will have his own show for listeners, which was announced earlier today by Chance himself, Pharrell and Scott Vener via OTHERtone. We will certainly learn more about the show in the future, but this will definitely be a program that you’ll want to tune in to!
Check out Chance sharing the news on Twitter below.
Narrowing down 365 days of great music to a list of 30 records is near impossible, but we figured it out! With a lot of amazing tracks not making the cut, we have put together our list of the 30 best tracks of this past year. From epic collaborations to Soundcloud released diss records, our list has a little bit of everything. A few veterans dominated our list this year, but a lot of emerging artists found spots high on our list as well. We won’t spoil too much for you, check out the Top 30 Tracks of 2015 below and send us a tweet @TheEarlyReg to tell us what you think!
Tonight Chance The Rapper will become the first ever independent artist to perform on NBC‘s Saturday Night Live, a huge accomplishment for any artist. While Chance fans cannot wait to see the Acid Rap rapper perform live, they may be in for another treat tonight as Chance sent out a possibly cryptic tweet in honor of tonight’s performance. “#acidrap brought Chicago, my fans and independents this far. #ChanceOnSNL #thirdmixtape” Chance wrote earlier today.
Considering 10 Day as Chance’s debut mixtape and his critically acclaimed Acid Rap as his second, Chance’s next tape will be his third. Is he hinting at a new mixtape coming tonight, in honor of his SNL performance? Many believed that Chance’s next project would be coming soon after his Family Matter Tours, so that puts us right in time… Chance The Rapper fans may be eating tonight!
Read Chance’s tweet below and cross your fingers for a new mixtape tonight! SNL airs tonight at 11:30/10:30 PM Central.
2015 saw a lot of great concert tours, from J. Cole’s Forest Hills Drive Tour with Big Sean, YG and Jeremih to Taylor Swift’s huge 1989 World Tour. Some tours sold out stadiums and arenas, selling out the entire tour before it even begun, and some tours were in small intimate venues, either strategically or because simple supply and demand. Some had stacked lineups top to bottom and some introduced us to a lot of great new artists. Festivals like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and Coachella were bigger than ever this year, but that didn’t stop your favorite artists from building up some great shows of their own.
Hit the jump and check out our list of our 20 Favorite Concert Tours of 2015!
[UPDATE: Charges against Malcolm London have now been dropped.]
Last night hundreds of protesters walked the streets of downtown Chicago to protest the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. While the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful, a small scuffle did break out between Chicago police officers and protesters. Involved in the mass scufflewas Chicago’s own, rapper Vic Mensa. Mensa stood behind his brothers and sisters to march in support of McDonald and to show their disgust over the newly released video, where an officer (who has since been charge with murder) is seen shooting McDonald 16 times.
Mensa wasn’t the only Chicago activist in attendance last night. Poet and activist Malcolm London, who is one of the co-founders and hosts of Chance The Rapper’s “Open Mike” nights, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault. While police allege that London struck an officer, other witnesses disagree. Alderman Roderick Sawyer, who is the Chair of the City Council Black Caucus in Chicago, commended London as a hero. According to Sawyer’s daughter, who was with London last night, police officers wrongfully blamed London for a flare light that was thrown and promptly apprehended him after.
You can donate to the bond fund for London’s release here.
we need your help We were arrested in a non-violent protest Please call 312-745-4290 to demand our release #JusticeforLaquan#LaquanMcDonald
Want to see Skrillex, deadmau5, Chance The Rapper, Run The Jewels, CHVRCHES, Cashmere Cat and many more this New Years Eve? Of course you do! And that’s why we are giving you a chance to see them all when Reaction NYE comes to Chicago’s Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosement, IL. Taking place on December 30th and 31st, this is one the NYE party that you NEED to be at. Enter our contest with React Presents and you can score a pair of general admission passes to see it all for yourself. This event is 18+.
Winning is easy, enter at the link below and by following The Early Registration on social media, by sharing the contest with your friends, you gain entries that increase your chances of winning! Contest ends Sunday, December 20th.
But why leave things to chance? Buy your tickets and check out more information here, and for those who can only attend one day, single day tickets go on sale tomorrow!
Milwaukee was in for a treat Friday night, as Chicago’s Chance The Rapper was just 90 miles north of home for the sixth date of his Family Matters Tour. With supporting sets from Save Money‘s Towkio, ‘Cha Cha’ singer/rapper D.R.A.M. and mega producer Metro Boomin, the ATL genius most recently known for his work on Drake and Future’s collaborative project, What A Time To Be Alive, Chance’s Milwaukee fans definitely left with their money’s worth after the sold out show.
While The Rave, the venue for tonight’s performance, was host to several different venues and concerts within the building Friday evening, Chance’s fans were the ones to show up in numbers. Competing with headlining concerts from Owl City and Seven Lions, Wisconsin Avenue was met with waves of Acid Rap tees and Social Experiment gear. And those smart enough to get there early definitely were rewarded, as Towkio performed an energetic 25-minute set, showcasing some of his best tracks from his 2015 LP .wav Theory. Towkio’s set was followed by Virginia artist, D.R.A.M., and while he may not be on your radar yet (although he should be), you have certainly heard Drake’s remix of his record ‘Cha Cha’, with the 6 God’s chart topping ‘Hotline Bling’.
Then to warm up the crowd for the main event, Metro Boomin gave a wild 40-minute DJ set, full of some of his biggest tracks. After his set, Milwaukee wanted more and more they received. Giving no less to his sister city of Milwaukee than he gave recently at his acclaimed performances at Austin City Limits and Pitchfork, Chance blew the sold out crowd away. With energetic performances of his biggest records, including a number of tracks from Acid Rap, as well as a variety of other records, fans could have cared less that the world is still patiently awaiting Chance’s next solo project. For Chance’s 90 minutes on stage, the energy and vibes during his performance could not have been rivaled by any other stage at The Rave, nor any other venue. This marks the 7th time I have seen Chance perform live, six of those with setlist’s dominated by Acid Rap, but I’d see him again tomorrow if I could.
Check out our photos below and be sure to visit ChanceRaps.com to see if Chance is coming to a city near your before the tour concludes in Los Angeles on November 25th.
Earlier today, React Presents announced another huge addition to their festival lineup in Chicago. Adding to North Coast, Freaky Deaky and Spring Awakening, React has announced REACTION NEW YEAR’S EVE 2015. Coming to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL this New Year’s Eve, the two-day festival (Dec. 30-31) will host performances from deadmau5, Skrillex, Chance The Rapper, Run The Jewels, CHVRCHES, Purity Ring, Cashmere Cat, Cherub, BADBADNOTGOOD and many more! If you’re 18 or older and will be anywhere close to Chicago, this is the way to spend your NYE.
Check out the full lineup for REACTION NYE below and get more information and tickets at ReactionNYE.com.
Stefan Ponce is more than just the producer behind your favorite records from Childish Gambino, Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper. Although his name is forever attached to some of your favorite rappers, Ponce is currently making a name for himself. Don’t label him as the Grammy-nominated Stefan Ponce, or the Childish Gambino-affiliated Stefan Ponce, or the guy who produced ‘Down On My Luck’ and ‘3005’, Ponce is an artist of his own, with an album of his own that’s on its way. We sat down with Stefan Ponce to talk about his forthcoming project, and some of his artist friends who have helped him get to this point.
The Early Registration 