Chicagoans of Note

Chicagoans of Note is an as-told-to interview series by Reader staff that spotlights voices from the city’s diverse and multifaceted music community.

Izzi Vasquez, music-adjacent multimedia artist — Izzi Vasquez in their studio at Happy Gallery

Izzi Vasquez, music-adjacent multimedia artist

“I get excited to help people get their album covers to the next level, especially since they’re gonna see it five million times. But I think seeing my work onstage has been even more exciting.”

by DMB (Debbie-Marie Brown) November 30, 2023November 30, 2023

Chicagoans of note

R. Brent Decker, Racetraitor bassist and anti-violence worker

R. Brent Decker, Racetraitor bassist and anti-violence worker

DJ Slugo, ghetto house champion

DJ Slugo, ghetto house champion

Josh Piotrowski, DIY haunted-house builder and noise musician

Josh Piotrowski, DIY haunted-house builder and noise musician

Manae Solara Vaughn, sound engineer, musician, and cofounder of Oux

Manae Solara Vaughn, sound engineer, musician, and cofounder of Oux

Josh Horton, music videographer

Josh Horton, music videographer

Lily Glick Finnegan, drummer and Option Series curator

Lily Glick Finnegan, drummer and Option Series curator

Chicagoans of Note: Archives

Emma McKee, aka hip-hop cross-stitch firebrand Stitch Gawd

Emma McKee, aka hip-hop cross-stitch firebrand Stitch Gawd

Nataliia Kuryliak, piano instructor and Ukrainian refugee

Nataliia Kuryliak, piano instructor and Ukrainian refugee

Bill Harris, improvising drummer and community platform builder

Bill Harris, improvising drummer and community platform builder

Gray Schiller, ambient musician and founder of StretchMetal

Gray Schiller, ambient musician and founder of StretchMetal

Czarina Mirani, founder and editor of 5 Magazine

Czarina Mirani, founder and editor of 5 Magazine

Molly Compton, founder of Ur Mom Records

Molly Compton, founder of Ur Mom Records

Ash Dye, music scene photographer

Ash Dye, music scene photographer

Heather Gabel, collage artist and singer of Hide

Heather Gabel, collage artist and singer of Hide

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More Music Articles

The late great Joe Cassidy links music scenes across the Atlantic

The late great Joe Cassidy links music scenes across the Atlantic

Partywatcher honors his Dominican roots with his first all-Spanish release

Partywatcher honors his Dominican roots with his first all-Spanish release

Balikbayan Worldwide takes Filipino dance music global

Balikbayan Worldwide takes Filipino dance music global

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Best of Chicago: Music

Best place to escape an EDM club overrun by a Michigan State fraternity

Best place to escape an EDM club overrun by a Michigan State fraternity

Best prodigal son in a rock band

Best prodigal son in a rock band

Best multihyphenate burlesque dancer, emcee, and event curator for Black femmes

Best multihyphenate burlesque dancer, emcee, and event curator for Black femmes

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Music reviews

Will Miller’s Resavoir makes a serene return with a new self-titled album

Will Miller’s Resavoir makes a serene return with a new self-titled album

Reflection, resilience, and now remembrance in Crossing Borders Music’s focus on Arab string quartets

Reflection, resilience, and now remembrance in Crossing Borders Music’s focus on Arab string quartets

Bar Italia create a stir with low-key minimalist indie pop

Bar Italia create a stir with low-key minimalist indie pop

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The Secret History of Chicago music

There’s still time to catch up with the Joy Poppers

There’s still time to catch up with the Joy Poppers

Downstate weirdos Max Load brought punk to Belleville

Downstate weirdos Max Load brought punk to Belleville

Pastor Mitty Collier spent the 1960s as one of the great voices in soul music

Pastor Mitty Collier spent the 1960s as one of the great voices in soul music

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World Music Festival

The Reader’s guide to World Music Festival Chicago 2023

The Reader’s guide to World Music Festival Chicago 2023

Bandcamp Friday meets the World Music Festival

Bandcamp Friday meets the World Music Festival

The Reader’s guide to World Music Festival Chicago 2022

The Reader’s guide to World Music Festival Chicago 2022

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Gossip Wolf

The inimitable but intermittent Roctober roars back with a hefty double issue

The inimitable but intermittent Roctober roars back with a hefty double issue

Cellist and sound artist Dorothy Carlos brings My Ideal Is Windy to the Lincoln Park Conservatory

Cellist and sound artist Dorothy Carlos brings My Ideal Is Windy to the Lincoln Park Conservatory

Indie rockers Soft and Dumb pause work on their next album to drop an acoustic EP

Indie rockers Soft and Dumb pause work on their next album to drop an acoustic EP

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Concert Previews

Hometown hero Mavis Staples provides inspiration at Cahn Auditorium

Hometown hero Mavis Staples provides inspiration at Cahn Auditorium

Improvised music co-op Catalytic Sound holds its fourth annual festival in five cities, including Chicago

Improvised music co-op Catalytic Sound holds its fourth annual festival in five cities, including Chicago

Mandy, Indiana conjure the punk-rock city we’d be thrilled to live in

Mandy, Indiana conjure the punk-rock city we’d be thrilled to live in

Multidisciplinary artist Eartheater explores rebirth and transformation on Powders

Multidisciplinary artist Eartheater explores rebirth and transformation on Powders

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Best of Chicago 2023

Credit: Nick Murway

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Music & Nightlife

Best place to catch a man practicing harmonica while he urinates

Sidekicks

by Micco Caporale

Music & Nightlife

Best nine-minute, 12-second Chicago hip-hop mixtape

Portrait by Davis

by Leor Galil

Music & Nightlife

Best overdue celebration

Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows at Pritzker Pavilion

by Philip Montoro

Music & Nightlife

Best cultural programming at a museum

Music at the International Museum of Surgical Science

by Jamie Ludwig

Worst of Chicago: Music

What Chicago media gets wrong about Chance, Keef, and the local hip-hop scene

What Chicago media gets wrong about Chance, Keef, and the local hip-hop scene

Why does R. Kelly seem immune to repercussions in the post-Weinstein era?

Why does R. Kelly seem immune to repercussions in the post-Weinstein era?