Square Roots Festival
Sunday, July 12 at 12:15 PM
Day 3 of 3 · Sunday, July 12
Lineup
The Lone Bellow
The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from Brooklyn that began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams. In early 2016 the band members relocated to Nashville. Then Came the Morning, the second album by the Southern-born, Brooklyn-based indie-folk trio the Lone Bellow, opens with a crest of churchly piano, a… The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from Brooklyn that began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams. In early 2016 the band members relocated to Nashville. Then Came the Morning, the second album by the Southern-born, Brooklyn-based indie-folk trio the Lone Bellow, opens with a crest of churchly piano, a patter of drums, and a fanfare of voices harmonizing like a sunrise. It’s a powerful introduction, enormous and overwhelming, as Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, and Kanene Pipkin testify mightily to life’s great struggles and joys, heralding the morning that dispels the dark night: “Then came the morning! It was bright, like the light that you kept from your smile!” Working with producer Aaron Dessner of the National, the Lone Bellow has created a sound that mixes folk sincerity, gospel fervor, even heavy metal thunder, but the heart of the band is harmony: three voices united in a lone bellow. "The feeling I get singing with Zach and Brian is completely natural and wholly electrifying,” says Kanene. “Our voices feel like they were made to sing together." Long before they combined their voices, the three members of the Lone Bellow were singing on their own. Brian had been writing and recording as a solo artist for more than a decade, with three albums under his own name. Kanene and her husband Jason were living in Beijing, China, hosting open mic nights, playing at local clubs and teaching music lessons. Zach began writing songs in the wake of a family tragedy: After his wife was thrown from a horse, he spent days in the hospital at her bedside, bracing for the worst news. The journal he kept during this period would eventually become his first batch of songs as a solo artist. Happily, his wife made a full recovery. When Kanene’s brother asked her and Zach to sing “O Happy Day” together at his wedding, they discovered their voices fit together beautifully, but starting a band together seemed impossible when they lived on opposite sides of the world. Brian soon relocated to New York and Kanene moved there to attend culinary school a couple years later. The three got together in their new hometown to work on a few songs of Zach’s, he’d been chipping away at the scene as a solo artist for awhile by then. After hitting those first harmonies did they decide to abandon all other pursuits. Soon the trio was playing all over the city, although they considered Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side to be their home. They opened for the Civil Wars, Dwight Yokam, Brandi Carlile and the Avett Brothers, and their self-titled debut, produced by Nashville’s Charlie Peacock (the Civil Wars, Holly Williams) and released in January 2013, established them as one of the boldest new acts in the Americana movement. After two hard years of constant touring, the band was exhausted but excited. By 2014, they had written nearly 40 songs on the road and were eager to get them down on tape. After putting together a list of dream producers, they reached out to their first choice, the National guitarist Aaron Dessner, who has helmed albums by the L.A. indie-rock group Local Natives and New York singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. “It occurred to me that it would be fun to get together and make music with them,” says Aaron. “My main interest in producing records is community and friendship more than making money. I already do a lot of traveling and working with the National, so when I have to time to work with other artists, it should be fun and meaningful.” “Aaron is just so kind,” Zach says. “And he has surrounded himself with all these incredibly talented people, like Jonathan Low, the engineer. His brother Bryce [Dessner, also a guitarist for the National] wrote these amazing brass and string arrangements, and he got some of his friends to play with us.” Dessner and the Lone Bellow spent two weeks recording at Dreamland in upstate New York, a nineteenth-century church that had been converted into a homey studio. The singers found the space to inspire the emotional gravity necessary for the material and the acoustics they were looking for. (For Kanene, Dreamland had one other bonus: “I’m a big Muppets fan, and it looks exactly like the church where Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem lived.”) Aaron set them up in a circle in what had once been the sanctuary, with microphones hanging in the rafters to capture the sound of their voices bleeding together. Most of the vocals were recorded in single takes, a tactic that adds urgency to songs like “Heaven Don’t Call Me Home” and “If You Don’t Love Me.” “There were a couple of times when somebody sang the wrong word or hit a bad note, and we just had to keep going,” says Zach, who says that recording “Marietta” in particular was daunting—especially the moment near the end when he hits an anguished high note, bends it even higher, and holds it for an impossibly long time. It’s a startling display of vocal range, but it’s also almost unbearably raw in its emotional honesty. “‘Marietta’ is probably the darkest song on the whole record,” Zach explains, “and it’s based on something that happened between my wife and me. The band was getting ready to record that song when all of a sudden my wife showed up with our youngest baby. It was a great surprise, a beautiful moment. So I was able to go out and sing that song, knowing she was there to help me carry the moment.” “These are true stories,” says Brian. “These aren’t things we made up. We tried to write some songs that had nothing to do with our personal stories, but we just didn’t respond to them. But we’re best buds, so we know each others’ personal stuff and trust each other to figure out what needs to be said and how to say it.” Case in point: Brian wrote “Call to War” about his own struggles during his twenties, but gave the song to Kanene to sing. “The content is painful and brutal,” she says, “but the imagery, the vocals, they build something delicate and ethereal. That kind of contrast illuminates the true beauty and power of a song.” Says Brian, “We do this one thing together, and we carry each other. Hopefully that makes the listener want to be a part of it. It becomes a communal thing, which means that there’s never a sad song to sing. It’s more a celebration of the light and the dark.” -Descendant Records . Read moreShow less
Natalie Bergman
Natalie Bergman is an American singer-songwriter. She is one half of the duo Wild Belle, along with her brother Elliot Bergman. Her debut solo album, Mercy, was released on Third Man Records on May 7, 2021. Her second solo album, My Home Is Not in This World, was released on Third Man Records on July 18, 2025. She is b… Natalie Bergman is an American singer-songwriter. She is one half of the duo Wild Belle, along with her brother Elliot Bergman. Her debut solo album, Mercy, was released on Third Man Records on May 7, 2021. Her second solo album, My Home Is Not in This World, was released on Third Man Records on July 18, 2025. She is based in Los Angeles. Read moreShow less
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Carnival Parade
Le Winston Band
Le Winston Band is a Montréal zydeco quintet formed in 2012, blending French-Canadian and Louisiana Cajun traditions. Their 2019 album *Zig Zag Zydeco Zoo* earned ADISQ and GAMIQ nominations for best world music album.
