At our first CLEAT Series show of the month, we’re happy to welcome Chicago ex-pat John Niekrasz to present new multichannel work on the system for percussion and electronics. We’ll also welcome back Baltimore artist / organizer Tom Boram aka Borax to Elastic for his first go on the 16 speakers. Ishmael Ali returns with his Archipelago project with new music.

French flutist and electronics musician Calamity and Chicago drummer and composer Tim Daisy will present a set of duo improvisations which also marks their first live duo performance in the United States.

Acorn Projects is an ongoing collaboration between string players Ilana Waniuk (Los Angeles), Myra Hinrichs (Los Angeles), Dan Galat (Chicago), and Kelly Quesada (Chicago). They function as an interdisciplinary quartet of equals, questioning and reimagining relationships between the individual, the environment, and the binaries we collectively imagine as constructing the world around us.

8:30 pm: Acorn Projects
9:30 pm: Calamity + Tim Daisy Duo

$15 / $10 w/ Student ID

AfroFuturist Weekend concludes with an offsite collaboration with Elastic Arts’ AfriClassical Futures series, at Bronzeville’s Blanc Gallery. Detroit’s “White Flowers” is a string ensemble exploring the teachings of Dr. Yusuf Lateef; multiinstrumentalist BSA Gold begins the afternoon

Afrofuturist Weekend 2026 comes home to Elastic Arts’ Logan Square space (3429 W. Diversey Unit 208). Mike Monford’s J Dilla Tribute; Rap panel led by Dark Matter Resident Aquil “AQ” Charlton; a film preview feat. J Bambii; immersive performance by Amari Amai.

Dark Matter Resident Xavi Burgos presents a staged reading of “Black Warrior Angel” (Part One) offsite in Humboldt Park

AfroFuturist Dance Party ft. Duane Powell, CTRL Zora, Harlem West, Nova Zaii and nxtlvl. Offsite in Bronzeville

AfroFuturist Weekend: Opening panel & performances from Dark Matter Residents

The closing concert of the AMPLIFY! Festival of Asian American Music!

TROMPE is an improvising music trio from the east coast featuring Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Jeff Song (cello, pictured) and Daniel Lin (cello). For this concert they will be joined by special guests (and Chicago music heroes) Michael Zerang (drums, percussion) and Jeb Bishop (trombone).

Percussionist Tyler Tadlock joins us from Jackson, Mississippi in an ad-hoc group with Jeb Bishop and Christopher RIggs.

Our September Pleiades Series welcomes bassoonist and noise-maker Gabi Vanek in from Iowa City, IA. Their sonic interests center on the aesthetic and tonal crossover between contemporary classical music and harsh noise.

Michael Zerang and Tim Kinsella perform for the 2nd time ever as a duo and the first time with their new band name, Typhoon Matisse.

Texas based vibraphonist Stefan González is visiting Chicago in preparation to move there this fall. In an attempt to immerse themself in the vibrant improvised and free jazz community, they are playing in a first time trio with dear friends, Chicago mainstays, and respected world class improvisers, Lily Glick Finnegan (drums) and Andrew Scott Young (bass).

8:30 pm: González/Finnegan/Young Trio
9:30 pm: Typhoon Matisse

$15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available at the Door

Ritual Rhythms Chicago presents an evening of ritual journeys through transformation and transcendence, exploring death and rebirth through music, storytelling, and dance. Featuring Secrets of the Beehive, Mehtab Kirtan’s Death Songs, and dancers Kitty Khaos, Noori, and Stacy.

Join us for the closing of current visual gallery exhibition “quiet as it’s kept” curated by Harlem West. Today will be a final opportunity to see the work, but also experience a film screening of of Suzanne, Suzanne by Camille Billops. Please join us! The event is free and open to the public.

Film: 1:15pm
Artist Talk: 2:30pm

Join us for a multi-genre Printers Row offsite event featuring performances from Casts, Norman W. Long, and Akjai, and readings from local small press authors, including Kathleen Rooney, Téa Jones Yelvington, and Robert Kloss (Always Crashing), Aug Stone, Scott Laudati, and Benjamin Niespodziany (Maudlin House), and Jessica Anne, Emily Capers, and Timothy Moore (Long Day Press).

Join us for our final outreach event of the summer at South Merrill Community Garden! We’ll have Naydja Bruton’s Rhythm Ninjas, udochukwu anidobu, and Amari Amai. More info on their performances TBA!

