Frankie Master is a singer/songwriter based in Chicago. Originally from metro Detroit, she grew up listening to Motown, show tunes, early aughts pop, and 70s folk rock – meanwhile studying classical piano and journaling compulsively for 10+ years. As a result (presumably), her music is a unique blend of indie, soul, rock, and pop – warm, sincere, and introspective at its heart.

ANDIE (she/her) is a Soul, Blues, & Jazz inspired songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, & bandleader of ANDIE & The Bandits. She has been involved in Chicago’s music scene for over 6 years, having attended Columbia College Chicago for her Bachelor’s in Contemporary Music while playing at venues all across Chicago. ANDIE & The Bandits recently concluded their 4 month long residency at Golden Dagger, having added new songs to their original set of music each month. Whether accompanying herself on electric guitar, or leading The Bandits, ANDIE’s strong sense of vulnerability shines through in her lyricism & expressive voice.

Bruce Lamont persists in his exploration of sound art, delving into diverse textures and moods through a spectrum of instruments. In his upcoming performance, he will blend his voice with an array of reed instruments, acoustic guitar, percussion, and electronic drones, among others.

Recently, Bruce played the upstairs stage at Thalia Hall alongside his enduring Experi-metal band, Yakuza, and sat in playing saxophone with the UK band Dry Cleaning during a two-night stint over at The Empty Bottle.

This is his first solo performance of 2024.

Wanda is Chicago's dark-sided, piano-playing drag queen. She has performed in New York City, Los Angeles, London, and all around the UK as a solo act and as part of the drag theatre group SADHAUS, which she co-founded. You can usually find her enchanting audiences at Tack Room or leading a ghost tour downtown. She has also led art tours at the Art Institute, and if you're lucky she will bust out her accordion! Find Wanda on Instagram at @wandachicago.

Sidaka is a self taught composer, musician, DJ, producer, and writer from the west side of Chicago. He performs often under the stage name “sidaka” but he is also the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for his band “brinstarr”. His past contributions as a rapper resurfaced with his recent debut album titled “Resurgence Of The Bliss”. Sid’s versatile approach to music consist of rap/hip-hop, alternative rock, jazz, electronic, and techno.

Kevan Eftekhari has been entertaining audiences and establishing himself as a fixture in the Chicago music community for nearly two decades. From piano bars, to weddings, and to corporate events, Kevan brings to life any occasion with his impressively massive repertoire of popular classics and hits from all ages and genres.

@kevanchicago 

http://kevaneftekhari.com/

Join us March 28th for an intimate evening with the reclusive Tony Romero and The Spiders jazz Quartet. This 2nd installment will feature compositions by Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter. Enjoy a cocktail and kick back in deep thought with some jazz served raw.

Lydia Cash is creating something new on the country scene with her haunting melodies and lyrics dripping with nostalgia. Her vulnerability and at times brutal honesty found within her songs is her greatest strength in connecting to her audience. Cash hopes that this openness encourages her listeners to grow in kindness and empathy towards each other, through themes of heartbreak, struggles in marriage and relationships, celebrating small moments in everyday life, and her love for the city of Chicago.

Cash's latest release, "Indigo", boasts her fresh indie take on country music, weaving synths with traditional pedal steel, her airy voice floating with stacked harmonies and emotional, heartfelt lyrics.

Ghost Days is the solo project of Chicago based musician, Alessia Kato. Blending elements of dream pop, post-punk and shoegaze, Ghost Days is a sonic exploration through the dreamscape, leaving behind fragments of nostalgia, bittersweet memories, and the unknown. Accompanying Kato is JD Miralles on bass.

Slow Riser is a Chicago-based dark indie-pop project comprised of two longtime musical collaborators, Ian Young and Claire Watkins (Scout Ripley, Morning Arms). On their nocturnal-themed debut album, Midnight Talks, the duo explores the ways age, mental state, season, and location inform our ever-changing relationship with the night. Underpinning their lyrical vignettes is a tapestry of reverb-drenched guitars, soaring strings, ethereal synths, and downtempo beats. The result is an emotionally and sonically dynamic album that occupies the liminal space between genres.

