These Days: What Generosity Looks Like in Practice
As These Days comes to a conclusion, a few of our friends have been kind enough to share some reflections on how this impacted them & the wider Chicago music community. The first installment comes from Sophie Kornick…
Since 2015, this team has documented Chicago's music and arts scenes, shining a light on artists, communities, and stories that have helped shape the city. What they created went far beyond music journalism. These Days built an entire ecosystem of discovery, support, and genuine care that became a lifeline for so many of us trying to figure out where we fit in Chicago's creative landscape.
Back in 2017, I climbed the narrow stairs at YCA in my serious person business clothes, coming straight from my IHDA internship, and sat in a circle that changed my trajectory.
These Days had put together this panel about "the industry" with Eric Montanez, Pat Welby, Mariah Neuroth, and other industry professionals. It was in this room that I heard the term “producer” for the first time. It was the introduction of an idea that turned into my identity. Ask me today and I will say “I am a producer” and I believe that to my core. I wonder if I would have found that language, and if I would have built the confidence necessary to be great, without the direction that These Days provided.
Once I knew what I wanted to be, I just showed up to every single event These Days posted about and introduced myself as such. “Hi I am Sophie and I am a producer”. And there was no shortage of events.
These Days created the directory on what was going on in the city, and helped build the scaffolding for folks to find their way into that community.
In 2017, I’d been trying to figure out how someone like me, not an artist but drawn to the creative and wanting to participate, could actually contribute something meaningful. These Days highlighted artists early enough in their careers to give someone like me a chance to work.
I am not the only one for whom These Days has opened doors.
These Days gave platform to artists, highlighted the work of industry people, and for curious people like me, provided a jumping off point for exploring. They told Chicago who to pay attention to, where stuff was happening, and who was worth getting to know.
These Days didn't just spot talent early (though they were scary good at that). They showed us what generosity looks like in practice. In an industry where encouragement is rare, they showed up consistently with "we see you, we believe in what you're doing, here's a platform." When you're figuring out if you belong somewhere, that kind of recognition is everything.
These Days was a labor of love & you could feel that in everything they did.
From their thoughtful artist features to their year-end lists, they proved that independent media could be both deeply local and broadly influential.
The Chicago music community is losing something irreplaceable, yet we can not mope about, we all got touched by what These Days built. We learned how to see talent, how to make space for people, how to be generous with our platforms and attention. The ripple effect of what these days built continues when we take a chance on an unknown artist, create space for emerging voices, choose to document and celebrate their local scene instead of just consuming it.
So now it's on us. Take someone to coffee. Tell that young person their work matters. Show up to panels and actually share how you got where you are. These Days showed us what it looks like to be builders of community, not just participants in it.
Their ecosystem doesn't die with the magazine. It lives in every person who felt seen by their coverage, every artist who got their first real press through them, every industry person who learned to pay attention because These Days taught them how.
The work continues. The generosity continues. The doors stay open.
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Sophie Kornick got her start in Chicago’s music scene, interning at YCA, selling merch at early John Walt Day shows, and later directing sponsorships at Summer Smash. In the years since, she has become a global events and experiential marketing leader working across music, sports, and technology. She has produced of events across the world. Her work treats experience as a tool for connection, emotion, and cultural momentum. She is a day one reader of These Days and will miss the publication dearly.
Sophie Kornick got her start in Chicago’s music scene, interning at YCA, selling merch at early John Walt Day shows, and later directing sponsorships at Summer Smash. In the years since, she has become a global events and experiential marketing leader working across music, sports, and technology. She has produced 200+ events across 14+ countries. Her work treats experience as a tool for connection, emotion, and cultural momentum. She is a day one reader of These Days and will miss the publication dearly.