Upcoming Street Festivals, June 18-20

Ahhh, take a deep breath...fill your lungs full of some summer, baby! This weekend brings us some very cool street festivals that will offer you plentiful amounts of babes, beers, BBQ's...and BANDS!

Chicago Peace Fest comes to Lincoln Park (1700 N. Stockton), bringing three days of great bands. Best of all, it's FREE!

Friday
Noon: Drum Circle with Huntress Diana
1 p.m.: Seeking
2 p.m.: Illusions Fate
3 p.m.: Foster Home
4 p.m.: Classy Ladies
4:40 p.m.: Requested Bassnectar
5 p.m.: Terrapin Flyer
5:40 p.m.: Havoc Footwork
6 p.m.: Half Mad Poet
6:40 p.m.: Ian Poet
7 p.m.: Thinner Teed
7:40 p.m.: TBA
8 p.m.: Velva

Saturday
Noon: Drum Circle with Huntress Diana
1 p.m.: THC
1:40 p.m.: Jonathan Speaker
2 p.m.: Electric Medicine
2:40 p.m.: Andy Thayer
3 p.m.: Poverty Tax
4 p.m.: New Clear Threat
4:40 p.m.: Requested Bassnectar
5 p.m.: General Patton & His Privates
5:40 p.m.: Mike Kalas of Unity for a Change
6 p.m.: Environmental Encroachment
7 p.m.: Wanton Looks
7:40 p.m.: MC Sparkplug
8 p.m.: Section Four

Sunday
Noon: Drum Circle with Huntress Diana
1 p.m.: Plain Ole Delicious
2 p.m.: Right Rongly
3 p.m.: Agents of Change
3:40 p.m.: Selina
4 p.m.: Flabby Hoffman
4:40 p.m.: Requested Bassnetar
5 p.m.: Strange Arrangement
5:40 p.m.: Kevin Rapper
6 p.m.: Phillip Morris vs Dubasaurus
6:40 p.m.: Sid Yiddish Poet
7 p.m.: Flow Theory
7:40 p.m.: White Mystery Band
8 p.m.: Malafacha

The 1st Annual MidSummer Festival comes to the West Rogers Park neighborhood, boasting three days of food, fun and, yep, you guessed it...BANDS!

Friday
6 p.m.: Libido Funk Circus
8 p.m.: Wedding Banned

Saturday
Noon: Your Villian, My Hero
1:30 p.m.: Radio Live
3 p.m.: Fortunate Sons
5:15 p.m.: He Said, She Said
7:45 p.m.: Infinity

Sunday
Noon: Urban Brew
1:30 p.m.: Black Betty
3 p.m.: The Gun Show
4:30 p.m.: Catfight
6 p.m.: 7th Heaven

From a food-lover's POV, a festival to really make some time for is the Taste Of Randolph Street festival (900 W. Randolph St.)...and, yes, there will be some bad-ass bands rockin' the streets in the West Loop!

West Stage
5:30 p.m.: Waco Brothers
7 p.m.: Matthew Santos Band
8:30 p.m.: Lovehammers

East Stage
6 p.m.: Bandoleros
8 p.m.: DJ David Starfire

Saturday

West Stage
2 p.m.: Spinach Prince
4 p.m.: Twin Tigers
5:30 p.m.: Mucca Pazza
7 p.m.: One Eskimo
8:30 p.m.: Lucero

East Stage
3 p.m.: Weston Rose & Good Evening
4 p.m.: Vicarious
6 p.m.: DJ Jef Stott
8 p.m.: DJ Cheb i Sabbah

Sunday

West Stage
3 p.m.: Environmental Encroachment – The Magic Marching Band
4 p.m.: The Love Language
5:30 p.m.: Headlights
7 p.m.: Califone
8:30 p.m.: Superchunk

East Stage
4 p.m.: DJ Carla Starla
6 p.m.: Lubriphonic
8 p.m.: Funkadesi

Last, but certainly not least is Takin' It To The Streets: Urban International Festival (6734 S. Kedzie). Admission is FREE and the number of musical acts participating in this festival is truly staggering and ranges from Mos Def to dozens of top-flight DJ's and hip-hop acts.

Click here to download a PDF file of the complete music schedule.

Spaces Filling Fast At Knox Avenue

Let's face it, your band deserves the best (not to be confused with "the most expensive") rehearsal space in town, where every room is absolutely brand-new and just waiting to become your band's new home away from home, so to speak.

