Official Indie

Somewhere in the Sky

AJR

With Support From:

With Support From:

2025-07-27

AJR are one of those bands that everyone talks about. These 3 brothers are very creative and strive to give their fans the best stage show possible. I have watched these guys grow from playing Chicago's Aragon Ballroom in 2018, to opening KISS FM's Jingle Ball in 2019 and now practically selling out Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre! So when I saw I could finally catch up with these brothers again, I was excited to see how much they have grown.

The origin of the band's name is simple, it's comes from the initials of the three brothers: Adam, Jack and Ryan. While Adam has more or less...
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By Alexandra Geshel

Unplugged 2025

Breaking Benjamin

2025-07-25

As someone who has always loved Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf when I was saw the announcement that Ben Burnley was doing a special "Unplugged" tour with Lacey and Josh Sturm I knew I wanted to be there. A full night of stripped down, raw renditions of songs from Breaking Benjamin, Flyleaf and a few other random covers would definitely make this a magical one-of-a kind tour!

It was just Ben, Lacey, Josh with his guitar and a drum machine. There was no opening act. It was just these three performers singing songs, telling stories and reminiscing about how long they have all been friends. I didn't know they have been friends for 20 plus years which is so inspiring!

For the set, they did a song together then switched off between songs from Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf with a random cover thrown in through out the night. I honestly really enjoyed it, and Ben and Lacey sound...
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By Alexandra Geshel

Summer of Loud 2025

Parkway Drive

2025-07-13

Summer of Loud Festival could also be called the Summer of Pyro because these bands know how to turn up the heat, and I am not just talking musically or their looks. I mean it literally. All 4 headliners used massive amounts of pyrotechnics putting on this killer show!

The "Big Four" bands on the tour are alternating as the headliner at each stop. On this day, we had Killswitch Engage up first, followed by Beartooth, then I Prevail and finally Parkway Drive closed out the night.

I last covered Killswitch Engage in 2022 and, I fully admit, I was not happy with the shots I got of the band at that time, so being able to cover them as one of the headlining acts, I felt confident I would knock it out of the park. It didn't hurt that the lighting was significantly...
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By Alexandra Geshel

Summer School Tour 2025

Charlotte Sands

2025-07-12

The semester is over, but "Summer School" is in session and back for another year with great new artists you may or may not know. Looking at this year's class of young artists, it turns out that I actually know most of this year's current line up. It made me feel hip, cool and still relevant! In short, this year's line up is amazing!

With every stop on the tour, they have a new head of the class which switches between Charlotte Sands, Taylor Acord and Rain City Drive. In Chicago, Charlotte Sands was elected to close out the night. For me, it was a full circle moment as I was able to cover her back in 2022. It was amazing to see how much she has progressed not just as a singer, but as an overall performer! Charlotte was also one of the most popular artists of the night with many of her fans in the audience excited to find out that she was closing out the night. If you have never seen Charlotte, I highly recommend checking out her live show. She is an amazing singer and...
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By Alexandra Geshel

The Out of the Darkness Tour

Betty Who

2025-06-23

Every year there are always two or three songs that define the summer. This year Betty Who wants to make you "Sweat", the title of her latest release. This song is definitely a bop and I've been listening to it whenever I can. With two singles released so far this year, I have high hopes that a full album release is on the horizon.

Having seen Betty Who previously I had little doubt that this would be a high energy show. I've always been impressed with her live performance, but this tour was next level. It was HAWT! The 23 song set was filled with high energy dancing and of course catchy songs that had the audience screaming the entire set. The only break was around mid-set when she slowed it down for an acoustic cover of Hillary Duff's "What Dreams Are Made Of" which she performed with the tour opener Molly Grace. It was the perfect selection of music for every one of her fans

While the tour has been going great overall, I do however feel bad for Betty with the turnout of the Detroit...
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By Ken Kohlmeier

Alive & Kicking Tour 2025

Simple Minds

With Support From:

With Support From:

2025-06-21

Simple Minds have one fundamental request for their fans: "Don't you, forget about me". On behalf of all the true and long time fans, I can assure them that we haven't. After nearly 50 years together founding members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill are still "Alive and Kicking", giving us both new music and a new tour.

