Speck Mountain at Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago

Speck Mountain at Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago 25, a photo by pmonaghan on Flickr.

@SpeckMountain played their Downtown Sounds show on Monday and were great. Their two week tour out West certainly shown through, and the only case of nerves seems to have been mine. Here's hoping they won over some new fans in their hometown. How cool that City of Chicago DCASE showcases smaller bands from here.

You can see the whole set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pkmonaghan/sets/72157633955279368

Carrot Top Records bands showcase at Millennium Park

The announcement today of the summer Downtown Sound series at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavillion brings great news for Carrot Top Records! Speck Mountain kicks off the summer with Sharon Van Etten on June 3rd, and The Handsome Family will be celebrating their new release Wilderness by playing a free show with Azita on July 22nd.

Full Downtown Sound Schedule
Mondays, 6:30pm (headliners first)

May 27: Lee Ranaldo Band, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog

June 3: Sharon Van Etten, Speck Mountain

June 10: An evening with Glen Hansard featuring Lisa Hannigan and members of the Frames

June 17: Daniel Lanois, Brokeback

June 24: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Angela James

July 1: Lee Fields & the Expressions, Theo Huff & the Platinum Band

July 8: Dawes, the Cairo Gang

July 15: Fatoumata Diawara, Alasdair Roberts and friends

July 22: The Handsome Family, Azita

July 29: Dessa, Psalm One

Participate in Chicago's Cultural Planning

Chicago is looking to gather the ideas of Chicagoans for its 2012 cultural plan. Read a bit of history about why they want us to help HERE.

The upcoming meetings start tonight and go through the the beginning of next week:
Wednesday, February 15: 6pm to 8pm @ Columbia College
Stage Two- 618 S. Michigan Ave., 2nd Floor
Thursday, February 16: 6pm-8pm @ Nicholas Senn High School Auditorium
5900 North Glenwood Avenue

Saturday, February 18: 10am-12pm @ DuSable Museum
749 East 56th Place
Tuesday, February 21: 6pm-8pm @ National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 West 19th Street
RSVPs & Maps

Giant Spanish Bugs Invade Millennium Park!

In a U.S. premiere, the spectacular Catalan street theater company, Sarruga, transforms the Chase Promenade into a fantasy world, bringing their giant ants, spiders and praying mantises to interact with the public in a larger-than-life show full of light, music and movement. In Insects, Spain's Sarruga turns these normally minuscule animals into giants, 

inverting roles and making humans ten times smaller than the insects.

Friday, July 16 at 9:00pm

Saturday, July 17 at 10:00pm

Sunday, July 18 at 3:00pm


Millennium Park

Chase Promenade Central


Millennium Park

Millennium Park has been doing a great job this summer, presenting free music and other events for every taste. The Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays have been a personal favorite, catching the likes of Caribou and Budos Band this past Monday, The Books, The Thermals, Great Lake Swimmers, Disappears, and an overly-packed She & Him. A few events to look forward to coming up include:

•  Monday, 19. July- 12pm- High Places (Edible Audible Picnic Series) 
•  Monday, 19. July- 6:30pm- Kid Sister w/ Kononos No 1 (Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays) 
•  Wednesday, 21. July- 8:15pm- BBC Planet Earth- Re-edited with a live orchestra, scored and conducted by 5-time Academy Award Winner George Fenton 
•  Sunday, 25. July- 12pm- Casiotone for the Painfully Alone