photos by Tim Griffin

Chicago band Gypsyblood are currently working on the follow-up to 2011's Cold In The Guestway and have scheduled an April 14th headlining show at the Cobra Lounge. Advance tickets are on sale. Hamburglars and Hammerdown will act as main support.

Gypsyblood were one of the many bands featured on our bvChicago stage at Hotel Vegan. Above are two new pictures from the Wednesday (March 14), day party. Check out a full set of all acts (including FIELDED, Maps & Atlases, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound) HERE.

Gypsyblood song streams and videos below..

Continue reading "Gypsyblood announce show @ Cobra Lounge; here's a few more pics from bvChicago-SXSW"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound @ Hotel Vegan

"...Before we were able to bask in the glory, we were driving in MAD traffic to get across town to Hotel Vegas to play Brooklyn Vegan's "Hotel Vegan" party. We barely got to the stage in time, screeched up, lept out of the van like we were the A-Team. Set up. Go. 11 people in the room, tops. The big names are outside in the back. And then something clicked, we just continue to be locked in. I look up five songs later and the room is packed. Wall to wall hipsters, including friends from Gypsy Blood, The Pinstripes, and Kane Place Record Club. It was a riot. Like a real house party. Next thing I know, we're shaking hands and getting in cell phone pictures and some real cool guy from Chicago with a little city pride takes us all out to dinner..." [JC Brooks SXSW Tour Diary]

Special thanks to a Sailor Jerry, Brooklyn Brewery, HobNob Wines, and Honest Tea for providing refreshments. Thanks also to our backline partners Korg, Vox, and Blackstar Amplification for helping make the sound happen,

Thanks especially to everyone who stopped by and to the many artists who played. Check out more pictures from the whole day, below...

Continue reading "pics: Chicago represented @ Hotel Vegan in Austin (with JC Brooks, Maps & Atlases, Flosstradamus & many more)"

Bear in Heaven @ Hotel 'Vegan' during SXSW (photo by @bvAustin)

As mentioned, Bear in Heaven, Blouse, and Doldrums added a second show at Schubas (April 19) to their schedule. At the time of our post, ticketing info was forthcoming, but the show has now been placed on sale.

Bear in Heaven

As mentioned, Bear in Heaven, Blouse, and Doldrums are coming to Chicago to play Schubas on April 18. A second show, taking place the following night, has now been added to their tour schedule. Tickets will be posted shortly and go on sale this Friday (March 23), at noon CST.

Bear in Heaven and Doldrums both played at Hotel 'Vegan' in Austin, TX during SXSW, on Wednesday and Friday respectively. More on each day soon, over at BrooklynVegan.

An updated list of 2012 tour dates, below..

Continue reading "Bear in Heaven, Blouse & Doldrums add 2nd show @ Schubas"

The Hideout's annual South By South West send off party takes place today, featuring over ten Chicago bands that are all headed down to Austin within the next few days.

Kicking off at 1:30PM, the day will look like this:

01:30PM - Paper Thick Walls
02:30PM - Football
03:30PM - Unicycle Loves You
04:30PM - Redgrave
05:30PM - Cains & Abels
06:30PM - Outer Minds
07:30PM - The Waco Brothers
08:30PM - Hollywood Holt
09:30PM - Musikanto
10:30PM - In Tall Buildings
11:30PM - Kids These Days
12:00AM - Saturday Night Dance Party w/ DJ set by Hollywood Holt

The Bottle have a send off of their own, a two-day event dubbed Sausage Fest, which begins at 9PM tonight. Advance tickets are $8 per day or $15 for a full weekend pass.

Speaking of Chicago and SXSW, if you are headed down to Austin: stop by Hotel 'Vegan' on Wednesday, March 14 for a full stage of Chicago bands.

photos by Zach Pollack

Korallreven @ Schubas on 3/06/2012

On Tuesday night (March 6), Korallreven, one half of which is The Radio Dept.'s Daniel Tjäder, made their Chicago debut at Schubas with an additional live member. Their excellent debut LP, An Album by Korallreven, translated well to the live setting on Tuesday night, getting the modest-sized crowd moving. A set of pictures are in this post.

As mentioned, Korallreven are on their way down to Austin, TX for SXSW where they will play six different parties. One of those six appearances, is a set at Hotel 'Vegan' on Thursday, March 15.

The project's full SXSW schedule and more pictures from the Chicago show, below..

Continue reading "Korallreven played Schubas (pics); playing BV-SXSW"

We're excited and pleased to announce BV Chicago's first-ever Austin event, a full stage of Chicago musicians along side TWO MORE BrooklynVegan-programmed stages, at Hotel 'Vegan' (aka Hotel Vegas & Volstead Lounge at1500 E. 6th Street) on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 from noon - 6PM. Hotel Vegan will be runing from Wednesday through Saturday during SXSW Music, and we're excited to be showcasing Chicago bands on one of the three stages, on the first of those four days.

