Elastic Arts, 3429 W Diversey #208, Chicago, IL (2025)

08/05/2025

At this week’s Improvised Music Series, Chicago-Iowa-Kansas City noise improv quartet of Alexander Adams, Seth Andrew Davis, Bob Bucko Jr., and Will Yager make a rare appearance to close the night.

Chicago stalwart bassist Andrew Scott Young first leads a new dual guitar quartet with Dave Miller, Luke Polipnick, and Jacob Fawcett. Music at 8:30pm! THURSDAY!

8:30 pm

ASY Quartet:
Andrew Scott Young - double bass
Dave Miller - guitar
Luke Polipnick - guitar
Jacob Fawcett - drum set

9:30p:

Seth Andrew Davis - guitar, electronics
Alexander Adams - drum set
Bob Bucko Jr. - saxophone
Will Yager - bass

08/03/2025

TODAY!! Gwen Laster is here for our AfriClassical Futures Series!

Please join us here today (8/3) at 4pm to experience a soul-stirring performance of original music rooted in African mythology, social justice, and the rich tapestry of the African Diaspora. It will be a very special matinee here at Elastic Arts. You can get your advanced tickets at the link in bio or at the door. See you at 4pm!

07/31/2025

Tonight we welcome a fresh Chicago duo and a new outfit from acclaimed artist east coast instrumentalist Joe Morris. We’ll first hear from a first-time duo of Janna Lee and Ben Willis. Lee is the vocalist of Snek Trio, a psychedelic free jazz party band, with Reid Karris and Erik Sowa. “The One That Got Away,” her third solo album on Black Ring Rituals, was number three in The Wire’s list of best noise releases of 2023. Ben Willis plays bass, produces music, and creates collaborative media.

Counter Spectacle is a new project of Joe Morris’ featuring Chicago-based musicians. The group will be playing a short 3-night multi-venue run in Chicago this weekend, and this is the first of them. We look forward to hearing these new compositions where Joe is playing bass instead of the usual 6 string guitar. Music at 8:30pm!

8:30 Janna Lee + Ben Willis

9:30 Joe Morris’ Counter Spectacle

Joe Morris - bass
Aaron Kaufman-Levine - alto saxophone
Garrett Frees - tenor and soprano saxophone
Charlie Watson - trumpet
Caroline Jesalva - violin
Nick Alvarez - drums

07/30/2025

Our AfriClassical Futures series is absolutely honored to present Guggenheim Award-winning violinist Gwen Laster and her powerhouse ensemble featuring Damon Banks (bass) and Isaiah Spencer (drums/percussion) this upcoming Sunday 8/3. The ensemble will play original compositions and arrangements inspired trough the lens of the African Diaspora.

Please join us here on Sunday August 3rd at 4pm to experience a soul-stirring performance of original music rooted in African mythology, social justice, and the rich tapestry of the African Diaspora. It will be a very special matinee here at Elastic Arts. You can get your advanced tickets at the link in bio or at the door. See you Sunday!

07/24/2025

*+:｡.｡Ecstatic Hyperbole｡.｡:+*, a duo exhibition of Sarah Kim and Zante Moore, opens July 27, 2025, here at Elastic Arts. Presenting installation, video and interactive works, the exhibition follows the textures of memes and media tropes that permeate throughout our lives on screens. Questioning the lines of subjectivity and positionality in internet culture: what bleeds through to the other side from url to irl? Bringing up questions of origin, authority, and digital decay, the show examines the overwhelming pace of digital spaces that vastly shapes our shared language and identities.

Join us Sunday, 7/27, for an opening reception from 5-8pm at Elastic Arts to celebrate the opening with light refreshments. See you there!

07/24/2025

This Saturday our friends at Meanie Productions brings us an artist showcase highlighting both traveling and Chicago artists. The eight band bill spans from punk stylings of Bussy Kween Power Trip, the hip-hop of A Weirdo from Memphis, the experimental energy of Manasseh, and so much more. A truly eclectic banger! We’ll kick things off at 5pm! See you there.

07/23/2025

This Friday our friends at Asian Improv aRts Midwest present Dawn Xiana Moon! A seductive and passionate voice, evocative songwriting, and formal training make Dawn Xiana Moon one of the most distinctive Asian-American singers of her generation. The Singapore-born musician has performed in 10 states and released two solo albums; she fuses elements from traditional Chinese music with jazz and alt folk pop, resulting in a musical brew in French, English, and Mandarin Chinese that draws influences from sources as disparate as Han Dynasty literature and Americana.

