What are your plans for this February? It’s the middle of winter and you’re probably going to be bundled up somewhere avoiding the snow and cold, right? At least that’s likely to be the case if you’re in Chicago or any other chilly region of the world. Well that gets a little boring after awhile, so allow me to recommend an activity. Brand new for 2019, the folks at Pitchfork and the Art Institute of Chicago are putting on a 3-day (thankfully indoor) music and art festival. Appropriately titled Midwinter, it takes place from February 15-17 at the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum will be open with all of the artwork on display, plus all kinds of special installations and live performances to stimulate the senses.
The lineup includes notable names like Slowdive, Kamasi Washington, Panda Bear, Tortoise, Deerhunter, Oneohtrix Point Never, Laurie Anderson, Perfume Genius, Zola Jesus, Joey Purp, Hiss Golden Messenger, and many more. Experimental artist William Basinski will perform his seminal The Disintegration Loops record in collaboration with the Chicago Philharmonic. Plus artists like Haley Fohr (of Circuit des Yeux) and Mary Lattimore will be on hand all three days for some special sets. Then there are the original gallery sound compositions from people like Nico Muhly, Tashi Wada & Julia Holter, Stars of the Lid, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, and Helado Negro that will be playing to accompany some of the artwork and gallery sections. Overall it promises to be a highly creative and sometimes strange experience, so I hope you’ll consider coming out for it.
Get all the lineup details and a schedule by going to the Midwinter site. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10AM CT, and are $50 for a single day and $128 for a 3-day base ticket. A base ticket provides access to the Art Institute and most of its galleries, plus select performances. Each night also features several “add-on” shows, each costing between $15-30, that will need to be purchased in addition to the base ticket if you want to attend. The whole thing can get a little pricey if you want to go all-out and see most things, but if you do it right I’m convinced it’ll be an unforgettable time.
Now then, about today’s Pick Your Poison. There are some great tracks from Com Truise, actor/writer/director Noel Wells, and Tiny Ruins to kick things off. Skip past the jump for even more music from Anemone, Darci, Escort, Gunnar Gehl, Jesse Jo Stark, Low Tape, mxmtoon, Shadowgraphs, and $uicideboy$.
Com Truise – Kontex
Noel Wells – Sunrise
Tiny Ruins – School of Design
