Join us for the first of two Elastro series events this week, featuring Los Angeles musician Cate Kennan, Infrathin (Whitney Johnson + Lula Asplund), and Cleared (Michael Vallera + Steven Hess).

The air quality was a bit too harsh in Chicago for this show to go on outside as intended, so we’re happy to take on this wonderful night of music featuring road warrior folk hero Frank Hurricane. We’ll have sets from Chris Coleslaw Music Trio (ft. Jake Acosta + Mallory Linehan), Jessica Risker playing solo, and Timelife! Music will kick off a bit after 8pm.

Avreeayl Ra’s Dream Stuff is Avreeayl Ra (drums), Edward Wilkerson (reeds), Peter Maunu (strings), Jim Baker (keyboards), and Jason Roebke (bass). Dream Stuff exemplifies Spontaneous Composition and Arrangement.

Dream Stuff will perform two sets at 8:30 and 9:30.

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

Tone Glow is excited to present Perceptual Ambiguity, a two-part screening highlighting four works on 16mm by Pat O’Neill (b. 1939). O’Neill is an American artist and pioneering figure in LA’s experimental film scene. As a teenager, he became enamored with the mechanic and pinstriper Von Dutch, eventually becoming involved with car culture himself through building automobiles.

The Festival of Sufi Arts grew out of a dhikr circle in Chicago. For those unfamiliar with dhikr, the word means "remembrance of God." Sufis around the world practice dhikr through devotional music, chanting, and whirling. Throughout history, many Sufis have also been poets, visual artists, and musicians. We realized this was true in our dhikr circle too. While not strictly devotional, much of the art we create is informed by our experiences as Sufis. The Festival of Sufi Arts emerged from the desire to share music, visual art, and poetry from Sufi artists with a broader community. 

July’s CLEAT Series features a new duo from RXM Reality and Rin Peisert along with a solo set from guitarist Jake Leech.

THIS EVENT IS OFF-SITE
HASAN PARK
6855 S Oglesby Ave Chicago, IL

The Elastic Arts Outreach Program will be hosting our first event with Chicago Parks District’s Night Out In The Parks at Hassan park as a celebration of 250 years of BLACK MUSIC IN AMERICA! For our Blues event we will have the amazing Coco Elysses opening up for the incredible Patch of Blues from 5pm - 8pm!!! Bring your lawn chairs, and blankets, a cooler and everybody you know!! Enjoy a free night of Blues music with the park 6855 S Oglesby Ave!!

An evening of soundscapes with bows, brass, keys, samples and more!

This July Pleiades is excited to welcome Minneapolis-based composer and performer May Klug.  May works primarily with Casio CZ101 synthesizer, feedback, and voice. Her work centers on deeply felt relationships with electronic instruments and collaboration with their glitches.  May will be joined by Chicago-based improvisors Emily Rach Beisel (woodwinds + electronics), Tyler Wagner (bass) and Abhilasha Figueroa (guitar) for a night of different improvised configurations.  

Join us for the opening of quiet as its kept, the new group visual gallery exhibition curated by Harlem West!

We welcome Matt Blair from Madison, WI as he brings his trio. Erik Sowa and Robbie Lynn Hunsinger improvise as a duo.

Tone Glow is excited to announce "Hitching a Ride with the Devil," a showcase of four works on 16mm by filmmaker Michael Wallin (1948-2016).

At June’s Elastro series we’re excited to welcome Kristina Warren in from the east coast, along with solo performances from Elastic curator Ben Zucker and Nu A.M.!

Two trios paying homage to the legacies of 70s avant-garde jazz: The Tri-Centric Experiencer’s Unit plays a landmark Anthony Braxton composition; Lion’s Head, named after mentor Richard Davis, interpolates free improvisation with hard-swinging classic repertoire.