I was very excited for this tour. Not only have Simple Minds been among my favourite bands for years, but I've also been a fan of both Modern English and Soft Cell for pretty much as long as I've been listening to music. Having all three on the same bill meant I was definitely coming to see this...
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By Ken Kohlmeier

Year of the Slug Tour

Caroline Rose

2025-06-14

In 2018, Caroline Rose released her debut indie pop/rock album Loner. As far as I'm concerned, it is pretty close to being perfect. Filled with catchy songs, it is an album I still listen to today and enjoy every track. I became a fan of Caroline's and was lucky enough to see her in concert twice that year.

Seven years and three albums later, I was finally able to see her in concert again, this time promoting her latest album, Year of the Slug. This tour is all about Caroline and her music. There was no opening act. It was exactly as advertised on Caroline's website, it was a solo evening with Caroline Rose. I was absolutely fine without having any opener, especially considering the fact that the first time I saw her live the opener just kept playing and playing, for over an hour and half instead of the usual 30 or so minutes, cutting into Caroline's set. As such, the venue cut the power to the stage about 45 minutes into Caroline's set. Can you tell I'm still bitter...
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By Ken Kohlmeier

Three Cheers for 20 Years Tour

Mayday Parade

With Support From:

With Support From:

2025-05-16

Mayday Parade is currently on their Three Cheers for 20 Years Tour with Microwave, Grayscale, and Like Roses and holy smoke it was an incredible show! Mayday Parade had a beautiful stage set up with a giant mirror and screens showing old clips from their 20 year career! It was such a cool set up and honestly was one of the best shows I have seen them play!

Mayday played a 23-song "Greatest Hits" set which covered their entire 20 year music catalog. It was also filled with stories, memories, and nostalgic vibes! The band ended their set with giant confetti canons which of course everyone loves, how can you not! Besides the stage set up/production, the band had so much energy on stage and just knew how to get the crowd pumped and excited to scream their hearts out! You could also tell...
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By Alexandra Geshel

Hollywood Forever Tour

DeathbyRomy

With Support From:

2025-05-14

I love getting to see artists in a small venue, especially when you know that they should be performing on a much larger stage. Seeing artists such as Billie Eilish at El Club, or Jessie Murph at The Crofoot's Pike Room. When I saw DeathbyRomy was bringing her first U.S. headlining tour to the Pike Room, I immediately thought three things: first, I'm not missing this tour; second, if it's really at the Pike Room, I'm getting my tickets early as I'm sure it will sell out fast (which it did); and third, I'm getting to the venue extra early since it's general admission and really small.

With doors scheduled to open at 7 pm, and wanting to be able to get the best view possible, it's always hard to balance arrival time with door time. I thought I'd aim to be there around 5 pm and I'm glad I didn't arrive much later. By 5:30, the line was half way down the block.

I consider myself a long time fan of DeathbyRomy. From the time I first heard her song...
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By Ken Kohlmeier

Growing Pains Tour

Trousdale

With Support From:

2025-05-09

Most of us go through growing pains. Experience makes us the people we are today and influences our future. Over their 11 years together, Trousdale has definitely experienced growing pains at various times, both as the band and in their personal lives. Their latest album, Growing Pains, and tour of the same name, is both a release from those moments and an opportunity to move forward.

While the album gave Trousdale the ability to think over and vocalize their Growing Pains, the tour brings a more personal connection with their fans and allows Trousdale to share the stories behind the music.

Love, rejection, heartache and self acceptance are powerful themes that are explored during their set. Designated breaks between songs allowed both heartfelt and light hearted conversations between...
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By Ken Kohlmeier