By now, some of you have realized that music is clearly near and dear to my heart. My new job—loving by the way—has changed my schedule not leaving me with much time to write…and honestly when I get home at 7 p.m. or so the last thing I want to touch is a keyboard. But alas, you have to make time for things you love, am I right? or am I right?

This past Wednesday I caught up with a sorority sister and Fellow Rockstar at one of my favorite music halls in Chicago. Sharing many laughs on the way to and at Lincoln Hall  it was great to talk about everything from sorority and relationships to our career and  even juice cleanses!—I know how adult of us. You may think what a random night to go to a concert, but that’s what I LOVE about Chicago. You don’t miss a beat whether it is a cultural gathering or music event—there’s always something going on.

It had been awhile since going to a concert, and there’s just something about live music that touches the soul and connects everyone there. Music indeed is a universal language. The bass reverberating on walls, moving to the beats of the music, singing the lyrics to your favorite song or even standing still and appreciating the stimulus around you needless of the musical genre concert goers leave never being the same person as they came in. I’ve noticed after attending several concerts this past year, not only do i tend to like the artists even more but when i hear one of the played on the setlist it immediately teleports back to that point in time. Memory welcoming how I felt at that precise moment, who I was with, how the stage looked—everything rushes back. That, my friends is priceless.

The headliners LWKY didn’t play a jammed packed, sold out show, but I had never experienced what I consider for a “random” concert. Like I mentioned before, I hadn’t been to a concert in awhile so I went on Lincoln Hall’s website and stumbled upon these guys. I checked them out on Spotify, reached out to my sorority sister and BAM. My concert drought was over. Despite it being one of the coldest nights Chicago has had, we pulled through like the #Rockstars we are. As we sat eating and talking about our life’s shenanigans we both noticed when the second opening started mixing, he goes by the name of Tommy Ruffingers. Think of his style as hop-hop meets reggae sprinkled with some Chicago House and even Chicago Juke.

We stuck around the venue for a bit and unexpectedly met the opening acts including Tommy and LWKY. I was so surprised by all of their cool and chill vibe, and more so by LWKY’s approachability and their genuineness. We idolize and glamorize all these Hollywood celebrities that we tend to forget, “Hey, you’re a person just like me.” LWKY’s humbleness shined through was they eagerly discussed their musical background and excitement at having just wrapped up their show. Sometimes these local artists are happyjust performing, making music getting that adrenaline rush from being on stage. Of course I would LOVE to meet the more “well known” artists I’ve seen in the past like Phantogram (anyone who knows me, knows i hear them hahaha), but meeting these guys was definitely a unique experience. Sometimes seeing artists as they are starting out is just as awesome as seeing them when they’re packing arenas. So LWKY whatever your aspirations may be, I wish you all the best and keep at it. Music isn’t made to be heard but felt—think about that for a minute.

LWKY, I’ll see you at Lolla one day! (if that’s your cup of tea 😉 and Lincoln Hall I’ll be back in March for Cashmere Cat!