Inside the Chicago Courier Classic, bike messenger culture refuses to die
A three-day race brought together couriers who raced, partied, and crashed their way through a revived alleycat tradition.
CITY LIFE
Chicago youth fight for a better future through the summer Environmental Justice Freedom School
The two-week program for high school students can be seen as a revolutionary act, especially as the federal government is rescinding environmental protections.
The scent of resurrection
At Ascension Chicago, Audrey Robinovitz opened a small reliquary of scent, guiding attendees through the fragrant history of anointing.
Art is my little bit of freedom
Despite restrictions and dwindling access to supplies in Illinois prisons, I’ve built a life and practice as an artist.
Latest Stories
Jade Court rises from the ashes at the next Monday Night Foodball
Carol Cheung expands her father’s legacy of modern Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine at the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Thattu.
Review: Maddie’s Secret
John Early’s Maddie’s Secret is a compassionate movie that earns its laughs and its tears.
Review: Girls Like Girls
Girls Like Girls is nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a fun Pride watch from first-time director Hayley Kiyoko.
The Chosen Few Picnic remains the gold standard for summertime Chicago music festivals
Sat 7/11 at Jackson Park
Junglepussy brings her raw, liberating rap to the Empty Bottle
Sat 7/18 at Empty Bottle
Brazilian legend Marcos Valle brings his summery bossa nova to Millennium Park
Thu 7/16 at Millennium Park
Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader
News & Politics
Displaced during Pride Month
Ahead of a planned construction project, the city closed a Logan Square homeless encampment that was a haven for queer Black residents. With support from the community, residents now work to rebuild elsewhere.
In Yorkville, Democrats and Republicans are fighting three massive data centers, and it might be changing how they see each other
As Illinois communities fight hyperscale data center projects from Joliet to Coal City, a group of Yorkville residents is finding unlikely common ground across party lines.
A heated rivalry between sports and politics
Chicago LGBTQ+ hockey players push back on discriminatory rules.
Music
Malcolm Riordan, DIY community builder
“I started Chicago Community Fest—essentially community fundraiser events—as a vehicle for Chicago’s local music community to support survivors of the genocide in Gaza.”
Chicago tech-death duo Become Death vent their rage on Vorara
Thu 7/2 at the Burlington
WHPK builds a digital archive to broadcast its place in music history
Plus: Beat-scene showcase Electronic Buffet returns, Make Music Chicago presents a day of dozens of events, and more.
Shallowater and Cancer House bring new vitality to slowcore
Sat 6/27 at Beat Kitchen
Film & TV
Rated Q remains an unquestionable success
Founder Ramona Slick reflects on five years of the Music Box Theatre’s monthly series celebrating drag and queer film.
Review: Disclosure Day
Disclosure Day is a heavy-handed but successful blend of otherworldly adventure and self-discovery.
Nitrate kisses
Another trip to Rochester, New York, for the Nitrate Picture Show
Actual intelligence
Metal Movie Night, Silent Friend (2025), a Sapphopalooza double feature, and more
Theater, dance, comedy
Champions of Magic offers a family-friendly extravaganza
This touring show walks the line between Vegas spectacle and self-deprecating intimacy.
An Oak Tree tackles grief and the nature of performance
A different actor comes onstage every night in Tim Crouch’s intriguing experimental piece.
Happy Birthday Mars Rover takes us through space and human history
Preston Choi’s cunning and poignant play-in-vignettes unfolds in an intimate staging with Sandbox Theatre Collective.
Toxic workplace misogyny unfolds in a real office in Do You Feel Anger?
Here’s the Exit’s revival of Mara Nelson-Greenberg’s sharp absurdist satire is funny and disquieting.
Visual Arts, books
A patchwork of love and labor at Andrew Rafacz
Lush textile works from Krystle Lemonias hold personal and political histories.
Step inside time itself at Weatherproof
Chicago artist Sara Grose channels the representational reality of natural history museums.
The frenzied marks of Willem de Kooning
This landmark exhibition is the first to focus on the artist’s drawings, and features exceptional paintings as well.
CITY LIFE
The Brown Line Presents: Whose World Cup? Where Chicago’s Global South gathers to watch
Chicago may not be hosting any games, but its diasporas are carrying the Cup’s real meaning.
If you’ve read this far, you really love the Reader.
Our newsletters deliver the inside scoop on everything Chicago straight to your inbox.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Support Illinois’ fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by purchasing a 7X Bingo Multiplier ticket
The Illinois Lottery has a long-standing history of launching specialty tickets that spread awareness and support worthy causes…
Sponsored
Spend your summer immersed in art and performance at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art
This summer at the MCA will be filled with new exhibitions, interactive performances, and artists talks.
For nearly 60 years, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) has sought to nurture and showcase some…
Sponsored
Southeast Spotlight: The Bodi Shop
Building the best you, from the inside out.
The Bodi Shop8754 S. Stony Island Ave, Hours by class and appointment(773) 930-9022, calendly.com/arithebodi, Instagram @arithebody Summertime Chicago…
Sponsored
Strength in Fragility: The Material Truths of Jenn Hassin
There is something Jenn Hassin knows about paper and clay. Not just how it forms, tears or holds…
Sponsored
Help the United Negro College Fund make higher education possible for Illinois students by purchasing a 7X Bingo Multiplier ticket
For more than 80 years, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has been providing educational scholarships and opportunities…
Sponsored
Take Your Show Beyond Chicago With These 7 Need-to-Know Tips for Touring Musicians
Chicago has long been a launchpad for musicians. From intimate neighborhood venues in Logan Square to packed stages…
You must be logged in to post a comment.