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Cropped Out 2017
Cropped Out, an underground music festival in Louisville, Kentucky, lined up a blockbuster band for the top of its lineup this summer: The Fall. I was already eager to attend Cropped Out again after...
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Hideout Block Party 2017
I missed the first day and a half of the Hideout Block Party this weekend — I was in Louisville for the Cropped Out music festival — but I got back into Chicago on Sunday afternoon and caught the final...
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Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls at the Hideout
Oct. 11 was Jon Langford’s 60th birthday, and it was also the date of a release party at the Hideout for his latest record. Of course, this prolific Chicago musician who never seems to stop creating...
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Chad VanGaalen at the Empty Bottle
Chad VanGaalen, a singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta, makes his recordings practically alone, writing every note and playing nearly every instrument. VanGaalen’s most recent album on Sub Pop,...
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Favorite Albums of 2017
1. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: Soul of a Woman (Daptone) In the year before she died of pancreatic cancer in 2016, this astounding soul singer recorded one last album, and it’s flat-out terrific...
View ArticleA note to our readers
The Underground Bee is on hiatus. We hope to return soon. In the meantime, please enjoy our blog posts and photos from past years.
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Favorite Albums of 2020
1. S.G. Goodman, Old Time Feeling (Verve Forecast) I heard this album only because someone put one of S.G. Goodman’s songs on a Spotify playlist that I happened to check out. I liked it and listened...
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Favorite Records of 2021
1.Aeon StationObservatory The story behind this album was dispiriting for those of us who love the Wrens’ 2003 masterpiece The Meadowlands. We’ve been waiting 18 years for the Wrens to release a...
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Favorite Records of 2022
1.S.G. GoodmanTeeth Marks This Kentucky singer-songwriter’s debut, Old Time Feeling, was my favorite album of 2020, and she captured my heart once again with her second record. This one is more of a...
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Favorite Records of 2023
1. Lankum, False Lankum This Dublin band channels old Irish folk music through drones and other alien elements, giving it an unusual power and intensity. I was so enchanted by this album that I...
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