Rush Hour Music with Matt Cantlon at the Chicago French Market

Thursday, September 19
Rush Hour Music
4-7 p.m.
Matt Cantlon

Chicago musician Matt Cantlon has been playing guitar and singing for more than 20 years.  In addition to doing solo acoustic gigs, he also plays in the popular duo The Acoustic Generation. Matt averages about 200 live gigs a year and when he’s not performing, he’s busy writing songs. Matt’s song list is quite extensive and includes classic from many different genres. Rock, Country and Pop are just some of the types of music that Matt play on a regular basis.

Lunch Hour Music with Sipos and Rachel Young at the Chicago French Market

Wednesday, September 11
Lunch Hour Music
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sipos and Rachel Young

Chris Sipos and Rachel Young play acoustic music for the discerning listener. They delve into a multitude of genres ranging from upscale, in-vogue intonations to folk songs as haunting as the most ancient mountain hollow. A smoky jazz ballad sits beside a driving Johnny Cash-June Carter cover, while superb originals by Sipos are regularly stirred into the mix.  The duo is appealing and enjoyable on a number of levels, soothing the audience with eclectic covers, and then slowly drawing it into deeper poetic waters.

The virtuoso guitar capabilities of Chris Sipos provide superb tempo and temperament for every intricately arranged offering in the pair’s songbook. Classically trained Rachel’s celestial singing style offers the perfect vehicle for the duo’s penchant toward music that shines a light on life’s ever-changing spectrum of emotions.

Together Sipos and Young are proof positive that musical entertainment can communicate spirit and essence in a single wallop.

Thursday, June 27 Rush Hour Music With Lee Barrie at the Chicago French Market

Thursday, June 27 Rush Hour Music – Lee Barrie
4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Complimentary

Lee Alec Barrie is a contemporary jazz guitarist whose style has been compared to Larry Carlton,
Chuck Loeb and other popular contemporary jazz guitarists.  Barrie was professional by age 14, starting out with a teenage rock band, playing Beatles, Beach Boys and Chuck Berry tunes plus some classic R&B.

These early musical relationships lasted well into his twenties and he had the privilege of recording with Lipps Inc., a Minneapolis-based band best known most for its number one hit “Funkytown” in the late 70’s. Barrie’s evolution as a guitarist was accelerated when he began to experiment with a Roland guitar synthesizer, which allows his electric guitar to take on the sound of a wide range of instruments. He now has the opportunity to solo as a saxophonist, flutist, organist, violinist and many others, all while playing on the guitar. He chooses the instrument based on the style and mood of the song.

Barrie’s idea for a “virtual band project”—whereby he plays solo over his pre-recorded jazz backing tracks—evolved naturally. Having taken a break from professional performances for a number of years, he became a self-taught jazz pianist, which gave him the technical and musical skills to arrange and record his own instrumental backing tracks at his home recording studio.

A rush hour featuring the live music of Lee Alec Barrie, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 27 is sure to be an energizing and memorable experience.

Make Music Chicago at the Chicago French Market

Friday, June 21 Make Music Chicago
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Complimentary

Make Music Chicago is a live, complimentary musical celebration across the city that takes place each June 21. Throughout the day, people of all ages and from all backgrounds – beginners, amateurs, professionals, and marquee artists – gather in Chicago’s public spaces to make music of all genres. Make Music Chicago comes to the Chicago French Market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stop by and enjoy the sound.