Headlining the BV Chicago stage will be JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound (who just announced a big hometown show at Metro). Also on the bill: Flosstradamus (which one half of, J2K, performed at a recent BV Chicago event) with a special guest, The-Drum (who shared that bill with J2K), Maps & Atlases (who have a new album and big hometown show at Metro + tour coming up), White Mystery, FIELDED, Gypsyblood, and Minor Characters (who have a pre-SXSW show at Schubas).

It looks like this:

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - bvChicago Stage at Hotel 'Vegan'
12:00PM - Minor Characters
12:35PM - Gypsyblood
01:15PM - FIELDED
02:00PM - White Mystery
02:45PM - Maps & Atlases
03:30PM - The-Drum
04:15PM - Flosstradamus
05:00PM - JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

Thanks to our backline partners Korg, Vox, and Blackstar Amplification for providing the gear to make this party possible.

And stay tuned for the rest of the "Hotel Vegan" lineups soon!

UPDATE: Here's what another one of the Wednesday stages looks like.

As mentioned, On Wednesday night (February 29) JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound opened up for Mavis Stapes at the Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove, IL.

Tom Marker from WXRT (who presented the show) offered up a short recap of the Chicago band's set:

First up was J.C. Brooks and the Uptown sound. This local band from, yes, Uptown Chicago, was an unknown to most of the audience, though J.C. captured their hearts with his dynamic performance, captivating stage presence, remarkable singing talent, charming and engaging personality, and the very tight band. He soon had the seated audience was clapping and shouting and singing along. Before the show Mavis could hear singing from her dressing room and asked who that was? I went to the room next door and brought J.C. and the band over to meet Mavis. J.C. was so excited to meet Mavis and hear from her that she had seen him on a local TV show he could hardly keep himself from jumping up and down.

Moving on up in the world, the Uptown Sound have just announced that they'll be headlining Metro on April 27 with support from Gold Motel and The Soul Summit DJs. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (March 3), at noon CST.

Reminder: JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound play Saki this Sunday (March 4), at 5PM. They also play the not-yet-fully announced BV Chicago stage at Hotel 'Vegan' during SXSW.

An updated list of 2012 tour dates is below..

Continue reading "JC Brooks played the Tivoli Theater w/ Mavis Staples; announce big hometown show @ Metro w/ Gold Motel"

Maps & Atlases @ Lollapalooza 2011 (more by Grant MacAllister)

As previously mentioned, Maps & Atlases' sophomore LP, Beware and Be Grateful, hits stores on April 17 via Barsuk Records. Visit our early-February post to check out the album's cover art, tracklisting, and a stream of its lead single "Winter."

To quote ourselves:

Maps & Atlases will kick off a short string of Midwest dates in March, which takes them down to Austin, TX for SXSW 2012. A two-week European run has been set for April and we can expect a full North American tour in May.

After SXSW as part of their May headlining run, the group will play a big hometown show at Metro on May 11. Tickets go on sale this Saturday (March 3), at noon CST.

A full list of 2012 tour dates can be found below..

Continue reading "Maps & Atlases announce North American tour dates ------- (BVC SXSW & Metro included)"

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

Chicago soul revivalists JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound have a number of exciting upcoming gigs.

The first, is an opening slot for fellow Chicagoan Mavis Stapes on Wednesday, February 29 at the Tivoli Theatre in nearby Downers Grove, IL. Advance tickets are on sale. As mentioned, Mavis will also headline the 2012 edition of the Chicago Blues Festival in June.

JC and co. are also playing an Epitonic Saki Session on Sunday, March 5 at 4PM, which will serve as their tour-to-SXSW send-off.

Speaking of Chicago and SXSW, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are the first artist that we can reveal are playing the BV Chicago-programmed stage at Hotel 'Vegan' on Wednesday, March 14th, from noon - 6PM! We're extremely honored to have them on board and are looking forward to sharing more of the lineup with you soon.

Happy Friday!

All 2012 tour dates, some videos, and the Hotel 'Vegan' flyer, below..

Continue reading "JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound to play Downers Grove w/ Mavis Staples, an Epitonic Saki Session & BV Chicago SXSW"

As per usual, BrooklynVegan will be hosting a crazy amount of shows at SXSW this year. This includes: one official SXSW Interactive event, two official SXSW Music events, four day parties at Hotel 'Vegan' (flyer above), and multiple metal/hardcore parties including the previously announced full day at Scoot Inn on 3/16.

BV Chicago will present a stage on Wednesday, 3/14 at Hotel Vegan with all Chicago bands.

Stay tuned for more details!