Tim mentions how a lot of places, including the Old Town School of Folk Music, are helping Chicago become a city where it’s possible to be a working musician as well as married and part of the middle class. How do venues balance their need to draw a crowd (and pay their bills) with the desire to foster up-and-coming musicians? The panel agrees that Chicago supports a great array of artists, both big names and small, and has venues to match.

Featured Music:
The Wee Hairy Beasties, “Cyril, the Karaoke Squirrel,” performed live on Hello Beautiful! October 9, 2005
Billy Branch, “It’s a Crazy Mixed Up World” Satisfy Me (House of Blues, 1999)
The Lonesome Organist, “The Robot Fugue,” Forms and Follies (Thrill Jockey, 2003)
Asmina, “Wambeya,” The New Voice of Mombasa (Jahazi Media, 2005)
Edith Frost, “Lucky Charm,” It’s a Game, (Drag City, 2005) 
Euphone, “Red, Blue, Yellow,” Digest (Hefty Records, 1997)
Fareed Haque Group, “Gulab Jammin,” Cosmic Hug (Magnatude Records, 2005)