Steve Knopper

Steve Knopper is a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune.

You might think OHMME is a mantra, but it’s in fact the place to be to hear remarkable music from a Chicago band in rare form

March 12, 2020 at 9:37 p.m.

On a trip home from college, Sima Cunningham returned to her alma mater, Whitney Young High School, to see her younger brother play in the orchestra for "Little Shop of...

Magic Giant is a delightful result of a happy accident as the result of a car accident

February 13, 2020 at 5:43 p.m.

It's probably safe to say nobody in the history of folk-pop has ever learned to play violin, dobro, banjo, cello, viola and guitar in the same way Zambricki Li did...

Wesley Stace has come to terms with John Wesley Harding and the lovely, complex life that inspires his lovely, complex art

January 30, 2020 at 3:18 p.m.

Wesley Stace, the novelist occasionally known as singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding, once wrote a poignant tribute to Bruce Springsteen's physical presence on stage: "The way Springsteen moves is the way...

Super Diamond is an almost 30-year-old dream come true for Randy Cordeiro, who believes in the power of Neil Diamond

January 16, 2020 at 3:06 p.m.

Because of Neil Diamond, in 1998, Randy Cordeiro left his six-year position as an electrical-mechanical engineer for manufacturing company Valmark Industries. Because of Neil Diamond, he no longer had to...

Buddy Guy strolls through the crowd during a performance at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago on in January 2015.

Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy works hard, but he used to work a lot harder, so it’s cool

January 9, 2020 at 3:25 p.m.

Buddy Guy is 83, and the number of blues shows he's headlining this month at his South Loop club, Legends, is 16. That's a lot, right? "Well, I was born...

Want to hear someone else singing on New Year’s Eve instead of a drunk, ‘Auld Lang-ing’ horde? Try this list of shows

December 26, 2019 at 3:42 p.m.

Whether you're the type who kisses along to "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight or a lonely-hearts who needs to get lost in a crowd, Chicago's diverse New Year's Eve lineup...

Jeff Tweedy, right, and Nels Cline during a 2017 Wilco performance at the Chicago Theatre.

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy has a new handle on a great many things, from his migraines to making beautiful music

December 13, 2019 at 10:05 p.m.

Over the past 13 months, Jeff Tweedy put out two solo albums, a funny and poignant 293-page memoir called "Let's Go (So We Can Get Back)" and the new Wilco...

Fantasia has been to a dark, dark place and come out the other side. Now she wants to sing for you, and folks who have been there

November 7, 2019 at 2:45 p.m.

For a long time, Fantasia was struggling. The rock and soul singer won "American Idol" in 2004, but she spent the next few years dealing with tabloid stories about her...

The new record might sound different, but this is exactly the Sleater-Kinney you know

October 10, 2019 at 8:03 p.m.

Not long ago, Corin Tucker, who plays guitar in a roaring rock 'n' roll band called Sleater-Kinney, went with her bandmate Carrie Brownstein to a Los Angeles poetry, music, comedy...

ritish singer Yungblud (Dominic Harrison) performs on the first day of festival Pinkpop in Landgraaf on June 8, 2019, during the 50th edition of the oldest pop festival of the Netherlands. (Photo by Paul Bergen / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo credit should read PAUL BERGEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Yungblud is a public persona with a public life, who also likes to keep things private

October 3, 2019 at 2:37 p.m.

Dominic Harrison doesn't talk much about his girlfriend in public — but the rock singer known as Yungblud will let one thing slip about pop star Halsey. Both have suffered...

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