September’s CLEAT Series features three sets from Chicago artists, with a duo from Steve Reidell & Tim Kinsella, solo set from Alexander Panos, and the duo Squonk.

A unique free jazz meeting featuring two leading Croatian improvisers, an unconventional double-drum-and-bass trio with Chicago powerhouses, and a quintet convergence that promises to be explosive!

Our Elastro series welcomes electronics composer Hunter Brown back to Chicago, alongside Elastic debuts from chelliah and Stereotypewriters.

Bugs World a costume dance party coming to you this September 5th 2026 on Saturday from 9pm-2am!Playing the funkiest electro and acid house/techno tunes.
Metamorphosize to enter the costume contest for 1 of 3 prizes

We’re honored to once again curate a slot at this year’s Chicago Jazz Festival! This Thursday 9/3 the festival hosts a run of great performances throughout the Cultural Center starting at 11am. Our friends and heroes Extraordinary Popular Delusions will present an hour of music at 11:15AM at the Claudia Cassidy Theater, free admission! We’re calling all you non - 9-5er’s, flexible schedule friends, or those who have an 11am Loop lunch break, to join us for a set from one of the most legendary Chicago improvised music ensembles - EPD! We’ll see you Thursday morning!

As part of the 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival Citywide series we present a free show with Elastic Arts mainstays.

Tonight we will be celebrating Black Chicago house music at Elastic with a The.BlkRoom takeover! Sharing Resources for Black and Brown artist while enjoying late night house-vibes with TBRs Resident DJ DJ John West, with friends Yanna Lynette, and DJ Khali Melon. Come and enjoy food, great music, artist, resources, and performances by special guest!

Join us as we welcome back Matthew Daher’s project The Wisdom to Know the Difference with Chicago artist Sarah Lutkenhaus opening the night.

Celebrating the Black Diaspora, the.BlkRoom and Elastic Arts collaborate on a courtyard event featuring an Afro Puerto Rican Baile performance from Lauren Brooks and Los Medicos. This is followed by a late night showing of Black Orpheus presented by the blkfilmclub. The event will feature free food, art activations, and performances by Elastic Dark Matter Residents Udo and Xavi Burgos.

Janna Lee uses her voice to explore different facets of herself and exorcise uncomfortable emotions that can’t be put into words. Her solo work combines harsh noise drowning in reverb with haunting processed vocals that probe the dark recesses of a woman’s psyche. Molly Jones is a saxophonist from free jazz and Balkan brass traditions.  Her playing originates in a place of playfulness, listening, and attention.

Olbrzym i kurdupel,in Chicago from Poland, consist of two exquisite musicians: Tomek Gadecki (tenor and baritone saxophones) and Marcin Bożek (bass guitar). The music they play is simple, unrestrained, and uninhibited improvisation. They are joined by Danny Kamins, an improvising saxophonist based in Houston, TX.

8:30 pm: Janna Lee / Molly Jones duo
9:30 pm: Danny Kamins + Olbrzym i kurdupel

$15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available at the Door

AfriClassical Futures is a quarterly music and conversation series that foregrounds the accomplishments of Black composers and musicians from the diaspora and beyond that are educated or working in, around, or influenced by Western Classical music and classical traditions more broadly.

On August 23rd, electronic music based label Lunt and Oglesby will be hosting their 11th annual Kit Swap. Kit Swap is a daytime event where soccer enthusiasts and electronic musicians come together to trade soccer jerseys and/or music gear. Got a soccer jersey that doesn't fit anymore? MIDI controllers or synths that have no use in your studio? Come through and make a trade. There will also be 11 live electronic acts, a FIFA station and custom upcycled jerseys for sale from Crossbar Syndicate.

FFFT returns for its second iteration of sound and movement collaborations for 2026 at Elastic Arts!

The Improvised Music Series welcomes saxophonist/electronicist/composer Jorrit Dijkstra from Boston. On this trip Dijkstra continues his longstanding musical relationship with Jeb Bishop and, following up on his January 2024 Chicago visit, performs again with Michael Zerang, while meeting Mabel Kwan for the first time.

Pleiades returns on August 19 with a duo set from pianist Mabel Kwan and interdisciplinary artist Selina Trepp. Kwan’s playing brings a quiet intensity and deep sensitivity to sound, while Trepp’s work explores improvisation, perception, ecology, and intuition. The evening also features a solo drums and electronics performance by Minneapolis-based Emma Garau, whose background in DIY punk, noise, free jazz, and experimental music informs her expansive approach to sound.