Howdy from Bluegrass Chicago! Spring is coming and with it some opportunities for outdoor Bluegrass and Old Time events. The event calendar on the website has been dormant during this difficult past year, but we are feeling hopeful for the future. I know everyone is anxious to get back to enjoying music with other folks.…
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…
Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt return to Chicago on their Duo tour this Saturday, February 29th, at City Winery. Drew Emmitt is an American mandolinist, guitarist, fiddle player, occasional flutist, and singer, and Vince Herman is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, both well known for being two of the founding members of Leftover Salmon. The Duo first…
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…
Last Sunday Morning the Chicago Bluegrass community lost one of its most energetic, lovable and ardent members when JR Simpson died in a tragic accident. JR played guitar, bass and banjo and was one of the most active members of the Evanston music community. He was a regular at the Monthly Evanston Open Bluegrass Jam at American Legion Post 42, which will re-named the JR Simpson Memorial Bluegrass Jam to honor his memory.