Plants love DeBarge on the gig poster of the weekon April 1, 2020 at 11:00 am

Last week, the Reader didn’t publish a Gig Poster of the Week–concerts have been pretty unanimously postponed or canceled to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This is a tough time for gig-poster artists, as it is for so many others, but the Reader‘s audience is full of fantastically creative people. We have an activity suggestion that will not only provide an outlet for that creativity but also keep these posts coming until we have live music again: send us your fantasy gig poster!

Nicole Marroquin’s poster this week illustrates the kind of performance she recommends giving to your houseplants during the stay-at-home order. But “fantasy” can mean a lot of things: shows that have already happened, shows that you wish had happened or would happen, even shows far enough in the future that you’re actually planning on going to them.

We’d love to see submissions from our readers of concert posters for those shows. Were you too young to see Black Sabbath at the International Amphitheatre on the south side? Do you wish the 1972 lineup of the Art Ensemble of Chicago could play at Constellation? How about Dolly Parton and Wesley Willis at Lounge Ax? Or Kraftwerk on the moon? Did it happen? No! But you can still make a gig poster for it!

Posters should be original drawings or designs, and you need to be OK with the Chicago Reader publishing them on our website and possibly printing and exhibiting them at a later date. If your fantasy gig happens in a real place, please stick to Chicago places.

To participate, please e-mail scollojulin@chicagoreader.com with your name, contact information, and your illustration (you can attach a JPG or PNG file or provide a download link). We won’t be able to post every submission, but we’ll feature as many as possible while the pandemic continues.

Even if you can’t make a fantasy gig poster, you might still be able to support the staff of your local music venues–our list of fundraisers is a good place to start.

And don’t forget your local record stores! The Reader is maintaining a list of stores that deliver.

This week’s poster:
ARTIST: Nicole Marroquin
SHOW: Nicole writes, “During a pandemic, you can sing your favorite DeBarge songs wherever you want. Your family or roommates might not love it, but your plants will.”
MORE INFO: nicolemarroquin.com
FUNDRAISER: Nicole would like you to know about the Little Village Diaper Bank.

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