Moon is the Founder/Director of Raks Geek + Raks Inferno, a bellydance, circus, and fire performance company that’s been featured on UK Channel 4 TV, Chicago Tribune, WGN-TV, and more. She herself was named “Best Choreographer” (twice) and “Best Dancer” (twice) by the Chicago Reader. Join us!

07/23/2025

This Thursday we welcome Mojave Desert based artist Maya Jensen with a quartet performance pairing Maya with saxophonists Luc Mosley, drummer Isaiah Spencer, and cellist Ishmael Ali.

An exciting new duo with clarinetist Jeff Kimmel and pianist Sharon Udoh kick off the evening.

8:30 pm

Jeff Kimmel - clarinet
Sharon Udoh - piano

9:30 pm

Maya Jensen - bass
Luc Mosley - alto saxophone, flute, electronics
Ishmael Ali - cello
Isaiah Spencer - drum set

07/22/2025

Please join us for an incredibly special show this Wednesday as we host a first time duo between guitarist Bill Nace and Chicago stalwart Joshua Abrams. Nace has collaborated with Joe McPhee, Steve Gunn, Thurston Moore, Yoko Ono, Okkyung Lee, and Kim Gordon. With Gordon, Nace is part of the experimental electric guitar duo Body/Head. Abrams heads up the band Natural Information Society, and his collaborations include work with Fred Anderson, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Hamid Drake, Nicole Mitchell, Evan Parker, Jeff Parker & Matana Roberts.

Opening the night is old friend of Elastic Dave Rempis in duo form with his frequent collaborator Avreeayl Ra. This will be a special show. Don’t miss it! Music at 8:30pm Wednesday!

07/21/2025

TONIGHT!

We’re continuing our July spotlight on touring artists with a show this evening featuring guests from Mexico City! This event is a special collaboration with the Volta sound series—presenting the Chicago edition of Hertzwitches, an improvisation exploring sound through analog instruments and transmission-based dialogue - featuring Veronica Anne Salinas (CHI), Juanjosé Rivas (CDMX), and Amanda Gutiérrez (CDMX)

Preceding the performance, all attendees are invited to take part in a graphic score workshop led by Amanda Gutiérrez and Juanjosé Rivas. Through expanded listening, spontaneous composition, and collective soundmaking, the workshop will explore inherited sonic memory and noise as creative rupture.

No Improv Jam tonight. Join us at 8pm for the workshop!

07/17/2025

TONIGHT! 8:30PM

We feature two drummerless quartets on tonight’s Improvised Music Series, including a new group assembled by Christopher Dammann. We’ll then have a rare appearance by Mad Myth Science, who were called “The next generation of Chicago Jazz” by the Quietus. It will be special. Join us!

8:30 -
Christopher Dammann - bass
Robbie Lynn Hunsinger - oboe, saxophone, winds
Mabel Kwan - piano
Jason Stein - bass clarinet

9:30 - Mad Myth Science
Molly Jones - saxophones, flutes
Julian Otis - voice
Wilson Tanner Smith - cello
Ben Zucker - vibraphone, cornet
(all on additional little instruments)

07/17/2025

We’re continuing our July spotlight on touring artists with a show this upcoming Monday featuring guests from Mexico City! This event is a special collaboration with the Volta sound series—presenting the Chicago edition of Hertzwitches, an improvisation exploring sound through analog instruments and transmission-based dialogue - featuring Veronica Anne Salinas (CHI), Juanjosé Rivas (CDMX), and Amanda Gutiérrez (CDMX)

Preceding the performance, all attendees are invited to take part in a graphic score workshop led by Amanda Gutiérrez and Juanjosé Rivas. Through expanded listening, spontaneous composition, and collective soundmaking, the workshop will explore inherited sonic memory and noise as creative rupture.

No Improv Jam tonight. Join us at 8pm for the workshop!

Elastic Arts

08/05/2025

08/03/2025

07/31/2025

07/30/2025

07/24/2025

07/24/2025

07/23/2025

07/23/2025

07/22/2025

07/21/2025

07/17/2025

07/17/2025

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