Music & Potlucks, a 501(c)(3) community organization, will present The 2nd Annual Doug Esse Memorial 5-String Banjo Cacophony on Sunday, April 11 at 4:00 pm CDT. The live stream event, hosted by Mark Dvorak, will benefit the Old Town School of Folk Music Employee Financial Assistance Fund (EFAF). The concert will feature Dvorak and six…
Chicago has a rich history of fostering country and bluegrass music. Home-grown band, Special Consensus, joined by guest artists Becky Buller, Alison Brown, Michael Cleveland, Rob Ickes, Robbie Fulks, Patrick McAvinue, Ned Luberecki, and Mike Barnett, celebrates the history of bluegrass music in Chicago and the band’s 45th anniversary in their new album, Chicago Barn…
Irish-influenced bluegrass band, JigJam, is heading back to Chicago on March 1st to perform at the Old Town School of Folk Music. JigJam plays a mixture of Irish and bluegrass music they’ve dubbed ‘I-grass.’ According to the band, the two genres are very closely related and are a lot of fun to play with–the result…
Sierra Hull returns to Chicago to play the Old Town School of Folk Music this Thursday night with special guest Jodee Lewis. After making her Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 10, the Tennessee-bred virtuoso mandolinist played Carnegie Hall at age 12, then landed a deal with Rounder Records just a year later.…
This Friday at Brauer House is the last chance to catch Chicago’s own Henhouse Prowlers in Chicago for a long time! Not only does the band tour constantly, putting on shows in the U.S. and Europe with their own brand of “straight-laced, tight-knit, barn-burning bluegrass” (Sound Fuse), but they also travel the world as Bluegrass…
Hailing from McHenry, Illinois, local bluegrass band Miles Over Mountains releases their third album, Work Harder Not Smarter, on February 15th. This also happens to be the band’s 6-year anniversary. They kick-off their album release tour with a show this Saturday night at Mackey’s Hideout, where they will be joined by Fox Crossing Stringband and…
Folk troubadour and beloved staple of the bluegrass festival scene, Chicago Farmer is heading into town this Saturday night to celebrate the release of his latest album, Flyover Country. Farmer will be playing at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn with The Fieldnotes, Jaik Willis, Charlie Harris, and Cody Jensen, and joined by Joseph Huber. “Cody Diekhoff, aka…
Chicago teens, Max and Otto Allard, were honored to open for the Sam Bush Band to a sold-out crowd at the Old Town School of Folk Music last weekend. Max, winner of the 2018 RockyGrass Banjo Competition and the 2019 FreshGrass Banjo Award, will also be joining Barbaro for several stops on their upcoming midwestern…