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Groove Time Trio
Heartless Bastards
Heartless Bastards is an American garage rock band formed in Ohio in 2003. The bands' story starts in Dayton, Ohio, where Wennerstrom found the name on a multiple choice video trivia game at a bar. As a songwriting teenager during a time when Guided by Voices and Brainiac were packing local bars and three of the Bree… Heartless Bastards is an American garage rock band formed in Ohio in 2003. The bands' story starts in Dayton, Ohio, where Wennerstrom found the name on a multiple choice video trivia game at a bar. As a songwriting teenager during a time when Guided by Voices and Brainiac were packing local bars and three of the Breeders were still in town, Wennerstrom used to sneak into clubs to check out the scene. "I would just see those people—my music heroes—hanging out at the bar like everyone else," she remembers. "I could see myself in them. It gave me inspiration to do my own thing." After doing the usual business of playing local shows, the trio set out the following year on a regional tour. One of the first gigs of the trip took them to a bar in Akron, where the Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney just happened to be one of only a handful of people in the audience. This chance encounter led Wennerstrom and the Heartless Bastards to Fat Possum Records, with whom they released their debut, Stairs and Elevators, in early 2005. The band moved on with critical praise in their back pocket, including a four-and-a-half star review from Rolling Stone, which took note that, when Wennerstrom “opens her throat on Stairs and Elevators … she sounds like she’s wailing on the shoulders of giants; her sad and angry vocals channeling all the swagger and spit of a young Robert Plant” By whatever yardstick you care to measure, it was high time for Erika to get out of Dayton. In true ascetic discipline, she moved to Austin, Texas in 2007 for a change of inspirational scenery and a new recording project. With the help of producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead), she assembled a group of musicians with whom she gave the songs life and uncovered yet another layer of Wennerstrom and the Heartless Bastards. Two of the new Bastards aren’t Texas ringers, but fellow Dayton brethren Dave Colvin on drums, and Jesse Ebaugh on bass, who actually played on the original demo that hooked Fat Possum, throw in one Austin native on guitar, Mark Nathan and you’ve got a new unstoppable force that “Take the stage and literally knock everybody down” – NY Times review of the Bastards SxSW record release performance. The Decemberists’ guitarist Chris Funk said, "It's been a few years since I've had a voice on repeat in my mind. This voice seems to arrive in my ears while sound checking, often before the shows on a pre-show play list and after shows too -- the songs are just perfect and the band has found their spots behind this incredible woman. A unique and enduring artist arrived into our world once again." The album, entitled The Mountain, (released February 2009) delivers the powerful howl that fans expect from the Heartless Bastards, but also weaves in adventure with mandolins, banjos, strings and Erika’s transcendent voice. Brimming with confidence and creativity, The album Arrow (released February 2012) sees Heartless Bastards pushing their distinctive sound forward with their most eclectic, energetic collection thus far. The album – the Austin, Texas-based band’s first release with Partisan Records – is marked as ever by singer/guitarist/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom’s remarkable voice, at turns primal and pleading, heartfelt and heroic. Songs like “Parted Ways” and the searing “Low Low Low” expertly capture the Bastards’ multi-dimensional rock in all its strength and spirit. Following upon the difficult introspection of 2009′s acclaimed third album, The Mountain, Arrow stands as a powerhouse new beginning for Heartless Bastards. “The Mountain was me going through some things after being in a relationship for nine years,” Wennerstrom says. ”This album is kind of like me being comfortable again.” Read moreShow less
The Ike Reilly Assassination
If you're looking for glossy pop, this ain't it. Ike and his Assassination reel off "real-rock", tune after tune. Lyrically rough and sharp, but poignant and intellectual. If you like fun, witty, and sometimes coarse (yet still smart) harder alt. rock, then this is your ticket to paradise. Crack open a beer with a few… If you're looking for glossy pop, this ain't it. Ike and his Assassination reel off "real-rock", tune after tune. Lyrically rough and sharp, but poignant and intellectual. If you like fun, witty, and sometimes coarse (yet still smart) harder alt. rock, then this is your ticket to paradise. Crack open a beer with a few friends and enjoy. Read moreShow less
Radio Free Honduras
Radio Free Honduras is a Chicago-based Latin folk-rock collective founded in 2011, built around Honduran guitarist and songwriter Charlie Baran, releasing their debut self-titled album in 2014.
