Arguably one of the most celebrated acts of civil disobedience in the history of Chicago, The Festival of Life was one of the key events that helped disrupt the 1968 Democratic convention and bring attention to the growing unpopularity of the Vietnam War, which by then had already claimed more than 30,000 American lives. Among the leaders of the movement were the famous Chicago Seven (or eight, depending on who’s counting), which included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and others. Though five of them were sentence to five years in prison, the rulings were ultimately reversed due to what was then considered “cultural bias” and also because the FBI had bugged the offices of the defendants’ attorneys. In remembrance of the forty years since those tumultuous events, the faculty of the Old School of Folk will “celebrate the music and mindset of the summer of 1968 which culminated here in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention.” The event will include music from the time and some of the taped recordings that led to the infamous trial. (Ernest Barteldes)
Cool Aid: A Review of Situation Chicago 2 The album does an outstanding job of bringing home the staggering sonic and stylistic range we deny ourselves when we return too often to the same genre well.
A Positive Light: The Soul Children of Chicago Sing "O-o-h Child" at Chicago Live! The Chicago Live! concerts coincide with the last weekend of “State of Sound: A World of Music from Illinois” music exhibit. As a sendoff, the Soul Children of Chicago will sing “O-o-h Child” in tribute to this socially significant Chicago song. The thirty-piece choir has been rehearsing the song for a month and the pier audience will be encouraged to…
