Conductor McGegan brings Handel's Orlando to Ravinia

Of the conductors who bestride the realms of modern and period orchestral performance, Nicholas McGegan may truly be said to command the...

Album review: 'Watch the Throne' a royal waste

2 stars (out of 4)

Tweets, texts not for everyone in arts world

Like performing arts organizations everywhere else, the heavy hitters of classical music in Chicago are desperately seeking new ways to...

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  Classical music waltzes with digital media

Stormy weather

When a torrent of rain and gusts of wind ripped through the South Shore JazzFest late Sunday afternoon, it looked as if the event was...

Lollapalooza Day 3: Rain, more rain, and a Foo Fighters finale

Lollapalooza 2011 is a wrap with record daily attendance (90,000), adding up to the most populated festival in North America (270,000)...

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  Lollapalooza music fest

'Green Street' vendors stay loyal to Lolla

During his 20s, Tim Frankel, 45, was traveling across the country to watch his favorite bands and selling clothes out of his car to earn...

Savvy Brad Paisley rides line between pop, populism

If success in mainstream country music means finding the right mix of hokum and heart, man, has Brad Paisley got that formula down. "It ain'...

Lollapalooza Day 3: Rain and mud can't keep Cool Kids, Damian Marley or fans down

Strong rains gave Lollapalooza a late-afternoon shower Sunday, turning Grant Park’s softball fields into muddy ponds and compelling...

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  Complete coverage: Lollapalooza 2011

For Ryan Center diva and divo wannabes, it's 'Lyric-palooza'

The Grant Park Orchestra went underground over the weekend when it presented its annual vocal showcase for members of Lyric Opera's...

Lollapalooza Day 2: Going back in time

It’s  unofficially ‘80s day at Lollapalooza Saturday, as if every band or artist is under  strict orders to play an...

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  Video: Festival goers talk about Day 2

Mahler cycle gets choral kick in finale

For his contribution to the worldwide observance of the centenary of Gustav Mahler's death, James Conlon ended at the beginning. Which is to...

Sade's secret weapon at United Center: restraint

Sade's "Soldier of Love," the British act's first album in over a decade, sold nearly half a million copies its first week, topping the...

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  Sade and John Legend at the United Center

Lollapalooza: Early good vibes and expansion announced

The biggest Lollapalloza ever marked its 20th anniversary Friday in Grant Park with birthday cake, a record attendance of 90,...

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  Greg Kot: Lollapalooza's must-see bands: An hour-by-hour guide

Andrea Marcovicci: bringing a sharp edge to 'Torch'

You'd think a cabaret show about torch songs would practically ooze emotion.

Cemetery among bands drawn to Unbound light at Reversible Eye

It's been dark times for the Chicago underground these past few months — and the fans and folks behind Unbound couldn't be happier.

Kills are ready to bring the heat

The Kills frontwoman Alison Mosshart started out at 14 singing in the Florida punk band Discount. After that band's dissolution, Mosshart...

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  Greg Kot: Foo Fighters to headline Metro in Lollapalooza after-show

Bryn Terfel's artful song recital captivates at Ravinia

Bryn Terfel can command a stage whether he's thundering as Wotan, king of the Wagnerian gods, in "Die Walkure," or singing a lullaby from...

Cures for 'Don't Wanna Lolla' blues

The Hoyle Brothers: Yes, Lolla is a rock festival , but...

South Shore JazzFest flexes its muscle

Two years ago, Chicago impresario-vocalist Geraldine de Haas believed her days of staging the annual South Shore JazzFest might be over.

Jill Scott: Full of fearlessness and passion

Brimming with fierce independence, soul singer Jill Scott came out firing Sunday at a packed Charter One Pavilion and didn't let up for 90...

Leading member of the Barrett Sisters gospel trio dies

She was the mightiest voice of the greatest female trio in gospel.

Torch songs: Singer Andrea Marcovicci embraces ballads of romantic pain

What is a torch song?

Paul plays 2 at Wrigley: How did they compare?

