Pride Parade 6/8/25 – Aurora

June 9, 2025 | bmarruffo

Huge thanks to everyone who showed up and showed out at the Aurora Pride Parade on 6/8/25! Your energy was brighter than our glitter and louder than our sound system (and that’s saying something). Whether you marched, danced, or just cheered your heart out—you made it unforgettable. See you next year, same time, even more fabulous!

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6.8.2025 History Of Alternative

June 8, 2025 | bphillips

Hour 1 – 8A

  • Stiff Little Fingers – Alternative Ulster
  • Radiohead – There There
  • Nirvana – On A Plain
  • Missing Persons – Destination Unknown
  • Death Cab For Cutie – Northern Lights
  • Lush – Ladykillers
  • They Might Be Giants – Ana Ng
  • Oasis – Supersonic
  • Smash Mouth – All Star
  • The Pretenders – Middle Of The Road
  • The Replacements – I’ll Be You
  • The Kooks – Naive
  • The Cure – Love Cats

Hour 2 – 9A

  • Blondie – Dreaming
  • Nine Inch Nails – Only
  • Alice In Chains – Again
  • New Order – Age Of Consent
  • Hole – Violet
  • Coldplay – Fix You
  • The Pixies – Debaser
  • OK Go – Get Over It
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers – Parallel Universe
  • The Clash – The Guns Of Brixton
  • Soho – Hippychick
  • New Found Glory – My Friends Over You
  • Blur – There’s No Other Way

Hour 3 – 10A

  • Dead Milkmen – Punk Rock Girl
  • Velvet Revolver – Fall To Pieces
  • Garbage – Push It
  • The Mighty Lemon Drops – Inside Out
  • The Gaslight Anthem – 45
  • Letters To Cleo – Here And Now
  • Depeche Mode – Never Let Me Down Again
  • Failure – Stuck On You
  • My Chemical Romance – I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
  • Concrete Blonde – Joey
  • Rise Against – Give It All
  • Violent Femmes – Gone Daddy Gone
  • Smashing Pumpkins – Perfect

Hour 4 – 11A

  • The Smiths – Panic
  • The White Stripes – Blue Orchid
  • Third Eye Blind – Graduate
  • Siouxsie And The Banshees – Kiss Them For Me
  • Blink-182 – I Miss You
  • The Refreshments – Banditos
  • The The – This Is The Day
  • Phantogram – Fall In Love
  • Stone Temple Pilots – Vasoline
  • Killing Joke – Eighties
  • Korn – Got The Life
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Y Control

Talking Heads release video for “Psycho Killer” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first concert

June 6, 2025 | bphillips

BADFLOWER Pop-Up

June 5, 2025 | ZSpang

Meet and Greet with MCP CHICAGO Rescue & Outreach

BADFLOWER

SCHOOL OF ROCK

FLOWERBABE

Photos/ Zach Spangler

Leaked audio of Oasis rehearsal acquired by The Sun

June 5, 2025 | clowe

Let’s get ready, boys. Oasis Summer is upon us and UK outlet The Sun has acquired leaked audio of Oasis rehearsing and playing together for the first time in 16 years. The last time we heard the Gallagher Brothers sing together was at the V Festival in 2009. Now, they’re back, and they sound incredible.

We’re only 84 days away from Oasis storming Soldier Field.

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Popeyes comes for rival fast food competitor with new chicken wraps

June 3, 2025 | clowe

With McDonald’s on the brink of bringing back Snack Wraps, Popeyes has entered themselves into the Chicken Wrap Wars. On June 2, Popeyes is adding three new Chicken Wraps to its menu. The wraps are available in Classic, Spicy, and Honey Mustard and are made with crispy chicken strips, lettuce, shredded cheese, and pickles in a warm tortilla the chain says is inspired by the flavors of its iconic biscuit. The Classic Wrap features traditional mayo, the Spicy Wrap gets a kick from spicy mayo, and the Honey Mustard Wrap features sweet honey mustard.

The wraps will be $3.99 starting tomorrow.

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6.1.2025 History Of Alternative

June 1, 2025 | bphillips

Hour 1 – 8A

  • CIV – Can’t Wait One Minute More
  • Snow Patrol – Run
  • Garbage – When I Grow Up
  • Talking Heads – This Must Be The Place
  • Muse – Resistance
  • Belly – Feed The Tree
  • R.E.M. – Finest Worksong
  • Good Charlotte – Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous
  • Smashing Pumpkins – Ava Adore
  • Devo – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
  • Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor
  • Veruca Salt – Volcano Girls
  • Nirvana – Lake Of Fire (MTV Unplugged)

Hour 2 – 9A

  • Flesh For Lulu – Postcards From Paradise
  • Silversun Pickups – Substitution
  • Jane’s Addiction – Stop!
  • Psychedelic Furs – The Ghost In You
  • Tegan And Sara – Walking With A Ghost
  • 311 – Come Original
  • Split Enz – I Got You
  • Cherry Poppin’ Daddies – Zoot Suit Riot
  • The Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray
  • XTC – Dear God
  • No Doubt – Excuse Me Mr.
  • Kings Of Leon – Molly’s Chambers
  • Morrissey – Suedehead

