All stories by Leor Galil on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

The world is a beautiful place with Algernon Cadwallader in it by Leor Galil

The pop-culture industry loves to resurface detritus from my youth, add a little polish, and launch it on whatever streaming service I’m most likely to drop due to rising subscription [……

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Rapper-singer Angelenah makes her R&B debut with I Don’t Regret a Thing by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

Gossip Wolf has been hip to Chicago rapper and singer Angelenah, aka Ashley Hart and Angel Davanport, ever since she released the 2018 EP Sore but Grateful. She’s been sharpening […] The…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:25PM
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

The Pleiades Series celebrates its first year of elevating women and nonbinary improvisers by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

Last October, musician and curator Emily Beisel began booking the monthly Pleiades Series at Elastic Arts, which centers femme and nonbinary performers—and they follow their sets with impr…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:18PM
Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Bandcamp Friday meets the World Music Festival by Leor Galil

Over the past two and a half years, I’ve assembled a lot of lists for Bandcamp Friday. I like sharing music that’s unfamiliar to people, and the occasion of a […] The post Bandcamp Fri…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:46PM
Monday, October 3, 2022

Discussing the Sun remix pop genres into a forlorn sound that’s all its own by Leor Galil

I’ve heard plenty of great songs that capture the dissociative lonesomeness and strange thrills of navigating interpersonal relationships now that so much human communication is sucked up …

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Friday, September 30, 2022

Ganser find the freedom beyond despair on Nothing You Do Matters by Leor Galil

Dread can be suffocating, but Ganser make it work like a spark. On their new EP, Nothing You Do Matters (Felte), the Chicago postpunk four-piece take cues from dance punk […] The post Gans…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, September 27, 2022

The Reader’s guide to World Music Festival Chicago 2022 by Philip Montoro, Leslie Allison, Leor Galil, Aaron Cohen, Jamie Ludwig, Sandra Treviño, Catalina Maria Johnson, Monica Kendrick, Joshua Minsoo Kim, James Porter, Hannah Edgar, Steve Krakow, Bill Meyer, Jacob Arnold, Noah Berlatsky, Kelley Tatro and Mark G

The term “world music” has never been adequate to the task we’ve set it—even in its most benign reading, it implies a division between the listener and the rest of […] The post The…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 09:15PM

Fire-Toolz sails even further off the map with a genre-obliterating new EP by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

Gossip Wolf has long believed that physical releases from Fire-Toolz, the wonderfully disorienting flagship project of local electronic musician Angel Marcloid, will one day be swapped among…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:27PM

Tar play their first show in five years to celebrate Smashed Plastic by Leor Galil

Chicago posthardcore four-piece Tar broke up in 1995, and the number of times they’ve reunited for a show since then you can count on one hand—this gig will be the […] The post Tar pla…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Fran drops an elegant new single about loneliness and estrangement by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

The Reader has praised Maria Jacobson, leader of local indie-rock project Fran, for her “taut, serene singing” and for her well-written songs, which are “sharpened by a pristine elegan…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 10:14AM
Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Tink finds her sweet spot again with Pillow Talk by Leor Galil

Singer, rapper, and songwriter Tink broke out of Chicago’s hip-hop scene about a decade ago, becoming one of the constellation of new stars lighting up the city. Like many local […] The …

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Monday, September 19, 2022

Stranded Civilians have made one of the best Chicago hip-hop releases of 2022 by Leor Galil

Chicago rappers Tony Santana and Aubry know that all the talent in the world can’t make a hip-hop duo work if the MCs don’t click. As Stranded Civilians, Aubry and […] The post Strande…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Thursday, September 15, 2022

Reading house’s history from its used records by Leor Galil

Chicagoans don’t need an excuse to talk about house music, but when the biggest pop star in the world drops a record indebted to house, you can expect more than […] The post Reading hous…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:34PM
Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Annie Fish simulates her dream of 90s alt-rock stardom by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

On Friday, September 16, Chicago singer, songwriter, and cartoonist Annie Fish will drop Weird Like Me, an album so steeped in classic alt-rock you’ll half believe Fish recorded it with [�…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 11:44AM
Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Reunited dance group Ten City help make the Chicago House Music Festival a don’t-miss event by Leor Galil

Ten City’s fifth album, 2021’s Judgement (Ultra), was a long time in the making—and not just because the crucial Chicago house group’s previous album, That Was Then, This Is Now, [�…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:00PM
Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Chicago-based sound artist Dorothy Carlos refreshes drone textures on Circuit Spectre by Leor Galil

