September 1st marks the (unofficial) start of fall and I’m too excited for these shows hitting Chicago in the next few months.
There are SO many great artists visiting Chicago during the fall but I chose to highlight these 10! I’m hoping to get to at least half of these (I have tickets to four of them so far), and I hope that you learn something or even buy tickets after reading this post!
In periodical order:
Who: Middle Kids ft. Glyders
Genre: Indie Rock
Where: Lincoln Hall / 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL
When: Wednesday, September 6. 18 years+
Why: If you caught any of my recap posts from Lollapalooza, you may know that I had the opportunity to see Middle Kids – an indie rock band from Australia with feel good vibes similar to the likes of HAIM and Local Natives. The band will be touring North America this fall, with stops at Austin City Limits and Life is Beautiful Festival before touring Australia with Paul Kelly and Steve Earle. Their stop at Lincoln Hall is a 101.1 WKQX Queued Up Showcase (and is probably why the tickets are SO cheap – literally less than a meal and totally worth it). Middle Kids just has one EP released and I’m assuming they will be performing some unreleased songs as well.
Price: $13
Purchase tickets here.
Who: Young the Giant ft. Cold War Kids and Joywave
Genre: Indie Rock
Where: Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island / 1300 S Linn White Dr, Chicago, IL
When: Saturday, September 9. All ages.
Why: I rarely find a joint headlining tour with bands as impressive as Young the Giant and Cold War Kids, and support by Joywave definitely ups the talent game for sure. Young the Giant recently extended their Home of The Strange Tour in support of their third album of the same name. The band heavily toured last fall and I had a chance to see them at their Chicago stop at the Aragon Ballroom and it was definitely one of my favorite shows ever. I haven’t had a chance to see Cold War Kids longer than about 10 minutes (and watching from afar at Lollapalooza), and I’ve really enjoyed their recent releases and their newest album, LA DIVINE, which dropped in April of this year. I’ve been to this venue at Northerly Island a couple times and even though it’s sort of a weird, random setup, the views of the Chicago skyline behind the stage makes the atmosphere one to remember and unique to other Chicago venues.
Side note: if you download the Live Nation app and enter a few preferences about your music taste, you can receive $20 off a ticket through September 19, 2017 (perfect for this show!)
Price: $25-$145, available here.
Genre: Pop
Where: Riviera Theater / 4746 N. Racine Ave. Chicago, IL
When: Friday, September 15. All ages.
Why: Will I ever stop confessing my love for HAIM? Probably not. I’ve had the opportunity to see HAIM live three times (in 2015 when they toured with Taylor Swift and their Lollapalooza set in 2016) – yet have never even seen them perform their own headlining show. After the release of their highly anticipated second album, Something To Tell You, HAIM quickly announced a small fall tour and I knew that I had to jump on the chance to grab tickets.
Not only are these three sisters incredibly talented singers, but they are completely the whole package when it comes to being a well-rounded musician. They all play instruments onstage and also take turns jamming out on drum sets together. One of my favorite live performance moments of all time is when HAIM performed a cover of Prince’s “I Would Die For You” at Lollapalooza last year after confessing their love and admiration for the late singer. I always think it’s really amazing to see a musician’s inspiration embedded in their own music and it was such a cool thing to experience seeing Prince’s influence in HAIM’s music like that.
So if you’re still asking “Why should I see HAIM?” I think the answer is simple. HAIM has been off the radar since 2013 after the release of their debut, Days Are Gone and had not been performing new music for over 3 years. To see a band who has such talent and musicianship at a venue like The Riviera is an opportunity that won’t come often (or maybe never again – HAIM has the talent and the growing popularity to start performing at larger venues).
Side note: HAIM just announced that LPX – A.K.A. Lizzy Plapinger (who is one half of the dream-pop duo MS MR), will be supporting them on this tour. I recently covered LPX’ music in a post here.
Price: $50, tickets are sold out, but you can try Stubhub or other third party resellers.
Genre: Folk Pop
Where: Thalia Hall
When: Friday, September 22. All ages.
Why: I would apologize for the amount of times that I’ve written about Joseph (i.e. here, here, and here, for example) but these women are so unbelievably talented and I really encourage my readers to check them out. I’ll give you the rundown: three sisters, Allison, Meegan and Natalie Closner, are from a town called Joseph in Oregon (their grandfather is also named Joseph) and started releasing music together in 2014 and have since released a sophomore album just about a year ago: I’m Alone, No You’re Not. The album has generated positive reviews, being described as “a clearly defined and distinct point of view: The Closner sisters sing beautifully, sure, but they share their voices in the service of songs about fearlessness, commitment and the pursuit of a life fully lived” by this NPR review.
I’ve seen a LOT of live performances and I would definitely say that Joseph’s live vocals are on par with the talent of Adele in terms of sounding identical to their recorded versions (if not better). Plus, the venue, Thalia Hall, is stunning (I haven’t been but I’ve heard), so this is totally the perfect venue to hear some folk music and beautiful vocals.
Price: $25, available here.
Who: Wild Cub ft. Parade of Lights
Genre: Pop
Where: Schuba’s Tavern / 3159 N. Southport Ave. Chicago, IL
When: Monday, September 25. 18+ years up
Why: Wild Cub has risen from the dead! I’ve been waiting to see if Wild Cub was going to release anything new after flying under the radar from the past three years or so: their first album, Youth, was released in 2014 and featured the single “Thunder Clatter” which has over 30 million streams on Spotify.
