Events

Sunday 7/19 

Synth Sunday Workshop

Kids workshop 4 PM

Adult workshop 6 PM

Sliding scale $0-30

A basic introduction to musical synthesis! Come learn what the heck oscillators, waveforms, filters, and envelopes are. Get your hands on some analog synthesizers and make some fun sounds while understanding how they get made.

This workshop is taught by Bridgeporter Malcolm Brown (Whitney). The workshop will be available to the first 15 participants, with additional attendees welcome to observe. In person registration will open 30 minutes prior to the event. Attendees are welcome to bring their own synthesizer or midi controller or can use one provided at the event. Event price is sliding scale $0-$30.

This educational programming has been made possible in part thanks to support from Chicago DCASE Neighborhood Access Program.

Sunday 8/2

Laminal Anamil with Maggie Cousin and Amelia Ya’el

Doors 6, Show 7 PM

$15 Suggested donation 

Laminal Anamil consists of Luke Leavitt (piano, keyboards), Ari Smith (bass) and Tim Russell (drums, electronics). Originally formed in Madison, Wisconsin, the trio plays with a close ear towards the emergent processes of collective creation, blurring the lines between listening and responding, letting go and self-expression, stasis and transformation.

Tuesday 8/4

Mariachi Flor de Primavera Open Rehearsal 

7 PM - 9 PM FREE event

Our Open Rehearsal series supported by DCASE grant funding invites our community to observe musicians and ensembles in their rehearsal process.  On Tuesday 8/4, join us for an open rehearsal with Mariachi Flor de Primavera, an ensemble of young, talented musicians bringing the heart and soul of Mexico to the Windy City since 2023.

Saturday 8/8 

Eardrum Series Presents: Bear Duo; Julius Tucker Trio

Doors at 7:30 Show at 8 PM

[What is Eardrum?]

BMC’s Eardrum series focuses on bringing improvised music to the south side. The series aims to feature diverse artists and types of improvisation and to celebrate Chicago’s rich culture of creative and experimental scenes.  Supported by the Neighborhood Access Program grant through Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Set 1: Bearduo

Bearduo is a saxophone duo consisting of Aaron Kaufman-Levine on Alto Saxophone and Garrett Frees on Tenor Saxophone. Dear friends and collaborators since 2015, Aaron and Garrett started improvising together as a duo in their first semester together at New England Conservatory (Fall 2019). What began as a fun practice routine became a daily rehearsing group that vowed to push each other and themselves to find their own way to approach improvised music on the saxophone. Bearduo brings a unique and spontaneous creation to each performance that reflects their shared musical language and deep connection. Their first self-titled record Bearduo released in July 2025 with a focus on long form improvisation, scale and interaction between the two performers.

Set 2: Julius Tucker Trio

Julius Tucker is a pillar of Chicago’s jazz and creative music community—a pianist, composer, bandleader, and producer whose expansive artistry transcends genre boundaries. With a career spanning over 15 years, Tucker has solidified his reputation for masterful keyboard fluency, harmonic sophistication, and a multifaceted voice that moves effortlessly between jazz, improvised music, electronic experimentation, and beyond.

Rooted in Chicago’s rich musical legacy, Tucker began his classical training at the Van Moody School of Music at age seven. He later honed his jazz sensibility at the Merit School of Music and Whitney Young Magnet High School, ultimately completing his academic journey at Northwestern University earning degrees in both Jazz Piano and Civil Engineering. Tucker is also a recipient of the Luminarts Cultural Foundation’s Jazz Improvisation Fellowship and is an Artist in Residence at The Cliff Dwellers.

A seasoned artist with international experience, Tucker has performed at legendary venues and world-renowned festivals, including The Green Mill, The Jazz Showcase, Sam First, and Red Light Cafe, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, San Antonio’s Fiesta Jazz Fest, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, and Italy’s JazzIt Festival.

Beyond performance, Tucker’s work as a producer and composer reflects a deep commitment to both jazz tradition and contemporary innovation. From intimate trio sessions to genre-blending electronic projects and compositions for film and television, his creative reach extends throughout Chicago’s vibrant music scene and beyond.

Friday 8/21

 Third Friday Series Presents: Adam Gabbert/Erik Sowa/Fred Jackson Jr. + Missing Piece with Louis Goldford

Doors 7 PM

Community music 7:15-7:45

Performance: 8 PM

The Migrations Trio

Adam Gabbert - electric nylon string guitar

Fred Jackson Jr. - saxophones, flute, percussion

Erik Sowa - drums, percussion

The Migrations Trio was first formed when Adam Gabbert, Fred Jackson Jr., and Erik Sowa arranged to perform at the Hungry Brain in 2022.  This group convened the following year for a recording session at Belaire Studio in Chicago.  During this session, the trio captured multiple improvised pieces which are included on Fred Jackson Jr.'s recent release, "Migrations".  Gabbert and Jackson Jr.'s improvised interactions include both melodic and dissonant qualities while also exploring spaciousness and soft dynamics.  Sowa provides a rhythmic foundation for the trio shifting between playing in time and non-metered percussive directions.

Missing Piece with Louis Goldford

Missing Piece is a south side Chicago-based musical ensemble who endeavor to commission new musical and artistic works, as well as collaborate with other musicians and organizations to provide transformative musical experiences through performances and educational programming. Through its multi-faceted work, the ensemble aims to inspire audiences to connect with their community, care for our environment, listen deeply to ourselves and others, and speak out against injustice. In a project-based approach, founders Dan Galat, violin, and Kelly Quesada, cello, often expand the ensemble to include other musicians and artists as collaborators. Missing Piece has commissioned and premiered over thirty new works, including standard notation, text and graphic scores, poetry, film, movement, and improvisation.

Louis Goldford is a composer of instrumental and mixed music based in Milwaukee. His works are characterized by processes of emergence and approximation, interwoven psychoanalytic and existential formal models, and traversals of abstract resonances and virtual spaces which, at times, have involved data sonification and experimental approaches to orchestration. Louis is the recipient of a Fromm Commission from Harvard University and a Salvatore Martirano Award. Louis was awarded the ACTOR Project Research-Creation Grant along with a cohort of music perception scholars in Montréal. In 2019, Louis completed his Cursus at IRCAM, supported by the Fulbright Commission in France. Louis has been a Laureate of the Voix Nouvelles of Fondation Royaumont and a Laureate and resident composer of the Cité internationale des arts in Paris. Recent performances include those by the Wavefield Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Linea, Wet Ink, the Talea Ensemble, Longleash, Yarn/Wire, Ensemble Pi, Fonema Consort, the JACK Quartet, and Ensemble Dal Niente, among others.

Thursday 8/27 Songwriter's Circle 7-8 PM free event

Our monthly songwriting workshop is a beginner-friendly opportunity to develop self expression skills through songwriting.  Whether you’ve written songs before, or have never tried it, this hour is for you. Our music therapist facilitates music and writing exercises designed to inspire you and give you songwriting tools, and the floor is opened up to participants interested in workshopping their song ideas with others.  Join us to start a new creative hobby, bring community and support to your songwriting practice, or to try something new.  Free event provided by grant funding through DCASE.