Hour 3 – 10A

  • Weezer – Troublemaker
  • The Cranberries – Free To Decide
  • Beastie Boys – Sure Shot
  • Tears For Fears – Mad World
  • The Strokes – Hard To Explain
  • Bjork – Army Of Me
  • The Smithereens – A Girl Like You
  • Sir Sly – &Run
  • Sublime – Badfish
  • The Pretenders – Don’t Get Me Wrong
  • Against Me! – I Was A Teenage Anarchist
  • Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Impression That I Get
  • Bob Marley & The Wailers – Three Little Birds

Hour 4 – 11A

  • Bad Religion – 21st Century (Digital Boy)
  • The Temper Trap – Fader
  • Pearl Jam – Given To Fly
  • Yaz – Don’t Go
  • Lorde – Green Light
  • Local H – All The Kids Are Right
  • Iggy Pop & Kate Pierson – Candy
  • Hot Hot Heat – Bandages
  • Blink-182 – Adam’s Song
  • Berlin – No More Words
  • The Offspring – Days Go By
  • Baz Luhrmann – Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

5.25.2025 History Of Alternative

May 25, 2025 | bphillips

Hour 1 – 8A

  • The Undertones – Here Comes The Summer
  • Travis – Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
  • Pearl Jam – Corduroy
  • The English Beat – Save It For Later
  • Cage The Elephant – In One Ear
  • Hole – Malibu
  • Depeche Mode – People Are People
  • Alkaline Trio – Mercy Me
  • Soundgarden – Burden In My Hand
  • Gang Of Four – I Love A Man In A Uniform
  • Violent Femmes – American Music
  • Phantogram – You Don’t Get Me High Anymore
  • The White Stripes – We’re Going To Be Friends

Hour 2 – 9A

  • The Go-Go’s – Vacation
  • Weezer – The Good Life
  • Incubus – Stellar
  • A Flock Of Seagulls – Space Age Love Song
  • Bleachers – I Wanna Get Better
  • The Breeders – Cannonball
  • The Smiths – Ask
  • Lo Fidelity All-Stars – Battle Flag
  • Radiohead – Paranoid Android
  • The Clash – I Fought The Law
  • Evanescence – Going Under
  • Fountains Of Wayne – It Must Be Summer
  • U2 – The Fly

Hour 3 – 10A

  • The Cure – Why Can’t I Be You?
  • A Perfect Circle – 3 Libras
  • Sponge – Molly
  • Missing Persons – Words
  • Beastie Boys – Body Movin’
  • The Von Bondies – C’Mon C’Mon
  • Psychedelic Furs – Love My Way
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll
  • Smashing Pumpkins – Rhinoceros
  • The Pretenders – Talk Of The Town
  • Jimmy Eat World – Pain
  • The Eels – Novocaine For The Soul
  • Nine Inch Nails – Down In It

Hour 4 – 11A

  • The Offspring – All I Want
  • Phoenix – Lisztomania
  • Nirvana – Breed
  • The La’s – There She Goes
  • Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls
  • Urge Overkill – Sister Havana
  • Talking Heads – Life During Wartime
  • Rilo Kiley – Portions For Foxes
  • Green Day – Hitchin’ A Ride
  • Oingo Boingo – We Close Our Eyes
  • Paramore – crushcrushcrush
  • Public Image LTD. – Rise

5.18.2025 History Of Alternative

May 18, 2025 | bphillips

Hour 1 – 8A

  • Fugazi – Waiting Room
  • The National – Mistaken For Strangers
  • Beastie Boys – Sure Shot
  • O.M.D. – So In Love
  • Garbage – Vow
  • Queens Of The Stone Age – Go With The Flow
  • Siouxsie And The Banshees – Peek-A-Boo
  • Passion Pit – The Reeling
  • Green Day – Nice Guys Finish Last
  • Haircut 100 – Love Plus One
  • Alice Merton – No Roots
  • 311 – Don’t Stay Home
  • R.E.M. – Strange Currencies

Hour 2 – 9A

  • The Ramones – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
  • The Ataris – In This Diary
  • Smashing Pumpkins – I Am One
  • Love And Rockets – No New Tale To Tell
  • Our Lady Peace – Clumsy
  • The Ting Tings – Shut Up And Let Me Go
  • The Smithereens – Only A Memory
  • L7 – Pretend We’re Dead
  • Foo Fighters – Walking After You
  • Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone
  • Cake – No Phone
  • James – Born Of Frustration
  • Nirvana – Polly (MTV Unplugged)

