March 29, 2024

On the Radar: Kendrick Lamar on tour, Madonna vs biopic, Northcoast Festival + More

Kendrick Lamar reveals 2017 tour dates

Kendrick Lamar’s Damn. is one of the most talked about hip hop releases and we’re not even halfway through the year. To make things even better, the rapper revealed 2017 tour dates shortly after his slot at Coachella. The 2017 Damn tour kicks off July 12 in Phoenix, AZ and runs until August 6 in Los Angeles, CA. He’ll bring the show to Chicago on July 27 to play the United Center. Joining him on this outing is Travis Scott and “Broccoli” rapper D.R.A.M. Tickets are currently on sale. Find the complete list of tour dates here.

Damn., the highly anticipated follow-up to 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly, came out April 14 after much speculation surrounding a new album. The LP features collaborations with U2 and Rihanna. The album is so hot it sold 603,000 copies in its first week. Damn. marks Lamar’s third number one album. Prior chart toppers are his 2015 LP and 2016’s Untitled Unmastered. If you haven’t heard it yet, make sure you get a copy.

North Coast Festival reveals its lineup for 2017

Chicago Festival
North Coast Festival 2017

The weather is finally getting warmer, which means it’s closer to festival season. Luckily, the city has you covered. If the Lollapalooza lineup bored you and Riot Fest left you feeling meh, then maybe this year’s North Coast Festival will get you psyched. Headliners for this year’s event include deadmau5, Gucci Mane, Damian Marley, STS9, Ween, Tipper, and Skepta. Other acts on the lineup include The Cool Kids, Big Boi, Almost Dead, Post Malone, Lettuce, and Badbadnotgood.

And they’re not even done yet. More artists will be announced at a later date. The festival takes place from September 1 – 3 at Union Park. Three-day tickets are currently on sale for $169.87, while VIP passes cost $221.51. If you want to send off summer with a band, make sure to get your tickets now. Grab them here.

Madonna hates upcoming biopic Blonde Ambition

Regardless of what people say, Madonna is the Queen of Pop. She’s one of music’s most iconic and controversial figures. It only makes sense to have a movie about her. But aside from the terrible 1994 made-for-TV flick, Innocence Lost, there’s no movie about the popstar. That’s about to change with the upcoming Blond Ambition, which Universal Pictures recently picked up.

Proving Madonna lets nothing slip past her, she came out against the movie saying “Nobody knows what I’ve seen” and calling the script “all lies.” She made her displeasure clear on Instagram in several posts, one that has since been deleted. She did get a chance to read the script but is not happy with it. The deleted post featured a picture of the script highlighted with inaccuracies.

“Why would Universal Studios want to make a movie about me based on a script that is all lies?? The Writer Elyse Hollander should write for the Tabloids. Anyone who supports this film is supporting lies and exploitation. 🐍🐍🐍. lies have no legs!!”

Chances are the film will continue without her approval, but you better believe Madonna will keep complaining about it along the way. Maybe this will prompt her to tell her own story. Anybody else eagerly waiting for a Madonna autobiography?

Upcoming Shows

Spring Awakening finds signature groove
DeadMau5 at Spring Awakening 2016 at the Addams/Medill Park. Photo by Jesus J. Montero

“Panda” singer Desiigner is hitting up Chicago for a performance at the Vic Theatre on May 2. He’s bringing along 16yrold to open up the show. If you want to catch Desiigner before his highly anticipated debut album, The Life of Desiigner, make sure to get tickets while you still can.

Shoegaze icons Slowdive play the Vic Theatre on May 3 for their sold out gig. Special guest is Japanese Breakfast. The show celebrates their triumphant return to music with their latest album, Slowdive, out May 5.

In support of his new album, Tremaine the Album, Trey Songz plays the House of Blues on May 4. Tickets are still available here.

Deadmau5 returns to Chicago for two sold out shows at the Aragon Ballroom on May 4 and 5. To keep the party going, he’s also hosting an after party at The Mid after his May 5 show. Joining him for the afterparty are Feed Me, No Mana, and BlackGummy.

Chicago Artist Spotlight: Local H

Local H is one of the most prominent and notable alt-rock bands from Chicago. Though they’re not necessarily a big name act like some of their counterparts, they’ve enjoyed a long career building a dedicated fanbase along the way. They have eight albums to their name, but are most well known for their 1996 hit “Bound for the Floor.” Since then, they’ve remained kind of low key, but now they’ll be exposed to huge crowds around the country.

Last week, the duo won Metallica’s “Hit the Stage” contest. The metal giants launched the contest to find a local band for their opening slot on their North American tour. Fans submitted bands for Metallica to choose from. The contest narrowed down to eight finalists leaving Local H as the winners.

Yes, Local H will be opening for Metallica on their upcoming summer tour. They’ll only play for a handful of dates, and yes, one of them is Chicago on June 18 at Soldier Field.

Congrats to Local H for scoring such an amazing gig! Make sure you support them and catch them on tour with Metallica.