I’m getting ready to head out the door and induce a music coma at North Coast Festival but before I do let’s talk about some of the fun stuff going on around town this long weekend:

First up is Brighton Park Fest. Starting tomorrow you can head out to Archer Ave (between Sacramento & Kedzie) for food, rides and 2 stages of live music featuring local acts: [.DESCARGA.] (my favorite latin alternative band), Maladicto, Legion, Soul Pollution, Maria Blues Trio, the lovely La Gitana, Malafacha and DJs Angelfuk and Nando to name just a few.  Descarga’s very own Jose Calvo says, “people should come out and enjoy this festival because it’s something special for the community, there are few festivals like this in the city that celebrate latino unity, but the number of them is growin! So come out and enjoy the food, the rides, the arts, and the music, which will be awesome because the line ups are made up of talented local latino bands. I am very honored to be part of this great festival.”

Also, don’t forget that last weekend’s featured girl crush, Rita J will be at Schuba’s Saturday night with Bumpus.

Jazz Fest returns to Grant Park and the always awesome Chuchito Valdez goes on Saturday at 5.

Lastly, the inaugural run of Joyous Outdoor Event (J.O.E.) kicks off at South Belmont Harbor this weekend featuring a main stage ‘curated’ by the Metro and Smart Bar and will include hometown rocks The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir Saturday at 7p.  A $15 ticket gets you all day general admission, for $25 you get all day access plus entrance to that evening’s main stage.  You can get the full schedule and more info HERE.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend! Check back for North Coast recaps, follow me on Twitter for live updates and check out the Facebook page for more photos and video.

“]”]I’ve been dying to see [.DESCARGA.] live for some time.  Knowing a couple of the band members from E>N>E I was curious to see what they’re like live and what they sound like.  Despite the fact I arrived a little late and missed their first song, [.DESCARGA.] fucking rocked it last night which is too bad because I was ready to go and heckle a bitch. I had to just hang out and enjoy the music. They put their foot up in it at Tiger O’Stylies.  How good were they? I bought merch. I never buy merch unless I’m ready to worship at the band’s feet so there you go. Next show is June 4 at Zocalo.

“]”] 

goodness”] goodness”] 

Busy weekend and lots of shows worth checking out, I’m plugging a couple:

Tonight our friends Skamorfosis and Malafacha along with Felipe Galvan, Jah Cantors and LVDP will be at Q4 starting at 8PM. Rumor is the first 20 people get free beer. Rumor is but you know where there’s smoke…

Tomorrow you can hang out with me at the E>N>E Chicago Rocks taping at Tiger O’Stylies in Berwyn and that gets going from 6-8PM.