“Why not put food and entertainment all under one bun?” Taylor Mallory asks, reciting the slogan of his new food and music webshow, “Music Burger.” Wearing a smart sport jacket and his signature black baseball cap backwards, Mallory doesn’t look stressed, but the musician and teacher has a lot on his plate. Read the rest of this entry »

David Moss is a self-described “extreme vocalist.” In his bizarre, entrancing performances, he babbles and sings in invented languages, his commanding but playful use of his voice leaving audiences speechless. This Saturday, at the University of Chicago’s Bond Chapel, Moss will premiere his latest composition, “Hyperglyphyx.” Read the rest of this entry »

A woman in a black dress and a man in a black tie and white-collared shirt stood on stage. Black binders in hand, they read from a collection of letters, diary entries, philosophical musings, and poetry from diverse authors. Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi, Islamic mystic Ibn al-Arabi, and Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk were all spotlighted in little more than half an hour.

“Voices of the Middle Eastern City” was performed on May 14th at the University of Chicago as part of the 25th annual Middle Eastern History and Theory Conference. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re entertaining thoughts of coming to the University of Chicago’s annual Summer Breeze festivities, you may have noticed that, in addition to the main stage performers—Nas, Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, and the Dirty Projectors—there’s a separate event organized by the University’s radio station, WHPK 88.5 FM. The following is a guide—written by station DJs —to the various groups and solo acts performing at WHPK’s free stage, which will be located on the University’s main quadrangles near the intersection of 58th Street and University Avenue. Read the rest of this entry »

To think of the 1920s is to think of flapper girls, speakeasies, and hot, hot jazz. But for the folks at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, the decade also recalls mummies, for these are the years that James Henry Breasted, famed Egyptologist and founder of the OI, trekked through Egypt and Mesopotamia in search of artifacts to exhibit in the fledgling museum. It seems natural, then, to pair the OI’s current exhibit, “Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920,” with a bit of the hot stuff, as will happen when Eric Schneider’s Hot Dixieland Quartet performs there this Sunday afternoon. Read the rest of this entry »

Pasted to the front door of Pilsen’s Casa Aztlán is a handwritten sign that reads, “Donation $15—if unemployed, $5.” Inside the performance space, Benito Juárez and Pancho Villa stare grimly from the mural that covers the walls. Their vibrantly rendered figures are barely visible in the darkened room—every few moments their faces appear from behind a dancing audience member or a community volunteer. The presence of two icons of Mexican progressivism in this makeshift ballroom is fitting: May Day, known as International Workers’ Day outside the United States, is a commemoration of the fight for the eight-hour workday and a reminder of the oppressive conditions that persist for many laborers. In collaboration with Portoluz and Rockotitlan, Casa Aztlán hosts the annual May Day Blast, which celebrates Pilsen’s rich culture while raising awareness of the conditions of migrant workers. Read the rest of this entry »

Stomping feet, gleeful cries, swinging skirts—the contra dance weekend hosted by the Folk Arts Community is taking over the Assembly Hall at the University of Chicago’s International House this Friday and Saturday. Traditional music, which visiting fiddler Ethan Hazzard-Watkins describes as “similar to bluegrass, old-time, Irish, et cetera,” will set feet tapping, heads nodding, and couples promenading down the floor. For those who have never heard of contra dancing, this weekend is an incredible opportunity to try it out, with a nationally known band and four dances over two days. The International House’s description of the event, calls contra dance “one of the friendliest social situations imaginable,” and the dance weekend promises to be an experience like few others, especially for those just being introduced to this brand of traditional dance. Read the rest of this entry »

A hypochondriac’s obsession with disease seems more like material for a psychological drama than a song cycle commissioned by an acclaimed contemporary classical music group. Yet the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) has recently done just that—allowing composer Corey Dargel to use the ailment as subject matter for his piece “Thirteen Near-Death Experiences.” But Dargel insists that he has put extensive thought into the bizarre theme. “I know [hypochondria] seems dark and depressing. I want people to come away with a sense of hypochondria as an extreme form of anxiety and maybe loneliness, but I want them to connect to it,” he says gently. Read the rest of this entry »