Even in winter, Chicago's music scene is 🔥

Plus: a preview of Tomorrow Never Knows 2023 [READER]( The Daily Reader Before the pandemic, I never felt like there was much of a hibernation period for Chicago music. It helps that the organizers of Ian’s Party made a habit of throwing a multi-venue festival on the first weekend of the new year; if you’re unfamiliar with that underground rock ’n’ roll extravaganza, my [2018 Reader oral history of Ian’s Party]( can give you a snapshot of it. Then a few weeks into January there’s Tomorrow Never Knows, the five-day jamboree created by the Schubas team in 2005. I’ve usually found enough shows to keep me out of the house a few nights a week between these two festivals, but I appreciate the fact that this city’s music communities have the chutzpah and drive to host two music festivals during a time of year that the weather and my desire for warm environs conspire to keep me home more often. (And I’ve yet to touch on big February events, such as [the Frequency Festival]( and the Empty Bottle’s block party, Music Frozen Dancing, which, yes, takes place outdoors.) Ian’s Party has yet to return since the start of the pandemic. But Tomorrow Never Knows kicks off tonight and will continue for the following four evenings at Schubas, Lincoln Hall, Sleeping Village, and Golden Dagger. I previewed [Doss’s Saturday night]( Hall headliner, but the Reader doesn’t have a larger TNK preview package. I think that’s OK, because there’s so much else happening in local music outside of this one festival that me and my colleagues want to cover; you can always find out what those shows are in our concert previews tab [online]( and in print. Our coverage of the local music scene doesn’t exist in a bubble, and I had no question that other Chicago outlets would cover TNK. And several have so far: the Sun-Times [recommended five acts]( the Tribune suggested two performances [as part of a winter music preview]( and These Days staffers [put together a feature of their favorites](. Still, part of what I enjoy about TNK is the opportunity it’s given me in the past as a listener and concert-goer to expand my understanding of what music sounds like now. I focus so much on local music I realize I can often miss what’s happening elsewhere that might be interesting to me; TNK provides me with a manageable window into what’s happening in music, here and elsewhere. Which also presents me with a nice opportunity to share that with our readers. For this week’s newsletter, [I made a playlist filled with music by TNK 2023 performers](. It’s an incomplete and imperfect playlist. Some of the acts don’t have music on Spotify—notably local indie-folk unit Morinda, led by Bailey Minzenberger of breakout rock group [Friko](. (This is just one of the many problems with building a cultural memory on a foundation exclusively informed by a single corporation—great art will always go missing simply through an act’s lack of participation.) I’ve structured this playlist as I normally do: by flow, not by a daily lineup. So if there’s something that piques your interest, do look up when and where they’re playing. With that in mind, I put the daily schedules below, with links to past Reader stories where applicable. And regardless of whether or not you go, I hope you hear a song that’s new to you and get wrapped up in it. Wednesday, January 18: Golden Dagger: Soldial, Mariah Colon Lincoln Hall: late night drive home, Stoop Lee, [Late Nite Laundry]( Schubas: Tomberlin, Free Range, [V.V. Lightbody]( Sleeping Village: Dazy, Footballhead, Graham Hunt Thursday, January 19: Golden Dagger: Rose Hotel, Morinda, Sleeper’s Bell Lincoln Hall: [Cloakroom]( [Lifeguard]( [Pink Frost]( Schubas: Cheekface, [Girl K]( [OK Cool]( Sleeping Village: [700 Bliss]( Fatboi Sharif, Piwa Friday, January 20: Golden Dagger: [The Curls]( Ted Tyro, [Courtesy]( Lincoln Hall: The Stone Foxes, Shane Guerrette, Blue Dream Schubas: Armand Hammer, Yungmorpheus, [Mother Nature]( Sleeping Village: [Ana Everling Quartet]( [Quin Kirchner]( Saturday, January 21: Golden Dagger: Saltwater Tap, FènixDion, Madame Reaper & The Gentlemen's Club Lincoln Hall: [Doss]( [Ariel Zetina]( Sqip Schubas: The Slaps, [Advance Base]( [Casper McFadden]( Sleeping Village: Global Currency, Foreigner, [DJ Mochi]( & DJ Iggy Sunday, January 22: Golden Dagger: [Fury]( [Angelenah]( Lincoln Hall: Mavi, [Elton Aura]( Flowurz Schubas: Jaguar Sun, Plastic Picnic, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Work Wife Sincerely, "[Amoeba Music asks, ‘What’s in your bag?,’ and no algorithm can compete,]( by Chris Richards (Washington Post) "[The Lemon Pepper Legend: An Interview with DJ Cymba]( by Kia Smith (South Side Weekly) 03 Greedo & Mike Free, [Free 03]( Angel Bat Dawid & Terence Etc., “[Re-Birthday]( Eric Ziegenhagen, [On the Train Along the Lake Above the Lights]( 🎧 Leor's [Tomorrow Never Knows 2023 playlist]( [With Bulli, Velvet Negroni takes us on a rocky, trippy ride]( by [Jamie Ludwig]( [Read more]( → [Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy put their spin on the Modern Lovers’ classic debut]( by [Shannon Nico Shreibak]( | [Read more]( → [The Empty Bottle makes room at the top]( Matt Ciarleglio becomes the beloved venue’s new managing partner. Plus: Glyders celebrate their long-awaited debut album, and Liska brings her live band to Schubas. by [J.R. Nelson]( and [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → 🎶 Your guide to good music 🎶 [Issue of Jan. 12 – Jan. 25, 2023 Vol. 52, No. 7]( [Download Issue [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616