The Complete Pitchfork 2014 Survival Guide
The dos and don’ts, what (and what not) to bring, plus the basic info you need to know to get in and out of the festival in one piece.
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Listen to Alex Wiley's New Track, "Future Guns"
A breezy new song from the 21-year-old Hyde Park emcee proves once again why he’ll be among Chicago’s next big names.
A Guide to the Pitchfork 2014 After-Parties
Catch these nine bands at intimate after-shows—whether you missed their outdoor concerts or skipped the festival entirely.
An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
The prolific Gay demonstrates her exceptional talent with 2014’s bracing, harrowing account of Mireille Duval Jameson, a wealthy Haitian American who gets kidnapped by a band of mercenaries while on vacation in the Caribbean. It’s not easy reading by any means, but Gay’s ability to write humanely about the complicated web of economic privilege, racism, … Read more
Ike Holter
Holter broke out with 2012’s Hit the Wall. But the follow-up to his kinetic take on the Stonewall riots shows that the Minneapolis native is a blaze, not a flare. With Exit Strategy—produced earlier this year at Jackalope Theatre—he brought white-knuckle intensity to the emotional and politically incendiary topic of the public school closings in Chicago. Watching … Read more
Ian Abramson
The 25-year-old Logan Square resident delights in peppering the Twittersphere (@iantherage) with droll one-liners such as “I tried to get my checking account to check on my savings, but it didn’t have any interest.” The regular on the standup scene has lately been running around town staging madcap pranks. In one, he put a comedian … Read more
Museum of Contemporary Art
Soon after the MCA settled into its home behind Water Tower Place in 1996, monumental sculptures began popping up, adding a dash of the surreal to the museum’s entrance plaza. So far, a dozen artists have been showcased there. In 2005, a car and its camper seemed to crash through the pavement from below in … Read more
Poetry Magazine
This centenarian monthly has long engaged local writers, but a recent redesign claimed the magazine’s cover for contemporary artists. “Our heart is in Chicago, and lately we’ve been wearing it on our sleeve,” says Poetry’s art director, Fred Sasaki. This year, works by Rebecca Shore, Jessie Mott, Lilli Carré, and Kate McQuillen have graced the … Read more
Sonnenzimmer
The Roscoe Village–based artists Nick Butcher, 34, and Nadine Nakanishi, 38, who formed Sonnenzimmer (“sunroom” in German), were mentored by Jay Ryan, Chicago’s concert poster king. And over the past decade, they have churned out brilliant designs for scores of local and touring acts—including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Kraftwerk, the Sea and Cake, … Read more
Amanda Majeski
This Gurnee native’s career has moved steadily forward, almost always on Chicago steppingstones—Northwestern University undergrad, the Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center, a starring role in Chicago Opera Theater’s La Clemenza de Tito. In 2010, Majeski grabbed some early limelight in the big hall when she substituted for a bronchitis-stricken Anne Schwanewilms in the Lyric’s The Marriage … Read more