Boasting state-of-the-art design and sound reinforcement, the rooms at Knox Avenue are fast becoming the talk of the town as those bands who've already moved into the space have nothing but great things to say about their experiences thus far and, most importantly, the great sound they're getting.

At Knox Avenue, we could recite a laundry list of reasons why your band would be best-served here, but the last thing we want to do is come at you with any sort of "hard-sell". When something is truly great, one-of-a-kind, and worthy of your attention, you know it. We just hope that as more spaces become available at the rehearsal facility you're currently using, you pay enough attention to figure out where all the other bands in town are going in such a hurry.

Chances are they're hauling-ass over to Knox Avenue, so do yourself a favor and stop by soon to see what we have to offer that the other places don't.

Today in Music: June 11, 2010

• On this date in 2002, former Beatle Paul McCartney married Heather Mills. While the couple would have one child together, daughter Beatrice, they would divorce in May 2008. If you ask me, that marriage never had a leg to stand on.

Ba dum bum.

• In 2003, Adam Ant would once again go bonkers, tossing rocks at neighbors before stripping down to his leopard-pattern briefs in a local cafe.

• Born on this day in 1949: Frank Beard, drummer for ZZ Top. Beard, strangely enough, is the only member of the band who doesn't sport a beard.

More Street Festivals Going Down This Weekend!

The ever-rockin' Party At St, Mike's takes place this weekend, Friday June 11 through Sunday, June 13th, with 90's rockers Better Than Ezra headlining Saturday's festivities.

Location: St. Michaels Church
1711 N. Cleveland
Chicago, 60614

Band Schedule:

Friday
5:30 p.m.: Chris Buehrle Band
7 p.m.: Stache
8 p.m.: Hairbanger's Ball

Saturday
4 p.m.: Weber Band
5:30 p.m.: Breakfast Club
7 p.m.: Mighty Blue Kings
8:30 p.m.: Better than Ezra

Sunday
3:30 p.m.: Colin Gilmore
5 p.m.: The Why Store
6:30 p.m.: Mike & Joe

(Chicago's The Bon Mots)

The Old Town Art Fair takes place on Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13, featuring some of the best local Chicago bands.

Band Schedule

Saturday, June 12, 2010

11:00am	Sounds of Sweetness
12:30pm	Mazes
2:00pm	L'Orchestre Super Vitesse
3:30pm	the Bon Mots
5:00pm	Pretty Good Dance Moves

Sunday, June 13, 2010

12:30pm	Go Long Mule
2:00pm	Rachele Eve
3:30pm	Adam Fitz
5:00pm	Via Tania

The Music Stage is located at the intersection of Orleans and Wisconsin.

Street Festival Round-Up: June 11-13

(Robbie Fulks appears Friday, June 11 at Ribfest)

With summer just around the corner, the city's schedule of street festivals is just now starting to kick into high gear.

This weekend (June 11-13) is proof of that, as Ribfest (corners of Lincoln/Damen/Irving Park) offers some damn fine BBQ ribs, beer and, of course, some great music to help you digest it all.

The festivals music line-up goes a little something like this:

Friday, June 11

South Stage
4000 N. Lincoln Ave.

5:00 TBA
6:30 Mucca Pazza
9:00 The Ike Reilly
Assassination

North Stage
4128 N. Lincoln Ave.

6:00 RIB-MANIA!! (Professional Rib-Eating Contest)
7:45 Robbie Fulks

Saturday, June 12

South Stage
4000 N. Lincoln Ave.

12:15 Furious Frank
2:45 Unicycle Loves You
5:15 Generationals
7:45 Califone

North Stage
4128 N. Lincoln Ave.

1:30 Deep Cricket Night
4:00 John Henry & The Engine
6:30 Those Darlins
9:00 Bottle Rockets

Sunday, June 13

South Stage
4000 N. Lincoln Ave.

1:30 Tell Your Friends
4:00 Holding Mercury
6:30 The Dig
9:00 The Whigs

North Stage
4128 N. Lincoln Ave.

12:15 Ceiling Stars
2:45 The Shams Band
5:15 These United States
7:45 Langhorne Slim

As if that weren't enough, the FREE Chicago Blues Festival goes down this very same weekend in Grant Park (Jackson and Columbus Drives), beginning at 11am on Friday June 11 and running through Sunday, June 13.

