Pop
Icona Pop steps up stage presence, but falls short of surefire follow-up
When Icona Pop was on the verge of exploding a couple years ago, the Swedish duo was getting pushed by Pitchfork, landing on Lollapalooza and playing clubs like the venerable [More…]
“Dirty Dancing” delivers signature scenes and songs, though not always the time of your life
After the runaway success of 1987’s movie musical starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey with a soundtrack that scored an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy, it was [More…]
Harry Connick Jr. shares spicy musical gumbo during Ravinia return
From his standards-centered “When Harry Met Sally” soundtrack breakthrough through dozens of albums featuring everything from jazz to piano pop, New Orleans inspirations [More…]
Lollapalooza’s Saturday showdown: Metallica rocks, Sam Smith croons
Topping the sheer magnitude of Paul McCartney’s Lollapalooza headlining slot on Friday may have been impossible, but following up with one of the most enduring hard rock [More…]
Taylor Swift shines with “1989” during second Soldier Field sell out
Every stadium on Taylor Swift’s “1989” World Tour is basically sold out, but during her second concert at Chicago’s Soldier Field, she admitted to the masses that [More…]
The return of Cyndi Lauper’s revised, revitalized “Kinky Boots”
Following its 2012 debut right here in Chicago, “Kinky Boots” took Broadway by storm, racking up six Tony Awards the following season, including “Best Musical” and [More…]
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga enchant with standards and swing at Ravinia
In a week that’s brought The Rolling Stones to Summerfest, five nights of U2 to the United Center and a trio of Grateful Dead farewell shows to Soldier Field, it would seem [More…]
From disco to house and hip-hop, Jody Watley and new Shalamar sparkle
For the first time in a long time, “Soul Train” dancer turned Shalamar singer and solo artist/songwriter/producer/model/entrepreneur Jody Watley returned home to Chicago, [More…]
More than just the bass on Meghan Trainor’s first, generally fun headlining tour
Practically everyone on earth recognizes the song “All About That Bass,” but outside of that single smash, most outside of the dedicated “Megatronz” [More…]