Chicago Roots Reggae/Ska Crew Akasha to Play Martyr's on Nov. 5

Chicago's Akasha will hit the stage at Martyr's on Friday, Nov. 5 for a set of Roots Reggae and Traditional Ska.

Heavily indebted to the seminal sounds of The Skatalites, The Maytals and Desmond Dekker, Akasha features the soulful vocals of Cosmos Ray, the chopping guitar of Scott Moss, a tight rhythm section comprised of Doug Bistrow and John Barbush and tasteful keyboards and trumpet by Shane Jonas.

The group released the EP "How They Move" over the summer and received strong support from WXRT and WLUW. Akasha has shared the stage with Chicago 2-Tone legends Heavy Manners and emerging post-punks Blah Blah Blah.

The Martyr's show (9 PM/$8/21+) will also feature fellow Reggae travelers Coldwater Mystic, indie pop sensations the Katie Todd Band and acoustic duo Johnny & Robbie. 

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound to Play Two IL Shows in Advance of New Single

Chicago's premiere soul act, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, will play two shows next week in advance of the Nov. 16 release of “To Love Someone” b/w “Everything Will Be Fine” on Addenda Records.

The first show is on Thursday, Oct. 28, at Otto's in DeKalb, IL. The following night, the supremely funky Mr. Brooks and company will dig in for a show at hometown haunt The Hideout.

Both of these shows will celebrate the release of the new 7" single, which is a follow-up to the well-received "Get it Together" b/w a cover of Wilco's "I am Trying to Break Your Heart."

Matt Ryd-Looking For Home CD Review

Chicago singer-songwriter Matt Ryd celebrated the release of his new album, Looking for Home, with a sold-out show at Schuba’s Tavern last month. After hearing the CD front-to-back, it is pretty easy to see why the room was packed with enthusiastic fans.

Looking for Home kicks off with “Impression,” a sun-kissed pop tune with a beautiful vocal harmony by Joan Hoedeman. The next track, “Healed,” is an obvious contender for first single—in fact, the song was featured on an episode of the much-loved TV series Scrubs and also appears on Ryd’s 2008 EP, Rock and/or Roll.

Other album highlights include “For So Long,” which features toy piano and jazzy drumming, the affable “Lie to Me,” which showcases trumpet courtesy of Steve Ryd, “When I Fall” (the real dark horse on the CD, given its spacey synthesizers and buzzing electric guitar) and the plaintive album closer “Shadow of Your Life.”

If you are a fan of the singer-songwriter genre or just into clever, well made pop music, be sure to pick up a copy of Looking for Home—better yet, buy a copy the next time Matt Ryd plays live in Chicago!