Hannah Frey
Hannah Frey is a Chicago-based indie folk-rock singer-songwriter who moved to the city in 2021 and released her second full-length album, Lucky Girl.
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Karaoke with Jackie Jasperson
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Summertime Beatles Songbag with Tommi Zender & Tom Ryan
Summertime Beatles Songbag is a seasonal Beatles sing-along workshop hosted by Chicago multi-instrumentalist Tommi Zender, featuring collaborator Tom Ryan, held at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
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String Band Ensemble Performance & Jam
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Teen Showcase with Lizzie and the Deeds and Girls on Film
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Second Half
This text copied from their site with Ed's approval. Four. Three. Two. Four. This is the count that has led the Cleveland-based band 2nd Half’s founding members, Ed Gandolf and Drew Scalero, to the present day. 2nd Half began as a four-piece band in 1997, but over the course of the next half-decade this number dwindl… This text copied from their site with Ed's approval. Four. Three. Two. Four. This is the count that has led the Cleveland-based band 2nd Half’s founding members, Ed Gandolf and Drew Scalero, to the present day. 2nd Half began as a four-piece band in 1997, but over the course of the next half-decade this number dwindled as the band parted ways with their rhythm guitar player and bassist. As the only two original members remaining, Gandolf (vocals, guitar) and Scalero (drums) were faced with a critical decision; carry on or start over. Whereas most would succumb to the overwhelming pressure of such a desperate situation, in 2002 Gandolf and Scalero made a bold move in deciding to continue 2nd Half as a two-piece act. One year later, the duo proved to the skeptics that they had made the right decision by releasing their first record “Now it’s Real” (2003) with the help of long-time friend/producer Ben Schigel (Spider Studios), and taking their live performance to a new level with the incorporation of new audio and visual elements unlike any that Cleveland’s local music scene had previously encountered. Beat for beat, frame for frame, and second for second, with each set meticulously planned down to every minute detail, Gandolf and Scalero played countless live performances with the energy and layered soundscapes of a full band. Three years after their first release, Gandolf recorded and produced 2nd Half’s follow up record “Left Behind” (2006). The new music stayed true to the powerpop/rock sound that had defined the band on “Now it’s Real” but took their songs to a new level by incorporating more melody, more layers, and more hooks. Still a two-piece and armed with a new record’s worth of music that displays greater songwriting complexity, 2nd Half pressed on and continued to impress audiences with their perfectly synced audio-visual live performances. As the years passed though, the pressure and frustration of being overlooked began to mount. Over the course of the band’s existence Gandolf and Scalero witnessed many of their lifelong friends achieve notable levels of success in the music business. Having grown up with members of the Cleveland-based bands Chimaira (Ferret) and Sw1tched (Immortal), Gandolf and Scalero felt the need to make another critical decision for the future of the band. Five years after the beginning of their two-piece venture, the duo decided it was time to return to a more traditional structure while maintaining the definitive elements of 2nd Half and enlisted friends Mike Bernot and Matt Majoros (Hedspin) from the band Slow Motion Soldier on bass and guitar. With two new members, a vast and harder audible sound, more new material in progress and a renewed sense of hope 2nd Half is prepared to expand their audience both geographically and numerically while bringing back something to Cleveland that now seems lost; the local scene. Read moreShow less
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Raging Chihuahuas
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Victoria Djembe & Friends
Victoria Djembe (Victoria Boateng) is a Chicago-based West African djembe percussionist and autism advocate, founder of the Victoria Djembe Academy and performer with Ayodele Drum and Dance.
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Amirah Sackett & Ahmed Zaghbouni
Amirah Sackett (Chicago hip-hop dancer/choreographer) and Ahmed Zaghbouni aka MR MiC (Tunisian beatboxer/filmmaker from Sousse) collaborate on 'BeatBox MEETS Popping,' blending popping and beatboxing through hip-hop and Muslim identity.
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Swiftie Sing-Along! with Alicia Lees
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Wiggleworms: Around the World in Song
Wiggleworms: Around the World in Song is a children's music release from the Old Town School of Folk Music's Wiggleworms early childhood program, based in Chicago, IL.
Venue
Square Roots FestivalLincoln Square
Lincoln Avenue, Montrose to Wilson Map ↗
Hours: Fri 5pm–10pm · Sat 12pm–10pm · Sun 12pm–9pm
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