And you thought music festival previews were done for the summer, didn’t you? Not by a long shot seeing how tomorrow begins the inaugural North Coast Music Festival in Chicago’s Union Park. This festival, unlike Pitchfork Music Festival or Lollapalooza, focuses on music genres that are usually put on the backburner such as jam band, Hip-Hop and electronic music. Did we mention the number of awesome local acts that will also be rockin’ out? (Like the always awesome Loyal Divide?)

Anyway, as per usual, we’re not going to sit here and talk every band on the lineup, and we don’t think you’d be too into that either. Therefore, we’re highlighting our picks for the can’t miss acts at the festival. So, let’s get to it, eh? This is your Loud Loop Press North Coast Music Festival Preview…

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Loyal Divide | Photo By Jason Harper

“Take Five” is a new interview series that will focus on Chicago’s ever-growing music scene by giving you insight on the city’s best local acts via the best source possible: the acts themselves. We ask five questions, and they give five answers. Here is the second installment featuring Loyal Divide.

Chicago-via-Columbus, Ohio psych-pop outfit Loyal Divide have been making quite a name for themselves in the windy city’s eclectic rock scene over the past year. Not only with their fun, high-energy live shows, but the violent, stick-figure video they released just this past may for their dark, electro-funk track “Vision Vision” took the blogosphere by storm. Now, they’re getting ready for the inaugural North Coast Music Festival, set for Union Park this September 3 – 5, and luckily we caught up with Loyal Divide bassist and songwriter Adam Johnson to talk about the festival, the status of their upcoming album and that crazy “Vision Vision” video.

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It’s is a little after midnight on Friday, August 20. The Bears of Blue River, followed by Canasta – both extremely talented Chicago bands – just finish a pair of inspired sets at Lincoln Avenue’s finest cheese-and-noodle-serving musical establishment, Lincoln Hall.

Now, with four horn-playing musicians crammed onto stage left and four additional violin-clad musicians in reserve, things are about to get serious. Two guys with music composition degrees from Eastern Illinois University and two other rhythmically-inclined gentlemen who comprise the Champaign-Urbana-based headliner, Elsinore, position themselves on stage to celebrate the release of their new record Yes, Yes, Yes. Three powerful songs into the set , Ryan Groff, the band’s front man, lays down a most unlikely and awesome line to a crowd of about 350:

“We love you guys like the Beastie Boys loved their fans in the 90s.”

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Melodic dance-rockers Metric work hard and play hard.

Since self-releasing their acclaimed 2009 album “Fantasies,” the members of Metric (singer Emily Haines, guitarist James Shaw, bassist Josh Winstead, and drummer Joules Scott-Key) have been locked on a speeding train of touring and press junkets. Yet, somehow the band takes comfort in festival gigs and the hope of someday getting back into the studio.

With the digital age encouraging artists to shed record label dead weight and go their own way, Metric decided that the timing just made sense when it came to self-releasing “Fantasies.”

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Lollapalooza is back and bigger than ever with an eclectic set of headliners that ranges from the post-Madonna, dancehall pop of Lady Gaga to reunited Seattle grungers Soundgarden to the unbridled anthems of indie rock saviors Arcade Fire. But of course, you probably are familiar with those groups. So, we decided on keying you in on some of our favorites who play the other eight hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Get ready, Chicago. Here’s your Loud Loop Press Lollapalooza 2010 preview…

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National Pastime Theatre's The Living Canvas

Every July, Chicago’s small independent theatre company, the National Pastime Theatre, throw a festival celebrating nudity known as Naked July. The festival is usually comprised of three or four shows, this year’s being The Emperor’s New Clothes, Eros, The Living Canvas and The Tumultuous Tale of the Tragically Transparent Tunic, all of which have one common thread – the actors get naked. However, this year’s Naked July shows also featured original scores dubbed “naked music” by company’s production crew. What’s naked music, you ask? Naked July composers Matt Channing and Justin Blackburn explain the challenge behind creating music that fit the theme.

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Photo by Drew Reynolds

“Take Five” is a new interview series that will focus on Chicago’s ever-growing music scene by giving you insight on the city’s best local acts via the best source possible: the acts themselves. We ask five questions, and they give five answers. Here is the first installment featuring Chicago’s own Netherfriends

Netherfriends have been busy as of late with an ambitious “50 Songs in 50 States Tour” in which the Shawn Rosenblatt-lead indie, psych pop act are trying to play in all 50 states in one year. Additionally, they’re working to promote a brand new digital-only LP titled Barry and Sherry, and they’ve just released a video for the Barry and Sherry track “Brett Easton Ellis Novel”. Most impressive is how they’ve done all of this with no record label. Luckily, we found some time in Rosenblatt’s busy schedule for an interview the afternoon after his incredible opening performance to Pitchfork Music Fest’s hot and sweaty Saturday.

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