Kevin Fort has established himself as one of the most in demand pianists on the Chicago jazz scene.  Known for his warm touch and virtuosic yet lyrical improvisations, Kevin is a champion of the straight-ahead jazz tradition while embracing modern influences.  He has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Bob Brookmeyer, John Clayton, James Moody, Ira Sullivan, Slide Hampton, Phil Woods, Steve Turre, Bill Watrous, Louie Bellson, Harry Allen, George Fludas, Andy Brown, and Makaya McCraven. 

Kevin was inspired to pursue a career in jazz by his father’s love of alto saxophone.  Eavesdropping on jam sessions at the house and regularly listening to his dad’s classic jazz record collection helped to refine Kevin’s ear and develop his appreciation for the music.  

After high school, Kevin enrolled at the DePaul University School of Music, where he graduated with highest honors, earning both his BA and MM in Jazz Studies.  While there, he studied piano with Chicago jazz legend Larry Novak.  

Kevin has recorded three albums as a leader.  Red Gold (2014) and Perspectives (2022) proved popular with a global audience, garnering over two million streams across streaming services.  All About Jazz described Kevin as “one of the young lions of the piano deserving of attention.” Chicago Jazz Magazine said that he displays “thrilling virtuosity and agile, vibrant improvisations.”  

Kevin’s latest album, Twilight, releases on October 5, 2023.  Accompanied by bandmates Joe Policastro and Jon Deitemyer, the group pays homage to the classic piano trio albums of the past while incorporating Kevin’s unique take on the art form.  

Currently, Kevin serves as a faculty member at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, where he imparts his passion for jazz to the next generation of emerging artists.

Kevin Fort is a Yamaha Artist.

Working under the moniker Drekka since 1996, composer Michael Anderson has spent the last twenty-five years touring, traveling, and collaborating extensively; collecting memories and building a very personal archive of sound that dates back to the mid-1980's when he first became interested in the emerging industrial tape culture scene coming out of post-punk Europe and the DIY ethos it taught.

Anderson sculpts his ritualistic and cinematic ambient industrial soundscapes using self-made field recordings of everything from insects in the mountains outside Kathmandu to a washing machine in Reykjavik, from countless sketches and abandoned projects donated by friends, from hundreds of hours of multi-track live recordings of Drekka captured all around the world, from his own voice and various instruments and objects found around his house.

His work and performances touch on themes of silence, memory, and forgetfulness.  But rather than obscure himself, as is so often the effect of experimental music, Drekka functions as a direct line into Anderson's mind and his tenuous cache of memories.  These personal aspects and this fragility are clearly on display, rather than being obfuscated by poetic abstractions.

Drekka owes something to the soundscapes and non-linear impressionism of Cindytalk or COIL, the industrial gravity of Einstürzende Neubauten or Hafler Trio, and the cinematic collaborations of Edward Artemiev/Andrei Tarkovsky or Simon Fisher Turner/Derek Jarman.  But his work is singular, unique, and very personal.

While "haunting" and "hypnogogic" are words often used to describe experimental music and art, DREKKA unequivocally occupies and deals in those dark spaces which comprise the tenuous province of memory and dreams. Those are the real ghosts of time and sound.

Drekka has released a large body of work on labels such as Auris Apothecary, Dais, Fabrica, Morc, Silber, Somnimage, and Anderson's own label, Bluesanct.

Anderson has also recorded with and toured in the bands of Jessica Bailiff, Dylan Ettinger, In Gowan Ring, Lovesliescrushing, Annelies Monseré, Rivulets, Stone Breath, Timber Rattle, and Turn Pale.


drekka.bandcamp.com

Rhea the Second started her musical journey as a little girl listening to the sounds of acapella gospel music. Today, she is an Alternative Pop and R&B artist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Her tunes incorporate the musicality of soul, hip hop, funk, electronic, and house music, as she draws inspiration from artists like Janelle Monae, Solange, and more. 

With over a decade of experience, the Chicago-based artist has studied and trained her musical talents for radio and stage. Recent accomplishments include performing at Coachella with Noname, singing background for Leon Bridges, and performing in Jeymes Samuel’s “Hallelujah Heaven” music video with Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton and Lil Wayne. Rhea the Second was also nominated for Best R&B Artist and Best Pop Artist in Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago 2023.