Cellist and sound artist Dorothy Carlos moved to Chicago last year to begin an MFA in sound at the School of the Art Institute, but she’s got a foot planted […] The post Chicago-based so…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Warforged’s new death-metal opus belongs on a shelf with early Opeth by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

In 2019, Gossip Wolf hailed local death-metal crew Warforged for being “wickedly adept at cross-pollination” and described their debut full-length, I: Voice, as blending “ghostly black…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:18PM
Friday, September 2, 2022

Dreary North Fest will broaden your understanding of extreme music—and test your limits by Leor Galil

Brett Ray had proved his commitment to extreme music long before he launched the extreme-music blowout Dreary North Fest last year. He’s been booking shows for more than two decades, […]…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Bandcamp Fridays are back again—at least for the rest of 2022 by Leor Galil

It’s been four months since we’ve had a Bandcamp Friday. In case you’ve somehow forgotten, Bandcamp introduced them shortly after COVID-19 eliminated stateside touring in March 2020, a…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 08:28PM

Anna-Michal Paul, chalk artist extraordinaire by Leor Galil

If you’ve ever been to a show at Thalia Hall, you’ve walked right past Anna-Michal Paul’s work. She creates the hand-drawn chalk art that greets concertgoers as they ascend the […] T…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 02:40PM

Demdike Stare celebrate Jamie Hodge’s techno productions with an archival double LP by Leor Galil

A teenage Jamie Hodge enchanted the international underground-dance community in 1993 with his debut 12-inch as Born Under a Rhyming Planet, Analog: Heaven. Techno figurehead Richie Hawtin r…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Siul Reynoso of Los Gold Fires drops a supremely summery new single as Gabacho by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

Chicago Latine indie band Los Gold Fires have been quiet the past couple years, but guitarist Siul Reynoso has focused instead on a warmhearted, psych-tinged solo project called Gabacho. Rey…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 02:02PM
Friday, August 26, 2022

Star Creature keeps the party going with The Chicago Boogie Vol. 3 by Leor Galil

I’ve long admired Chicago indie label Star Creature Universal Vibrations for its efforts to push the synth-heavy sounds of boogie and modern funk and bolster the international underground …

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Local darkwave group Kill Scenes preview a new album at the Hideout by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

Last month, local darkwave band Kill Scenes dropped “Acid Black Window,” the first single from the upcoming full-length album Masque. The five-piece group, anchored by songwriters Meghan…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 10:50AM
Thursday, August 18, 2022

Breakout Chicagoland emo auteur Snow Ellet still has many Glory Days ahead by Leor Galil

Last year Chicagoland multi-instrumentalist Eric Reyes broke out in emo and pop-punk circles with his debut as Snow Ellet, the EP Suburban Indie Rock Star. It injects the sugar rush […] Th…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Goregrind monsters Organ Failure deliver 17 tracks in 15 minutes on their album debut by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

In March 2021, Gossip Wolf was bowled over by the debut demo from local grindcore crew Organ Failure. The band packed four merciless rippers into three thoroughly unwholesome minutes, whetti…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 12:45PM
Monday, August 15, 2022

Chicago native Addy Harris makes tender, commanding indie rock as Rat Tally by Leor Galil

Addy Harris sings with a dewy softness in her group Rat Tally, but you can hear and feel the iron will behind her performances even over a roaring rock band. On Rat Tally’s debut album, th…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 05:31PM
Tuesday, August 9, 2022

WLUW’s Abstract Science celebrates 25 years with a 25-hour marathon broadcast by J.r. Nelson and Leor Galil

In July 2017, the hosts of WLUW 88.7 FM’s weekly electronic-music program, Abstract Science, celebrated the show’s 20th anniversary with a blockbuster 20-hour broadcast. (Gossip Wolf man…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:26PM
Friday, August 5, 2022

Chicago duo Conjunto Primitivo concoct an irresistible blend of reggaeton and industrial by Leor Galil

In March 2020, when I wrote about underground industrial label Chicago Research and the tight-knit community that surrounded it, I heard that local duo Conjunto Primitivo planned to release …

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 07:00AM
Thursday, August 4, 2022

Chicago drill upstart PGF Nuk hits where it hurts on Switch Music by Leor Galil

Most rappers can only dream of making a song as powerful as PGF Nuk’s breakout single, “Waddup.” Superficially it sounds like a pretty standard drill track—terse verses in a wrought-…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:00PM
Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Black Chicago dance culture shines at Art on the Mart by Leor Galil

On the evening of Thursday, June 30, dozens of young Black dancers gathered on the Chicago Riverwalk across from the Merchandise Mart. At 9 PM that night, Art on the Mart, which bills itself…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 01:32PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards