Featured Artists

• Drama

  

  DRAMA is a dark and passionate musical collaboration between
  Na’el Shehade + Via Rosa

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• Ric Wilson

  

  Ric Wilson is a young Chicago stand out that makes party-ready hip-hop with an intelligent twist. Wilson’s funk/disco-infused take on rap stimulates both the mind and body with robust percussion, buoyant vocal arrangements and triumphant instrumentation. Wilson’s music is playful and poignant, with youthful innocence that’s still ever-aware of the difficulties life may throw at you. But instead of lamenting and brooding, Wilson chooses to bask in the beauty of it, dancing through the struggles while remaining acutely aware of his emotions.

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• Oux

  

  Oux is an experimental hip hop/pop duo based in Chicago/LA consisting of power-duo Indigo Hope Finamore and Manae Hammond.

  Oux began performing and release singles under the name Fahrenheit 808. They released their two singles “I Sleep Skeptical” and “Mosquito Bites” in 2018, and have an upcoming six song EP “Honeymood” coming this August. Since their inception, they’ve become staples in the seams of Chicago’s music scene, performing at numerous venues across the city.

  Manae and Indigo describe their sound as “ambient synth wave soul”. They draw inspiration from artists such as Björk, Childish Gambino, Frank Ocean, and Sophie. Their music contains elements of many genres such as hip hop, idm, afro-cuban music, rock and pop. Oux fuses the best of these genres through their nostalgic synth textures, poetically cathartic lyrics, glitchy samples and drum beats.

  Oux aims to create vast spaces with their music -sounds that listeners can get lost in. Within these spaces, they craft narratives with a variety of themes from being queer to dealing with mental illness and the full range of human emotions in between.

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• Thair

  

  Thair is a 24 year old vocalist and songwriter who brings people together through the honesty of his music. He is the lead singer of Chicago alternative band Astro Samurai but his solo music focuses more on his experience as a queer person of color.

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• The Cell Phones

  

  “One thing I love about the Rock In Chicago Show guests is getting turned on to new music, especially with artists who push boundaries and blend genres into what could be considered an amazing auditory musical smoothie.
  The Cell Phones does just that with many of my favorite genres.
  Here’s the list of genre tags I copied from the bottom of their Bandcamp page, because, I think it really gives the listener an idea of what to expect: drum & bass punk punk dream pop grindcore new wave noise rock pop music post-punk post-rock postpunk power pop riot grrrl thrash Chicago”. – Erik Oldman

  Check out ‘BATTERY LOWER’

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• Djunah

  

  Noise rock with a leg for a bassist

  “Ex Voto was one of my favorite releases in 2019. Just as musicians, Donna and Nick have chops for days and deliver their sound with an amazing intensity, especially live. Particular favorites are Yarn, Nurse and Nun, Animal Kingdom, and Built.”
  – Erik Oldman

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• Noiseland

  

  Noiseland plays post-punk music for 80’s proms. We’re exactly as gay as the B-52’s.

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