These Days
2024 Chicago Albums of the Year 2024 Chicago Artists to Watch 2023 Chicago Albums of the Year 2023 F/W Chicago Artists to Watch 2023 S/S Chicago Artists to Watch 2022 Chicago Albums of the Year 2022 F/W Chicago Artists to Watch 2022 S/S Chicago Artists to Watch
These Days

Chicago — with a deep sense of appreciation, the time has come for us to share that These Days will conclude at the end of this year.

Since 2015, our volunteer-based team has had the incredible privilege of documenting Chicago’s music and arts scenes—in efforts to shine a light on the artists, communties, and stories that have helped shape the city. These Days has always been a labor of love, and we’ve always done our best to cover artists with the care, curation and respect they deserve. In return, we’ve been rewarded by being able to engage with life-changing art, experiences, and friendships. We went into this project hoping to pay back Chicago’s creative community for everything it’s given us. We leave feeling even more indebted to it.

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Saba's ComfortZone: An Oral History

To celebrate its anniversary and re-release on streaming platforms, These Days and Kismet Radio interviewed 17 contributors involved in creating this Chicago cult classic.

 
 

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these days presents…

J.Y.N. Mini-Doc

On November 17th, 2023, Chicago rising star, J.Y.N., released the intimate and beautifully dizzying, Bittersweet EP. These Days conducted an interview and gathered footage of the singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist to shed a light on J.Y.N., the artist and the person

 
 

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The Forecast

Our flagship all-genre curated weekly playlist full of new releases from artists across Chicago.

 

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Chicago Artists to Watch 2024

For those paying attention, it’s no news that we’re entering an expansive new era of Chicago music. However, the sobering reality is that artists, no matter how talented, face growing challenges. Their chances of earning a living wage are increasingly elusive, algorithms and social media drown out bodies of work, and traditional media spaces focused on curating local music are collapsing (Long live Vocalo!). It’s a great time to be a cynic.

 

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A Special Thank You To

South Facing Windows

We’ve had the honor of partnering with Michael Salisbury, co-founder of the Bridgeport-based studio South Facing Windows, for a long list of photoshoots over the years & they’ve done so much to help us at These Days cover the city’s music communities the way we do.