Vee, Julie, and David met through a School of Song workshop led by Brian Eno in January 2025. At the end of the workshop, the Chicago-based participants gathered to share one of the songs they had written that month. Fifteen people crammed into Julie’s living room, performing live or recorded Brian Eno–influenced work. The evening was deeply inspiring: songwriters from different
backgrounds and genres sharing vulnerability, talent, and generous support for one another. The group decided to continue meeting monthly to share new work and exchange feedback. Now, these three will bring their music to the stage at Elastic Arts, showcasing three distinct approaches to songwriting.

An immersive performance experience by poet Marty McConnell with film by Lindsey Dorr-Niro and music by Patrick Wojtak

Through language, music, and imagery, “Days of Wonder: it is time to be very tender with our grief” explores curiosity and interconnectedness as methods of moving into and through personal, societal, and global sorrow, survival, and co-evolution.  

An immersive performance experience by poet Marty McConnell with film by Lindsey Dorr-Niro and music by Patrick Wojtak

Through language, music, and imagery, “Days of Wonder: it is time to be very tender with our grief” explores curiosity and interconnectedness as methods of moving into and through personal, societal, and global sorrow, survival, and co-evolution.  

Tonight we welcome John O’Neill in from California for a solo performance, alongside Chicago artists GS70 and existence decay.

You will find yourself surrounded by moving accordions, creating a lush, vibrating soundscape. Seven clowns will guide 7 cycles of meditation, searching for the playful boundaries of mindfulness. Each cycle has its own foundational note, its own harmony and its own chakra taking you from the root at the base of your spine all the way to the crown connecting you to the universal consciousness, which, I'm told, also wears the clown nose. Bring accordions or yoga mats.

Free and open to the public. Donations accepted.

The experimental electronic heavyweights TV Pow kick off a tour. Matthew Davis performs with solo project on the heels of his recent release Free, ambient duo Open Seki kicks off the evening.

One night only in Chicago - hear The Harbingers season finale before anyone else!

Please join us for a closing reception for our current visual gallery exhibition Too Tender Headed where you can experience this beautiful show one last time, but also hear from the artists.

In honor of Juneteenth, join us for a special screening of Neptune Frost, followed by a conversation and featured performance by a guest poet.

At tonight’s CLEAT Series we welcome Seth Andrew Davis in from Kansas City for a solo performance, followed by three pieces from Duo Riso.

Two improvised-music-and-video sets featuring:
Chad M. Clark (guitar) and Scott Rubin (video), plus
Erez Dessel (keys) and Maya Nguyen (video)

Sri Perangur (he/they) is a violinist, improviser, and composer trained in the Carnatic (South Indian classical) musical tradition. Following in the footsteps of premodern Indian painters, "Synesthesia” seeks to imagine rāgas (melodic frameworks) not only as tastes, scents, and textures, but also as characters, ideas, and symbols.

8:30 pm: Sri Perangur’s Synesthesia
9:15 pm: Clark / Rubin
10:00 pm: Dessel / Nguyen

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

At the first of two CLEAT Series events for June this week, we welcome BARAS and Jared Kelley.

Acclaimed composer and multi-instrumentalist Dameun Strange is set to present a series of afrofuturist experiments at Elastic Arts. This performance, supported by Sonic Vanguard, serves as a cornerstone of his AACM composition residency.

Join us as The Middle presents an evening of unique musical duos. Each explores diverse eras and styles of music, featuring works by Jazzmeia Horn, J.S. Bach, Shai Maestro, Benjamin Britten, Momo Hasselbring, Alvin Santner, and the world premiere of a new piece by Kes Yager. 

We’re excited to present a special Sunday night Improvised Music Series event with two sets from the trio of Bonnie Han Jones, Jeff Arnal, and Ken Vandermark!

Shake Shook Shaken is a theater/movement workshop series produced by Julie Meckler. The series is designed for people to gently bring body awareness, allowing participants to open up, explore outside of their comfort zone, bond with each other, create and show. By playing with these concepts using our bodies, voices, words, and each other, we will explore our own awareness and sensitivity as artists and people.