Chaepter is the first name and stage name of Chicago-based music artist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Chaepter Negro. Hailing from Central Illinois, Chaepter grew up in a large Catholic family with 8 other brothers and sisters. Beginning piano and cello lessons at age six, his interest in music was sparked young, and by 13 years old, Chaepter began writing his own songs, playing in bands, and learning to record and mix. Since then, he’s released various projects under different monikers and bands, and in 2019, he moved to Chicago to pursue music as a solo artist under his own name. From 2019 to 2022, Chaepter dedicated his time to mixing, recording, and producing his debut album, a self-described “Midwest Gothic” called Kicking the Cat. With fourteen songs and a 56 minute runtime, Kicking the Cat is an ambitious album that meditates on generational trauma, aloneness, and religious decay. Songs like “Ritual” or “On the Mend '' highlight Chaepter’s ability to craft catchy pop tunes, whereas songs like “The Prairie'' show off a rare songwriting ability. Recorded in various bedrooms, closets, and Chicago practice rooms over the years, the album was mastered by Greg Obis (DEHD, BNNY, Paul Cherry) and released digitally and as a limited cassette run through Chaepter’s own label, Church of the Cat. Since its release, the album has circulated the Chicago indie scene as a hidden gem. In their review of the album, Chicago blog Second Street calls the album “an eerie collection of melancholic perfection,” and further says:“There’s an old expression that says: ‘Where words fail, music succeeds.’ Even as a lifelong instrumentalist, I have rarely felt the meaning of this phrase until just recently. Kicking the Cat is one of these occasions where I truly feel the gravity of that statement: I want so badly to write about this album, because it makes me feel emotions that are near impossible to put into simple words. It’s quite the paradox.” While difficult to narrow and ever-changing, Chaepter’s music could best be described as dream pop / experimental rnb, with indie rock tendencies. His production is unique, and his songwriting works in extremes, always balancing precariously between earnest and cryptic, vulnerable and brooding. Chaepter typically plays shows around Chicago with a full band, but also has a solo set prepared.

Formed in 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. by 7 music school nerds, DOOM GONG has made a name for themselves internationally with their own home-baked genre, Denim Psych - a hodgepodge of psychedelic rock, jazz fusion, bedroom pop, lo-fi, contemporary classical music, as well as blood, sweat, and a lot of denim. Having only released their first two LP’s in 2023 (DOOM GONG and Dream Behemoth), DOOM GONG has quickly become a mainstay of the psych scene in the U.S. and abroad, performing their enigmatic and seamless live shows alongside the likes of The Black Angels, BADBADNOTGOOD, Allah Las, King Buffalo, Bass Drum of Death, Death Valley Girls, HOLY WAVE, Gustaf, Ron Gallo and many others at music festivals including Purple City Music Festival (CAN), Big Stomp (KY) Back Alley Ballyhoo (IN), Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience (OH), Swampfest (CAN), Expansion Psychedelic Festival (KY), Moonshiners Ball (KY), and Jorts Fest (TN). In 2024, DOOM GONG launched their international presence, completing two summer tours consisting of 24 shows across the eastern United States and Canada with immense reception. Soon after, the denim assemblage partnered with Romanus Records to produce vinyl of their debut album – all presses were sold out within an hour of its release. Throughout 2024, DOOM GONG will have delivered three singles with music videos: What Was the Question?, I Wanna Get Dim Sum (with my friends) (December 17th), and their inimitable arrangement of My Favorite Things (December 22nd). The denim dream has just begun: a third LP is set to release in early 2025 along with a FULL U.S. tour and possibly even a European tour.

the courts is a place. loud rock from Chicago, IL.

A band you can take home to your parents