Ranging from experimental to the very heart of R&B, she believes that music is an unending source of passion, worship, freedom, and joy, all of which she hopes to share with listeners. You can find her long awaited debut EP ‘ALT POP RNB’ on all music streaming platforms.

The Devil Said Jump is a new folk band from Chicago. Inspired by artists like boygenius, MUNA, HAIM, and Trousdale, the pair of multi-instrumentalists are making a name for themselves, through their harmonies and honest storytelling. Their debut album "Renaissance Man" is available now on all streaming platforms.

Michelle McCarthy is an independent singer-songwriter with an indie folk sound, currently performing locally in Chicago. Inspired by the classic sounds and story telling of Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell, she hopes to convey a sense of empathy and catharsis to audiences through her music and lyrics. You can find more of her demos, songs, and covers on Spotify and Youtube. 

René Avila band leader for a traditional Cuban Charanga band.  He has two ensembles, from a trio to a 9 piece band.  We have played for Chicago's Summerdance, Navy Pier's Beer Garden, Old Town School of Folk Music and various festivals throughout the city. Our ensembles play traditional Cuban from the golden ages of the 40's 50's and 60's still keeping the "Charanga" format.

Charanga is a classical chamber ensemble that came out of Haiti, featuring the unique sound of the french flute and violins.  During the Haitian revolution of 1804, this sound migrated to eastern Cuba where it reached Santiago.  In the space of 120 years, the modern Charanga was born by adding elements of Africa, Spain, Haiti and Cuba transforming it into an electric mix of cultures and one of the worlds most exciting dance genres.

IG: @rene.avila

Trouser is a musical project of Ryan Walach (Chicago), which involves singing and playing guitar simultaneously.
https://trouser3.bandcamp.com/album/something-else-2



Leo paterniti is an independent artist and producer from Portland Maine. His debut album Staircase came out in August of 2023.

Spencer Schillerstrom is a Chicago-based saxophonist, educator, and composer. Attempting to bend definitions established by genre, Spencer has taken his unique sound to venues all over the midwest as a bandleader and sideman at venues such as Andy's Jazz Club, The Chicago Jazz Showcase, The Promontory, and currently holds a residency at The Waterfront Cafe. Spencer holds an MFA from DePaul University in Jazz Saxophone, is a Tenor Madness Saxophones Artist, and is a former student of world renowned musicians Dana Hall, Scott Burns, Patrick Bartley, and Steven Snyder. As an educator, Spencer has held positions at DePauw University, the British International School of Chicago, and, currently, Hinsdale South High School as the saxophone studio paraprofessional and jazz program co-director. "Introducing Spencer Schillerstrom" is now available on all streaming platforms.

Tom West is an Australian singer, guitarist & songwriter living. He performs with a distinctive, androgynous vocal style, sometimes finger-picked guitars, stories intricately woven into music for immersive shows. 

​Raised among the hills and surf worn coast of South Australia’s Fleurieu peninsula, West has been working and collaborating out of Chicago since March 2022.

“A document to accompany self-reflection and meditation. I’m Livin’ is truly special.”

- Rolling Stone Australia 

“A Folk Singer From Outer Space’ somehow offers some soothing solace for the current, permeating state of loss and isolation.’

- American Songwriter

“**** With his unique voice, storytelling and folk sensibility he could pass for a modern-day Neil Young.” - Courier Mail 

“One of the best albums of 2020”

- Scenster

“His keening, androgynous voice - in an upper register that recalls Brian Aubert, frontman of Los Angeles indie rockers Silversun Pickups - is a joyously tuneful instrument, meshing with his finger-picked guitars, sprinklings of piano, bass and Ringo - like drums. West’s material … is consistently strong, with memorably melodic choruses…”

- The Australian

“Tom’s latest cut is a poignantly earnest slice of indie-folk that is bound to pull at your heartstrings...creating a sound that is undeniably cinematic and powerful.”

- The Vinyl District UK

Rose Bud is an Iraqi-American singer-songwriter from Chicago. With her unique blend of ambient instrumentals, ethereal vocals, and poetic lyrics, Rose Bud’s music is a reflection of her influences including Joni Mitchell and Elliott Smith. She has captivated audiences with her live performances and debut EP, “Bad Jokes'' (2021). With an album in the works, she is currently making waves in the local music scene.