Chicago Is Lit: Independent Bookstore Day and More Spring Events
For regular readers of this column, Saturday’s Independent Bookstore Day is likely as highly anticipated as the Super Bowl (if not more so). If you haven’t made your game day […]
Review: Kishi Bashi Brings Hope and Comfort to the Auditorium with the Chicago Philharmonic
Last Saturday was an evening filled with the music of one of the most fascinating artists of our time. Kaoro Dill Ishibashi goes by the melodic-sounding portmanteau Kishi Bashi. The […]
Review: Ben Affleck and On-Screen Brother Jon Bernthal Return for Action-Packed, Neurodivergent The Accountant 2
It’s been nearly ten years since director Gavin O’Connor (Warrior, Pride & Glory) and screenwriter Bill Dubuque brought us The Accountant, the curious story of Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), who […]
Preview: Riot Fest Celebrates 20 Years with a Monstrous Lineup
If there ever was something to celebrate, it’s 20 years of unrelenting rock and punk music in Chicago! Riot Fest just released their 2025 lineup and it’s looking like perfect […]
Preview: Evanston Folk Festival Returns for Their Second Outing at Dawes Park
While we sit in the spring showers waiting for sunnier days, let’s look ahead to more festive times as the best summer events are starting to announce their lineups. One […]
Review: Northlight and Theater Wit Join Hands for a Powerful Prayer for the French Republic
“For not only one enemy has risen up against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise up to destroy us….” That stark bit of liturgy—the V’hi She’amdah—is […]
Review: Jaap van Zweden and the CSO Give an Engrossing Performance of Mahler’s 7th Symphony
Under the direction of Jaap van Zweden, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave an engrossing performance of a symphony that is challenging to all involved: Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 7. In […]
Review: A Remake of a 1993 RomCom, The Wedding Banquet Modernizes the Story but Maintains Its Warmth and Heart
You’d be forgiven if, like me (and based on the film’s marketing materials), you anticipated something of a more raucous, raunchy modern romcom from filmmaker Andrew Ahn (Driveways). Perhaps something […]
Review: Filmmaker Ryan Coogler and Actor Michael B. Jordan Pair Off for Fifth Time in Sinners, a Vampire Thriller Like No Other
Across their five films together, filmmaker Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, both Black Panther movies, and Creed) and actor Michael B. Jordan have elevated each other’s work in ways that are […]
Review: Art Institute’s New Korea Gallery Examines the Country’s Long Historical Timeline of Art and Artists
Review by Mitchell Oldham. In a long pocket of space between the Art Institute’s Japanese and Chinese galleries, a brand-new exquisite new addition opened last fall. Supported by the National […]
Review: Cursive and Bright Eyes Continue to Impress at Salt Shed
It’s always a treat to see bands that ushered me into a completely new world of music at a young age. Both Cursive and Bright Eyes released some of their […]
Interview: Filmmakers Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza on Using Memory, Sound and the Bond of Brotherhood to Make Warfare
In 2006 Ramadi, Iraq, Navy SEAL team Alpha One took control of a multi-story residence, from which communications officer Ray Mendoza (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) used air support to monitor their position […]