The music schedule is as follows:

Friday

Front Porch Stage
11:30 a.m.: Blues in the Schools featuring Eric Noden, Katherine Davis and the Stone Academy Blues Students
1:30 p.m.: Henry Gray and Andy Cornett
3 p.m.: Jimmy Dawkins with Taildragger
5 p.m.: Cafe R&B
6:30 p.m.: Big George Brock and the House Rockers with George Brock Jr.

Crossroads Stage
12 p.m.: Dave Weld and the Imperial Flames
1:45 p.m.: Mary Lane and the No Static Blues Band
3:45 p.m.: Grady Champion

Juke Joint Stage
12:30 p.m.: Grady Champion
2 p.m.: Sam Lay
3:30 p.m.: Stevie J and the Blues Eruption
5 p.m.: Adib Hasser
6:30 p.m.: Mississippi Jam

Roadhouse Stage
12 p.m.: Beginning Delta Blues Harmonica Lesson with Joe Filisko
1:30 p.m.: Discussing Wolf: 100 Years of Remembrances moderated by Dick Shurman, with Betty Kelly. Barbara Marks, Eddie Shaw, Hubert Sumlin and Josh Hecht
4 p.m.: Wildsang
5:30 p.m.: East of Edens Soul Express

Petrillo Music Shell
5 p.m.: Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang with Jody Williams, Sam Lay, Henry Gray, Abb Locke, Corky Siegel and Hubert Sumlin
6:05 p.m.: Otis Taylor Band
7:10 p.m.: James Cotton Blues Band with Matt "Guitar" Murphy
8:20 p.m.: Zora Young's Tribute to Wolf and Sunnyland with Hubert Sumlin

Saturday

Front Porch Stage
11:30 a.m.: Ramblin' Rose
1 p.m.: Bobby Dixon Blues Band
2:45 p.m.: Nora Jean Wallace
4:30 p.m.: Andre Williams
6 p.m.: Johnny and Destiny Rawls

Crossroads Stage
12 p.m.: Toronzo and the Cannonball Express
1:45 p.m.: Sugar Blue Band
3:30 p.m.: Sonny Rhodes

Juke Joint Stage
12:30 p.m.: Jarekus Singleton with Keeshea Pratt
2 p.m.: David "Honeyboy" Edwards
3:30 p.m.: Bill "Howlin Madd" Perry with Alphonso Sanders
5 p.m.: Dexter Allen
6:30 p.m.: Festival Jam featuring Blue Plate Special

Roadhouse Stage
12 p.m.: Beginning Southern Blues Harmonica Lesson with Joe Filisko
1:30 p.m.: Joe Filisko and Eric Noden
3 p.m.: Rev. K.M. Williams and the Amazing Trainreck
4:45 p.m.: Larry Hoffman interviews William Ferris
6:15 p.m.: East of Edens Soul Express

Petrillo Band Shell
5 p.m.: Nellie Tiger Travis
6:20 p.m.: Bobby Parker and the Blues Night Band
7:35 p.m.: Chicago Blues A Living History featuring Billy Boy Arnold, Billy Branch, John Primer, Lurrie Bell and Carlos Johnson

Sunday

Front Porch Stage
11:30 a.m.: Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir
1:30 p.m.: Dancin’ Perkins
3:30 p.m.: Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
4:45 p.m.: Guitar Shorty
6:15 p.m.: Lubriphonic

Crossroads Stage
12 p.m.: Quintus McCormick
1:45 p.m.: Carl Weathersby and Larry McCray
3:30 p.m.: Roy Roberts with Barbara Carr

Juke Joint Stage
12:30 p.m.: Jimmy Duck Holmes and Terry "Harmonica" Bean
2 p.m.: Bobby Rush
3:30 p.m.: Homemade Jamz
5 p.m.: Jarekas Singleton with Keeshea Pratt
6:30 p.m.: Mississippi Jam

Roadhouse Stage
12 p.m.: Beginning Chicago Blues Harmonica Lesson with Joe Filisko
1:30 p.m.; Larry Hoffman rambles with Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3 p.m.: Blues Books: University of Illinois Press
5 p.m.: East of Edens Soul Express

Petrillo Band Shell
5 p.m.: Erwin Helfer's Chicago Boogie Woogie Ensemble
6 p.m.: Vivian and Vance "Guitar" Kelly and the Backstreet Blues Band
7:10 p.m.: Chicago Blues Reunion featuring Barry Goldberg, Corky Siegel, Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Charlie Musselwhite and Sam Lay
8:30 p.m.: T.K Soul