Hour 3 – 10A

  • Talking Heads – Road To Nowhere
  • The Black Keys – Tighten Up
  • Jane’s Addiction – Mountain Song
  • The Clash – Lost In The Supermarket
  • Muse – Supermassive Black Hole
  • Morrissey – Tomorrow
  • Berlin – The Metro
  • Blur – Girls And Boys
  • Bad Religion – Infected
  • The Sundays – Summertime
  • Beck – Think I’m In Love
  • Elastica – Stutter
  • The Strokes – 12:51

Hour 4 – 11A

  • Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen
  • Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – What I Am
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers – Knock Me Down
  • The Charlatans UK – The Only One I Know
  • Avril Lavigne – Sk8er Boi
  • Everclear – Everything To Everyone
  • Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
  • The Crystal Method – Busy Child
  • Soundgarden – Pretty Noose
  • The Cure – Fascination Street
  • Tegan And Sara – Speak Slow
  • Soul Coughing – Circles

Riot Fest is turning 20… and throwing the wildest party of the year in Douglass Park.

May 15, 2025 | ZSpang

Riot Fest is turning 20… and throwing the wildest party of the year in Douglass Park and our DAILY LINE UP IS FINALLY HERE!!!

September 19–21, 2025, will go down in the books, and [Q101] will be there in the thick of it.

DON’T MISS! 20 Artists to celebrate 20 years of Riot Fest with full Album Plays! 

  1. WEEZER – THE BLUE ALBUM
  2. SEX PISTOLS – NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS…
  3. ALKALINE TRIO – MAYBE I’LL CATCH FIRE
  4. BAD RELIGION – SUFFER 
  5. THE POGUES – RUM SODOMY & THE LASH
  6. THE HOLD STEADY – SEPARATION SUNDAY
  7. THE ACADEMY IS… – ALMOST HERE
  8. THE FRONT BOTTOMS – BACK ON TOP
  9. KNUCKLE PUCK – COPACETIC
  10. THE BOUNCING SOULS – HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION
  11. SCREECHING WEASEL– MY BRAIN HURTS
  12. HELMET – BETTY
  13. PEGBOY – STRONG REACTION
  14. THE ATARIS – SO LONG, ASTORIA
  15. AGNOSTIC FRONT – VICTIM IN PAIN
  16. SMOKING POPES – BORN TO QUIT
  17. THE EFFIGIES – FOR EVER GROUNDED
  18. SAMIAM – ASTRAY
  19. AGENT ORANGE – LIVING IN DARKNESS
  20. ZERO BOYS – VICIOUS CIRCLE

The Lineup? Unreal.
Get this: Green Day. blink-182. Jack White. Weezer.
Add in the return of the Sex Pistols (with Frank Carter!), Rilo Kiley, The Pogues, Alkaline Trio, The Beach Boys, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Sparks, Bad Religion, and more, and you’ve got yourself a festival for the
history books.

This isn’t just a festival. It’s a full-blown experience.
From full-album performances to carnival rides, on-site weddings at RiotLand Chapel, free arcade games, and the kind of misfit energy you only get in Chicago—Riot Fest has always been the place where alternative lives loudest. 2025? It’s cranked to 11.

[Q101] has been your home for everything alternative for decades—and Riot Fest is one of those rare moments where it all comes together: the bands you grew up on, the ones you mosh to now, and the ones your kids will scream about in 10 years.

Don’t sleep on this.
3-day GA passes are on sale now, and they’re going fast. VIP and Deluxe upgrades are your move if you want air-conditioned lounges and exclusive views.

We’ll be LIVE from the fest, talking to artists, giving away exclusive merch, and helping to celebrate two decades of chaos, music, and community.

🎟️ Get your tickets HERE and join the mayhem!

Keep it locked on [Q101] for Riot Fest updates, artist interviews, and ticket drops.


This is Chicago. This is Alternative. This is RIOT FEST 2025.

Season 4 of ‘The Bear’ hits Hulu on June 25

May 14, 2025 | clowe

The Bear is back and 10 new episodes are hitting Hulu in just over a month. On Tuesday morning, Variety reported that not only will the show return, but that like always, all 10 episodes of the new season will drop at once. Season 4 was filmed during the same time period as Season 3, which hit streamers last summer.

Be on the lookout at 7:00pm on on Wednesday, June 25 for new episode of Chicago’s greatest show.

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Aisle 101

May 13, 2025 | ZSpang

We had such a blast! Congrats to Anna and Erik!

Thank you to all our vendors who helped us make this happen!

Be sure to follow them all on instagram here:

The Venue @thehaight
Ceremony acoustic music from @willard_wilcox
Wedding cake by @delishcakes630
Gown from @TheGownsForGood
Suit from @suitshopofficial
Linens and such from @Windycitylinens
Fantastic catering by @unclebubsbbq
Beverages provided by @dontforgetthebar
Wedding photos from @thestilllifephotos
Beautiful floral arrangements by @eventsbytcg
Bride Hair & Makeup @SLTMakeupArtistry

Photos by Nicole Vega and Zach Spangler

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