Paul McCartney just completed his two-night stand at Wrigley Field. How did the first night compare to the second? Let's check the...

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  : Concert review: Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field

Alkaline Trio, Smoking Popes reflect on an alt era now gone

It was a bit ironic that Alkaline Trio and Smoking Popes' show at Metro on Monday was presented by the now non-existent Q101, a station that...

He's the hottest young composer around. But catching Nico Muhly isn't easy.

Nico Muhly apologized for missing our phone interview. By an entire day, as it turned out.

Jill Scott is making music, starting conversations

Before she was a renowned R&B; singer, Jill Scott was working the boisterous poetry circuit in Philadelphia. So when she gave a spoken-...

Celebrating 'Vonski'

Chicago saxophone legend Von Freeman probably would have been delighted to hear the city's mayor sing his praises Thursday night at...

Gatekeeper's classic industrial sound

Gatekeeper may have bailed on Chicago for the hipster climes of Brooklyn last year, but the electronic dance music duo still has its...

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  On The Town: Things to do this weekend

Jill Scott: No sugarcoating, even when the White House calls

Before she was a renowned R&B; singer, Jill Scott was working the boisterous poetry circuit in Philadelphia. So when she gave a spoken-...

Epic 'Kullervo' brings bracing gust of icy Nordic air to Grant Park

"Kullervo" represents a side of Jean Sibelius' output few American listeners know. Completed in 1892 and based on the Finnish mythology...

Dolly Parton still a ray of sunshine

Dolly Parton began and ended her performance at the Rosemont Theatre Thursday night with "Light of a Clear Blue Morning," a 1977 hit...

Christian rockers stuck running gantlet

Being a member of a Christian rock band is not for the meek.

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  Typhanie Monique takes a break from school

Brian Wilson turns mind to Gershwin

To make his "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin" album, the former Beach Boys singer listened repeatedly to more than 100 of the late pop...

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  Winning hit TV show gives singer Javier Colon a 'Voice'

Muti book a compelling saga of a rich life lived in music

As he approaches his 70th birthday on Thursday, Riccardo Muti is entering a phase of his international career in which consolidation is...

Falsetto rises again, thanks to Bon Iver

There are a couple of great things about Bon Iver, but probably only one of them explains how the band sold out the Chicago Theatre Sunday...

Gillian Welch draws from the deepest wells of American folk

Gillian Welch was raised in California, the child of showbiz vets, and found her way to country and bluegrass only after a peripatetic...

Which Paul McCartney show should you see?

Demand for Paul McCartney's first Wrigley Field show Sunday is higher than that for his second show Monday for obvious reasons:

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  Fab 4 mania: Beatles in Chicago

Bell, Grant Park Chorus soothe noisy Millennium Park with gentle Faure Requiem

Gabriel Faure's Requiem is not the first work that springs to mind when one thinks of choral music appropriate for performance at Millennium...

Muti says he will stop doing opera in Salzburg

Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Riccardo Muti has pointedly dropped Salzburg from his operatic outposts in future seasons....

McCartney's 9/11 documentary debuts Sept. 10

A documentary about Paul McCartney's experiences in New York immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks on the city is to debut the day...

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  Greg Kot: Paul McCartney: Busting a few myths

Heart is back, even if it never left

This is Heart at the 37-year mark: Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, 61 and 57, respectively, are sitting on their tour bus, eating granola,...

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  On The Town: Weekend events

Chicago prepares to honor one of its own: saxophone legend Von Freeman

It has taken the National Endowment for the Arts three decades to recognize Chicago tenor saxophone legend Von Freeman with the country's...

Steve Earle transforms from bad boy to eminence grise

When it comes to outlaw country, there was a time when Steve Earle was the new bad boy on the block. At the Vic Theatre on Tuesday night, it...

Cloudburst

On a recent afternoon while driving, I had 15 million songs sitting in the little tray between the driver and passenger seats. If they...

For Grant Park chorus master Bell, it's 10 productive years -- and counting

Amid a hectic transatlantic schedule that has Christopher Bell shuttling each season between engagements in the United Kingdom and Chicago,...