Shana Solarte balanced a glass of soju on a pair of chopsticks set parallel atop a glass of pale Korean lager. You have to find a way to get the shot glass into the beer, she said, raising a fist. Some people will bash their head on the tableif theyre on their tenth one. I […] The post Bier Omakase is the social lubricant beer drinkers need right now ...

On December 5, one day after the 56th anniversary of Fred Hampton’s assassination, Im trekking through the snow in hopes of catching his son with time to talk. Skin in the game is how the junior Hampton would later describe my efforts. Hampton led the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. He was killed […] The post Fred Hampton Jr. keeps the ...

The Video Data Bank is committed to fostering awareness and scholarship of the history and contemporary practice of video and media art, to serving the artists represented in the VDB collection, to providing access to the collection, and to ensuring the future of the collection for generations to come. Video Data Banks mission The nonprofit […] The post ...

Since March, talent buyer and indie-scene workhorse Alicia Maciel has been working with a group of locals to present next months DeffJam. This all-ages blowout, held at Thalia Hall on Saturday, January 3, honors the late Ryan Deffet, who led Chicago bands Space Gators and Faux Furrs. Deffet founded DeffJam in 2016 in his native […] The post DeffJam honors ...

Chicago Reader Volume 55, No. 12. December 17, 2025. The post Chicago Reader Volume 55, Number 12 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Bovinos back ON TUESDAY, U.S. BORDER PATROL commander Greg Bovino crawled out of whatever sewer he calls home to inflict yet more terror across Chicago and the near suburbs. Videos posted to social media around 8 AM show Bovino and roughly half a dozen troops, all outfitted in green, abducting a person from a Walmart […] The post Greg Bovino is back ...

The Model Play, through 12/21, Snails on a Bike at 2442 N. Lincoln The post Runway drama appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Like every year, emails hawking books with a Chicago angle have accumulated faster than I can reasonably read, let alone review, them. Heres where year-end lists come in handy. Not definitive by any means, this list instead offers a bit more than a handful of local recommendations that I and other Reader staffers read and […] The post Reader-recommended ...

The Not That Late Show, open run (third Wednesday of the month), Lincoln Lodge The post How to make a talk show appeared first on Chicago Reader.

'Twas the Night Before . . ., through 12/28, Cirque du Soleil at the Chicago Theatre The post High-flying holidays appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Clowns, through 1/4/26 at City Lit Theater The post Holmes for the holiday appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Everybody, through 12/21, Couch Penny Ensemble at Greenhouse Theater Center The post Death comes for Everybody appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Looking at the red, fleshy corners framing ngela Ferraris painting They Shoot Horses Dont They? feels like peering through the mouth of a beast. It primes the viewer for the blood to come and shows that the artist is here to unsettle our sense of space.  Sydney Pollacks 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Dont They? […] The post Reading the rooms appeared first ...

The Cook County Sheriffs Office (CCSO) missed a state-mandated deadline to report that it owned and operated ten surveillance drones between April 2024 and March 2025, the agency confirms to the Reader.  Its the second time in as many years a Chicago-area law enforcement agency has violated the states drone surveillance law, which requires police […] The ...

The mansaf bites platter at M’daKhana Bridgeview joint specializing in smoked meatscomes with eight pockets of fluffy rice and bits of lamb encased in thin flatbread, doused in sauce with more on the side, and garnished with herbs and slivered almonds. Its a shareable, dippable version of traditional mansaf, a rice, lamb, and yogurt dish […] The post ...

The Moviegoer is the diary of a local film buff, collecting the best of what Chicagos independent and underground film scene has to offer. Should you also be an avid moviegoer, you may know that much has happened in the past week, both in Chicago and in the film industry at large. First, some good […] The post Its a wonderful life appeared first on ...

Tomorrow Kings Thu 12/18 at Schubas The post Underground hip-hop crew Tomorrow Kings hit Schubas to celebrate their first album in 12 years appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The Cool Kids Fri 12/19 at the Empty Bottle The post The Cool Kids are back from the future with a return to form appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Iron Years Fri 12/19 at Cobra Lounge The post Iron Years bring midwestern flavor to danceable throwback postpunk appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Won't Stay Dead Fri 12/19 at Liar's Club The post Horror punks Wont Stay Dead exorcise their demons on Vindication appeared first on Chicago Reader.

An Ayler Xmas Sat 12/20 at Constellation The post Friends of the late Mars Williams resurrect his holiday songbook appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Moth Cock Tue 12/23 at Cole's Bar The post Moth Cock provide a weird antidote to typical holiday cheer appeared first on Chicago Reader.

As City Hall scrambles to close the over $1 billion deficit, and Mayor Brandon Johnson implores all departments to tighten their belts, cuts are quietly and disproportionately assigned to the Chicago Public Library (CPL). Despite years of understaffing, the mayors budget proposal called for the elimination of library vacancies, along with cutting half the ...

I rarely pay attention to promo hype, but when venerable Chicago label Drag City put out a press release about Bag People last January, I pricked up my ears. “Bag People were Chicagoans who outgrew their home in the maelstrom of the early 80s NYC post-punk/no-wave scene, the release said. Their compulsive noise-rock sound looms […] The post Feral ...

On the night of November 19, residents from South Holland, Dixmoor, Dolton, and other nearby south-suburban communities gathered outside Thornwood High School. In a line extending onto the sidewalk, families gathered for a community resource fair hosted by Naperville-based utility company Nicor Gas, which provided free food packages containing fresh fruit, ...