For two decades, The Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest (GAAF) has presented a free, weekend-long arts festival featuring 120+ artists, open studios, and live entertainment on two outdoor stages. This year, Miss Alex White & Francis White are booking all 32 bands for the Chicago-based street festival. Attendees view and purchase handmade artworks directly from the creators. The Fest brings free live music, performances and art demonstrations — along with street food and craft beer from local merchants on the cobblestone streets of the Glenwood Avenue Arts District in Chicago’s historic Rogers Park neighborhood.
The 20th annual Fest will take place the weekend of August 20-22, 2021.
Time For a Coffee Break? Try Dark Matter Coffee’s new collaboration with Quiet Pterodactyl! All sales go towards the SituationChicago project to benefit our venues in coffee form. SituationChicago record sales end Dec 31st, so get yours before it’s gone!
To celebrate thriving Black culture in Chicago and beyond, we’re amplifying the coolest content creators around. We’re forever grateful to these artists for their voices, truths, and inspiration to White Mystery. Support their art, watch their videos, and seek them out on social media NOW.
Clint is a pizza punk who always brings snacks to the party. You may remember Show You Suck from White Mystery TV Episode 2 with Cadien James from Twin Peaks. White Mystery has been a big fan of SYS since playing together at a Pitchfork after-party in 2015. For Chicago news and thought pieces, you need to follow Show You Suck on Twitter immediately.
Krystal is the kind of friend you feel you’ve known your whole life. Her unique blend of rock’n’soul unites her St. Louis roots with her Chicago spirit, and her performances are guaranteed to give you chills! You may recognize Krystal’s voice from the White Mystery Lightscape soundtrack for outdoor sculptures that played music on State Street during Lollapalooza. We met her cousin Mannie Metcalfe when White Mystery opened for Iron & Wine at the Pageant in STL in 2010, and he’s one of our favorite pals on Earth as well. Thank you for blessing us with your friendships, Metcalfes!
JC Brooks & the Uptown sound are absolutely unbeatable live, led by the exuberant, endlessly talented JC Brooks. White Mystery first joined forces with them at the Brooklyn Vegan SXSW showcase in 2012, and jammed many times since then. The Chicago Sun Times call these groovy dudes one of the “city’s hottest young bands” and you’d be lucky to experience them.
Psalm One is an incredible rapper, poet and artist we first played with at the Girls Rock! Camp jamboree in 2011. She is a talented MC and vocal critic of sexism and racism in the music industry. We’re forever grateful to Cristalle for inviting us backstage when she opened for Insane Clown Posse in 2017. Psalm One rocked the White Mystery Telepathic record release at the Hideout in 2013 and teamed up with the illustrious Angel Davanport as Big $ilky for the 4/20 x 420 x 420 Fest in 2020. Rapper Chicks are badass.
Jesse 5k is a born and bred Chicagoan introduced to us this year through his performance for Do312 MORE. Jesse 5k is an emerging rapper that blends poetry, psychedelic, spoken word, and hip hop into eye-opening music that blends indie genres. We deeply respect his perspective on being a young Black man in America, and encourage you to dive in with his experiences.
One part thespian, one part poet, another part musician, and one more part philosopher, Mykele Deville brings change through the depth of his voice. You may recognize Mykele from his groundbreaking record release performance at Thalia Hall not too long ago. Mykele graced us with his presence on White Mystery “WMTV” Episode 4, where Francis and he played video games and talked about politics, which is a great way to share real perspectives. We urge you to check out his recent work, “Maintain.”
You may recognize the brilliant Jolene from her DIY literary ‘zine, the Sick Muse. She is a multi-hyphenate super star that shares her truth by all means necessary and lifts up others in the process. White Mystery is blessed to have rocked with her barn-stomping punk’n’soul group Blacker Face at Rock ‘n Roll Market in 2019. Blacker Face will blow your hat off your head with their live performances, and you’ll emerge a changed person.
The Black Tones are Seattle-based twins Eva and Cedric, on guitar and drums respectively. They are a rock’n’roll duo, and White Mystery feels a particular kinship with them as a two-piece sibling band. The Black Tones’ unbeatable grooves are the best parts of garage and surf that only family can knit together so tightly. We love the Black Tones and you should too.
When Joseph Chilliams dances, the whole world dances with him. Named Chicago’s “Most Charming Rapper” by VICE Magazine, he founded the iconic Pivot Gang and transformed the profound losses into spiritual, musical magic. We’re honored that Chilliams joined us on White Mystery TV where he and Francis and Joseph bonded playing Super Smash Bros. Chilliams is a gentle soul who’s power comes through his words. You may also be familiar with his equally talented brother and Chicago rapper, Saba.
Manasseh Champion aka Doso is an emerging Chicago hip hop artist whose roots run deep with his family’s West Point School of music on the South Shore. You can hear the discipline of his music education flow and transform into freedom of expression. When he was a Music Business student at UIC, Manasseh interned for White Mystery and supported outdoor event production at Rock’n’Roll Market, and Season 1 of WMTV. Now, Doso carves his own path through independently booking shows and creating his own brand.
Touched By Ghoul’s fierce sound emerged from a Chicago basement. The punk and rock savvy group opened for Foo Fighters July 30th of this year. Their intense and enthralling album, Murder Circus seizes the dark themes of humanity and forges them into music to hear. Look forward to more performances and music from this captivating and rising band. Click here to listen.
Avantist
Avantist first spun into action in Chicago, Illinois in 2014. Avantist made a splash on the underground music scene with their blend of Beach Boys-esque upbeats and heavy guitar and vocals typical in punk. Made up of four brothers, Avantist has an energy and vibe that is hard to match by other bands. Don’t miss out on your chance to catch fast-rising Avantist at their next show! Click here to listen.
Ethel Shank
Established in Chicago, this hard, dynamic rock band has since relocated to Nashville. Regardless of the city, you can count on Ethel Shank to bring their contemporary take on 90s post-grunge music. Ethel Shank has released two EPs, Judas Is on the Other Line (2017) and Rumble, Young Man, Rumble (2018). The energy and emotion brought out in their music makes this band worth checking out. Click here to listen.
White Mystery
White Mystery celebrates it’s 10th anniversary and 1000th show this year, with January 5 at Cubby Bear kicking off 2019. Your favorite dynamic duo is performing a 90-minute set, spanning its decade-long discography live! We hope to see you there— click here for tickets.
