ARTIST: Frank Okay SHOW: The Footlight District, the Million Reasons, and Bubbles Erotica at Martyrs’ on Fri 2/21 MORE INFO: Through their 120 Free Posters project, Frank Okay is offering Chicago bands and DIY venues the chance to get a free gig poster designed by Frank. All the posters will be shown in an exhibition later this year.
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Since moving here from Cincinnati in 2009, drummer Jeremy Cunningham has anchored several local ensembles, including orchestral jazz squad Resavoir and a crack quartet with guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Paul Bryan, and saxophonist Josh Johnson–which is also the core group on most of his solo album The Weather Up There, due Friday, February 28, via Northern Spy. The album celebrates his brother Andrew, killed in a home invasion robbery in 2008; in a short documentary about the project, Cunningham says, “It’s helpful to reconnect with the whole of a person’s life, and not just the worst thing.” The Weather Up There creates a nuanced portrait of Andrew as it drifts between soulful, loping grooves and recordings of family members discussing the effects of gun violence. On Saturday, February 22, Cunningham’s quartet plays a release show at Constellation; also on the bill are poet Mykele Deville and a duo of Resavoir members Akenya Seymour and Will Miller.
The video art of genderqueer punk performer and artist Vaginal Davis is showing at the Art Institute of Chicago until April, and the local Black, Brown, and Indigenous Crew are throwing a BIPOC punk show at the Art Institute’s Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room that testifies to Davis’s legacy in another, equally powerful way! On Friday, February 21, Blacker Face, the Breathing Light, Mermaid N.V., the Uhuruverse, and YGSLRHSTFUT will tear the roof off; admission is free, but you must preregister via the Art Institute’s website.
Gossip Wolf first heard local singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Intonation Music Workshop instructor Wyatt Waddell last year. He’d posted a few songs on Bandcamp and Soundcloud, and his debut single, 2018’s “Cyber Eyes,” uses a knockout combo of languid guitar riffs, flamboyant bass, funky keys, and relaxed soul vocals. On Thursday, February 20, he plays a free show upstairs at Schubas as part of the monthly Behind the Scene series. v
Illinois has seen surrounding states like Iowa and Indiana open up their sportsbooks throughout the state for the legalization of gambling. Meanwhile, residents here have been waiting for the day where it will finally be legal.
That day should soon be coming.
Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker expects that the sportsbooks in the state will be ready to open just in time for the start of March Madness which begins on March 17th. His press secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh, released this statement:
“The governor is pleased that Illinois sportsbooks will open for business by March Madness, generating revenue to rebuild universities, hospitals, and other facilities across the state,” said Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzker’s press secretary, ahead of Tuesday’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules in which the Phase 2 sports rules will be addressed after their inclusion into the state’s registry.
“Illinois’ largest-ever capital plan, with investments in every part of the state, Rebuild Illinois was supported by Democrats and Republicans alike because it will create and support over half a million jobs over the next six years,” Abudayyeh added.
This is big news for bettors in the state of Illinois as it not only means that gambling will finally be legal but it will be ready for one of the biggest gambling events of the year as well as the start of baseball season.
Just last month, the Illinois Gaming Board received applications for sports betting licenses from three casinos in the state: Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the Argosy Casino in Alton, and Elgin Riverboat Resort, which runs Grand Victoria Casino. Per USBets.com, it appears as if Argosy will be the first one to open with Grand Victoria and Rivers set to be ready for March Madness as well.
