Katie Hill

For over thirty years, the style of music known as house has been thumping four-on-the-floor rhythms throughout its native Chicago. Though it has become a worldwide sound, changing with each new piece of equipment and every scene that adopts its trademarks, Chicago always seems to know how to honor house’s rich legacy—and remains ahead of the curve.

Lizzie Smith

At a celebration of Sun Ra’s 106th birthday, an audience member advised against calling it a “birthday” party. It’d be more accurate to celebrate his “arrival”—since, as Sun Ra told his followers, he had a vision that he wasn’t born on Earth, but was actually an angel from Saturn.

milo bosh

Steve Coleman’s music resembles flight in more ways than one. For the listener, it is a flight of the senses: nebulous and strange, challenging and innovative. For Coleman and his band, Five Elements, it’s a flight of the imagination. Brisk drumming, propulsive singing, smooth guitar, and piercing trumpet join hands with—and break away from—Coleman’s saxophone. The music is kept aloft by change, creating something new at each moment.

Lizzie Smith

Does a DJ have a responsibility to play the material he pioneered and honor the scene he came from? Or is their responsibility simply to please a crowd? If it’s the latter, is the obligation only to provide what the crowd, venue, and promoters want to hear? And what happens when all of this goes unchallenged for an entire evening?

Renee Rolewicz

When Tatiana Hazel uploaded her first singles to YouTube at the ripe old age of thirteen, it was clear she was destined for big things. With a very mid-2000s side sweep and original songs about first loves and first heartbreaks, Hazel expressed with grace and confidence what most of us only wish we could have during our teen years. In time, her style and subject matter drew in thousands of views, springboarding her career and encouraging her to pursue music on a more serious level.