We Heard Your Music Library Needed An Update…

Open to discover fresh artists you should know.

To view this email as a web page, click here. Don't forget: past in-rotation picks get added to "Browser History" on our Spotify! Hi all! Hope everyone got to enjoy this weekend’s sunshine before temperatures dropped back down. With the weather going from summer to late winter and back again, the only thing we know for sure is there are some exciting events on the horizon as we get into the warmer months. Here are some Chicago arts and culture updates you need to know about as May gets underway! Get your floral fix with spring flower shows at Garfield Park and Lincoln Park Conservatory! Both shows end May 8, and free RSVP is required for admission on their respective websites. Donations are suggested but not required.   The Silver Room Block Party is back — and at a new location! After taking two years off due to the pandemic, the block party returns this summer from July 16-17, moving locations this summer from Hyde Park to Oakwood Beach as a two-day ticketed festival. Early bird passes went on sale yesterday and are available online . Ticket prices are expected to rise as festival performers are announced, so if you are interested, act quick! More information on the block party and its 2022 changes here. The 38th-annual Chicago Latino Film Festival (which Vocalo is a media sponsor of), wraps up this weekend. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the festival yet, more than a dozen films are still screening in theaters and virtually through Sunday. Rocío Santos of Domingos En Vocalo recently spoke with director Ángeles Cruz, whose film Nudo Mixteco premiered at the festival last night. You can stream their conversation in Spanish on Spotify now, and purchase tickets for the remainder of the festival online. Next on the film fest circuit — the Chicago Palestine Film Festival starts May 7 with screenings online or at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The festival includes feature-length productions, short films and documentaries addressing aspects of Palestinian society, art, culture and humanity. Tickets and the festival film schedule are available here. Vocalo is proud to be presenting alternative Latin folk artist Helado Negro at Thalia Hall on May 9, in support of his 2021 album Far In . Rocío Santos spoke with him last week — you can catch their conversation on Domingos En Vocalo airing at 12:45 p.m. Sunday. We’re also conducting two Instagram giveaways for his show at both @vocalo and @domingosenvocalo. The giveaways close on Monday, so don’t forget to enter ASAP! Brighten up your music libraries with a fresh batch of tracks from these artists you need to know, from Chicago and beyond... Poised To Break Through: April 2022 LISTEN HERE   1. Memo - Nenijegz 2. You Deserve It - Lola Ladae’ 3. Riverwalk Reservations - Sean Archer 4. Out My Mind - Malindi Evans 5. Tráfico - Casely 6. II. Albany - DANTE MILANO 7. River Way Down - Saint Ripley 8. Whenever You’re Ready - Josh Dion 9. Faculty - Ecstatic 10. Stay away from me (feat. Big Sono) - Hassan Haze For Alma Wieser, Chicago Arts Heal And Connect We chatted with the director of Wicker Park’s Heaven Gallery, Alma Wieser, who founded community development project Equity Arts in an effort to combat artist displacement and promote racial equity in the arts. For our audio interview series “This Is What Chicago Sounds Like,” she discusses holding onto and reimagining art spaces, the importance of Chicago’s diversity and the impact of investing in the next generation of leaders. READ MORE Vocalo X SXSW: Poppy Ajudha Vocalo hosted UK artist Poppy Ajudha at SXSW’s Radio Day Stage last month, where she previewed songs from her debut album prior to its release. Didn’t catch her performance? Check out three songs from her live set below, including a reimagining of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” for Blue Note Records. (And keep an eye out for other artists’ SXSW performances we hosted on our YouTube channel!) READ MORE Do Good Number One Are you a DJ looking to gain experience for a good cause? Nonprofits The Network and The Resurrection Project are looking for DJs to help out at their Youth Hood Fair event series on May 14 (at 31st Street and Hamlin Avenue) and May 21 (at 1805 S. Paulina St.). Each event is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contact organizer Esmeralda Gonzalez for more information or to get involved. GET INVOLVED Number Two Now that we’ve gotten a preview of warm weather, it’s the perfect time to help out at some of our city’s prominent green spaces! Both Garfield Park Conservatory and Lincoln Park Conservancy have lots of ways to volunteer, from weeding and gardening to composting and family programs. Explore options and get involved at their respective websites.  GET INVOLVED Number Three For anyone who wants to help out the community but feels safer with remote opportunities, check out Cradles To Crayons’ “Giving Factory @ Home” program! Volunteers can pick up boxes of gently used items donated to The Giving Factory to sort through and check item quality, returning the sorted boxes to the warehouse one week later. To learn more or register to help out, go here. GET INVOLVED Have a volunteer opportunity you want to amplify? A community service project that deserves some love?  Send them our way; we’ll share some in the next newsletter!    Tag Vocalo on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #VocaloIRL to let me know!  What’s your go-to song to get in the spring spirit? Let us know on Twitter; maybe you’ll hear it spinning on Vocalo! Talk to you next time… Morgan Ciocca Vocalo Digital Media Producer & Editor, The Goods     ©Chicago Public Media Inc 848 East Grand Ave, Navy Pier Chicago, IL 60611 Please do not reply to this email. If you need assistance, contact us here. You are receiving this email because you are a Vocalo member or signed up to receive email communications from us. You can unsubscribe from Vocalo here. WBEZ Privacy Policy