So far, they have released four singles ahead of their second album, which is set to be released on Friday, September 8.
Wild Cub is only one of two artists on this list that I’ve never seen live (Billie Eilish being the other one), so I can’t comment on their live performance abilities. It will definitely be interesting to see if they will be able to continue their momentum as an indie-pop band after taking such a long break, but I would assume that their reemergence back onto the indie music scene will grab people’s attention.
Price: $13, available here.
Who: Glass Animals ft. Amber Mark
Genre: Psychedelic Pop
Where: Aragon Ballroom / 1106 W. Lawrence Ave. Chicago, IL
When: Thursday, September 28. All ages.
Why: I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions about the Aragon Ballroom, but it’s totally one of my favorite venues in Chicago – and I love when on-the-rise musicians, like Glass Animals, perform there. I’ve seen acts like Lorde, The Head & The Heart and Bastille at the Aragon Ballroom before and I always feel like the atmosphere and interior makes for a great live show. I think this is THE perfect venue to see a band like Glass Animals and I think that the show is going to be pretty freakin amazing.
I saw Glass Animals at Lollapalooza this year and their live show was so much fun and entertaining and I would absolutely recommend seeing them live. Their popularity is rising fast right now so I would for sure jump on this chance to see them at a venue like the Aragon Ballroom.
Price: $41, available here.
Who: Billie Eilish ft. THUTMOSE
Genre: Indie Pop
Where: Schuba’s Tavern / 3159 N. Southport Ave. Chicago, IL
When: Thursday, October 12. All ages.
Why: I apologize for bringing your attention to another sold out show, but I think that Billie Eilish should be on your radar (if she’s not already – check out my recent post on her here). This 15-year-old indie pop performer has been racking up the successes with her music – her biggest song, “Ocean Eyes,” has over 15 million streams on Spotify. Her talents don’t stop there: she also produces and writes her own music with her brother.
If this isn’t enough to get you excited, maybe the venue will. Schuba’s Tavern only holds 165 people – and based on Eilish’s rising popularity, this is a show that you definitely wouldn’t want to miss. I’m predicting that she will be performing at bigger venues in no time.
Vogue called Eilish “Pop’s next It Girl.” What more can I do to convince you?
Price: $15, tickets are sold out, but you can try Stubhub or other third party resellers.
Who: Bad Suns ft. Hunny and QTY
Genre: Indie Rock
Where: Metro / 3730 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL
When: Friday, October 20. All ages.
Why: I feel like Bad Suns is one of those bands who is constantly flying under the radar, but I have been following them essentially since the launch of their career and always recommend people seeing their live show. I first saw Bad Suns perform live at JBTV when my friend (S/O Nina) wanted to see them perform a few songs in the JBTV studio in January 2015 (so long ago!) before their first album was even released. Since then, I’ve seen Bad Suns perform three other times and I particularly LOVE their second album – which was released almost a year ago.
I saw them perform that album with Coin at the Double Door last October. I honestly hate that venue so much that it ruined the experience and would never recommend seeing a show there – but it doesn’t matter, since it’s closed now. I’m not the BIGGEST fan of the Metro, either, but I really enjoy Bad Suns’ music, so I will make an exception.
I’ve also been a fan of HUNNY in passing and think that the combination is going to be a great show!
Price: $27, available here.
Who: Bleachers ft. Bishop Briggs
Genre: Pop/Rock
Where: Riviera Theater / 4746 N. Racine Ave. Chicago, IL
When: Saturday, November 11. All ages.
Why: Whenever I get a chance to plug Bleachers, I will always do it, no doubt. I’ve seen Bleachers live five times and I honestly never get sick of seeing Jack Antonoff perform. After a very long hiatus in between his first and second albums released under Bleachers, Jack will be touring North America this fall with newcomer Bishop Briggs as his opening act. I think it’s such a great combination and The Riviera is one of my favorite Chicago venues, for sure.
So why else should you go see this show? Bishop Briggs is a good reason. Briggs has been on the rise in the indie rock music scene for the past year or so and has been making a name for herself and is known for amazing energy during her live performances and killer vocals (I saw her at Lollapalooza and she didn’t disappoint). These two touring together will most definitely produce great vibes, for sure.
Price: $45, available here.
Who: Frenship
Genre: Indie Pop
Where: Schuba’s Tavern / 3159 N. Southport Ave. Chicago, IL
When: Sunday, November 19. All ages.
Why: Frenship, a band from California, has been on the rise ever since their smash hit, “Capsize” was released and has been streamed over 395,000,000 times – freaking unreal. With just one EP and a handful of singles officially released, the band will be touring a LOT during the remainder of 2017, some dates supporting Bastille and of course, a few headlining shows, one at Schuba’s Tavern in Chicago.
Like I stated previously, Schuba’s only holds 165 people – which means you’re guaranteed to have an intimate performance experience with whoever is performing there. While I only saw Frenship perform acoustically in the past (at Lollapalooza), I’ve heard that they put on a fantastic show with all of the instruments and drew a crowd much larger than 165 people at their set at Lolla this year. The tickets are also so cheap: what more can you ask for?
Price: $17, available here.
Did I leave out any shows that are on your radar? Let me know in a comment below.
– Kristin
stagedhaze.com 
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