In Tall Buildings frontman Erik Hall grew up in Chicago among sky scrapers, the L, and Lake Michigan. He has studied classical piano, played guitar in rock bands and percussion in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and studied jazz and sound recording at the University of Michigan School of Music. He is a founding member of the afrobeat band NOMO and has recorded and toured with His Name Is Alive and Saturday Looks Good to Me.
In 2009, Erik completed work on his first batch of original songs and named the project In Tall Buildings. His debut album was released in 2010 on Chicago’s Whistler Records, and the Chicago Tribune immediately praised the music as being “dense, textured, [and] hypnotic.” American Songwriter magazine referred to In Tall Buildings as “the aural representation of a pleasantly scattered mind,” and The Huffington Post included In Tall Buildings on their Best of Chicago 2010 list.
Erik spent 2010 bringing In Tall Buildings to stages throughout Chicago and beyond. The live band calls upon NOMO drummer and longtime collaborator, Quin Kirchner, and bassist/composer Matt Ulery (Eastern Blok, Matt Ulery’s Loom). The trio delivers an apt distillation of Erik’s songs’ most defining elements, and they have shared stages with NOMO, Sharon Van Etten, and The Rural Alberta Advantage.
The Arts of Life Band is an ongoing collaborative project between disabled and non-disabled artists in the Chicago area. Artistic Director Ryan Shuquem says he is overjoyed by the response the Arts of Life band has received: “This my favorite band to play with. The artists, local musicians involved, and the fans always have such a blast watching and being part of this experience. It’s truly a pleasure, and the songs are fun, catchy, and they rock too.”
Since 2001, the members of Fandanguero have interpreted Son Jarocho, a 350 year-old genre originating in Veracruz, Mexico. Represented by Gypsy/Spanish-influenced guitars, African drumming and the mysticism of the Mexican indigenous tradition, Fandanguero recreates this colorful performance where the audience is part of the Fandango, a musical gathering. The group plays the traditional acoustic instruments from the Veracruz region: jarana, requinto, and quijada de burro (donkey jaw), while interweaving several rhythms from Cuban son to Afro-Peruvian festejo, along with a touch of samba and flamenco.
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