Every town has their favorite hometown band, but in Chicago there is such a deep musical legacy that we’ve definitely earned out bragging rights. Come on, we walk every day in the hometown of Buddy Guy! Through the years, XRT had helped so many upstart bands to make their name in the national scene. So now we want to hear from you- which are your favorite Chicago bands…. Wilco? Poi Dog Pondering? Kanye West? Smashing Pumpkins? Cheap Trick? Fall Out Boy?  Any new up-and-comers you think we’ll be seeing in a few years at the Grammy’s or onstage at Lollapalooza?

July, already? Summer tends to fly by real quick here in Chicago, especially when our baseball teams are winning, and when there are plenty of music acts coming thru town. The first week of July hits town with a bang, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers team up with Steve Winwood to tackle the United Center. If you’ve never seen Petty, you need to do it now whether you are a fan or just on the fence with him. Constantly bringing a great energy and show to every performance, we recall 2003 when Tom and the Heartbreakers tore through 5 nights at The Vic Theatre in Chicago as something we will never forget. Best Petty song? We have our favorites, but let us know what yours are right here.

Fast forward two days to our annual shin-dig in Grant Park at Taste of Chicago. The show is free to all who come and this year’s lineup is solid with Gomez, Old 97’s, and Alejandro Escovedo for yearly tradition. Plus, the city is launching fireworks off later that night at 9:30pm on the lakefront so make sure to stick around! Past years shows have included John Mayer, Matthew Sweet, Wilco, Counting Crows, Buddy Guy, The Replacements, and many more. Let us know what your favorites were and who we should be putting on the bill in 2009!

WXRT did a live broadcast of one of the shows and offered it at 93.1FM and 93XRT.com. The band sounded amazing and the guest appearance of Andrew Bird took the performance to another level. Chicago embraced the Winter Residency and we look forward to Wilco’s next stop.