Live Music Thursdays

 British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe has reached a whole new generation of fans by touring with WIlco and making a music video with that band, Marc Maron and Tim Heidecker.

Minneapolis MC Dessa intended to be a philosopher, but while studying the subject in college, she realized there weren't many full-time job in that field. By her measure, the most practical way to share her philosophy in a professional way, would be to work as a rapper.

In the first of our High Fidelity Music Series concerts, London's Veronica Falls performed for a small audience of WBEZ members. This is the song they opened with- a dark ode to paranoia that captures the feeling of mid-80s British indie music perfectly.

Unicycle Loves You has been Jim Carroll musical outlet for nearly six years. With their third album, Failure, the noise pop trio has honed in on a catchy sound steeped in 1990s acts like Guided By Voices and Sonic Youth.

If you've listened to top 40 radio in the past year, you've probably heard one of Julie Frost's songs.

Sharon Van Etten is a singer-songwriter from New Jersey who is steadily expanding her sphere of influence.

There's something about cinnamon that sparks the imagination of songwriters.

Christa Meyer performed for years with her husband Tim Kelley in the duo Puerto Muerto. Following the couple's divorce a few years ago, Meyer wasn't sure what direction her musical career would take. Eventually she took solace in her auto-harp, developing a sound she now calls Man Is Man.

Last month Wilco took a victory lap around Chicago, performing in five prestigious venues in one week. In the process Jeff Tweedy and company reaffirmed their status as Chicago's favorite band.

This week Wild Flag made their network television debut on Late Night with David Letterman performing this song, "Romance."The indie powerhouse has been bowling over audiences all year since their triumphant showing at South By Southwest in March.

When My Brightest Diamond performed an intimate concert in our studios back in August, there was a moment when Shara Worden seemed uncertain of what song to play next. She walked over to her rack of guitars and chose a sparkly blue one.

Troy Andrews has been playing trombone since he was six and his instrument towered over him. This comical sight gave him his stage name Trombone Shorty. Now 25, Andrews' height is closer to average than short, but he's still defined by the trombone.

As warm and fuzzy as our ideal of Thanksgiving is, the reality is often far less than perfect.

The final song on Wild Flag's debut album is a doozy of a tune called "Black Tiles." It's perfectly sequenced on the album, and is filled with dark themes of mistrust and fatalism. The song begins with Mary Timony singing about playing dominoes with a shifty partner.

Our resident music critic Jim DeRogatis gave Wild Flag's debut album four out of four stars calling it "not only of the year’s strongest albums, but the of the strongest and most promising debuts in recent memory." The band builds up from '70s guitar rock like Television and