The State of Reproductive Rights in America

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The following is a story that I have been working on for the past 10 weeks for my magazine reporting class. Enjoy!

January 21, 2017 was an unusually warm, bright, sunny day in Chicago. The air felt a little bit fresher, the grass a little greener, and the people a little bit cheerier. An abnormal amount of people seemed to be out and about at 9 a.m., flooding out of the train onto the L platforms with handmade posters, pink attire and cheerful grins. Helicopters monitored the chaos from skies above, weaving in and out of skyscrapers to capture the footage of the astonishingly large group of people flooding the streets. Multicolored signs decorated the clear blue sky with phrases like “Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Human Rights” and “Our rights aren’t up for grabs.” Chicagoans who weren’t lucky enough to get the day off of work looked down from office cubicles in skyscrapers, cheering the marchers on as if they were witnessing a miracle unfold right in front of their eyes. January 21 was an unusual Saturday for many people around the world, for they most likely woke up that morning with no idea that they were on the brink of making history.

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Concert Review: MUNA

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If you haven’t heard of MUNA before, you’re probably living under a rock. The trio of women are currently touring their debut album, About U, which was released a little over two weeks ago on February 3 and are on their way to changing the face of pop music.

After performing a handful of shows and festivals here and there last year to showcase their release, The Loudspeaker EP, the band was gearing up to release their full length, 12 track album packed will synth pop anthems and political lyrics that has been received spectacularly by fans and critics alike.

If you haven’t read any of my pieces spotlighting MUNA before this one (search “Muna” in the search bar to the right to see them), you must know and understand MUNA’s history as a band. The three women, Katie, Naomi and Josette – met in college at California and joined forces to create a world in their music in which their fans could escape from the hardships and prejudice that they may face in their daily lives. All three women identify as queer – a concept that, 10 years ago, may have been too controversial to be comfortable with in a world as superficial and image obsessed as the music industry.

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Concert Review: Léon w/ Jacob Banks

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This past Thursday, I had the wonderful experience of seeing Swedish singer Léon perform her first show ever in Chicago (which was also sold out), during her first North American tour with special guest Jacob Banks. The 20 city tour stopped at Schuba’s Tavern – a small 165 capacity venue in Lakeview  – packing an enthusiastic, diverse crowd ready to hear some songs about heartbreak.

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Inside the Twenty One Pilots’ Fandom

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Cecilia Aguirre’s tattoo inspired by the Twenty One Pilots’ song “Truce.” Photo by Kristin Stahlke.
The first few tents in line for Twenty One Pilots’ United Center show. They arrived Friday evening for the Saturday night show. Photo by Kristin Stahlke.
The very first tent in line at United Center. The sign reads “Twenty One Pilots Emotional Roadshow: General Admission Line, pitch tents and get # in the morning.” The first people in line created a numbering system to make sure people weren’t cutting the line. Photo by Kristin Stahlke.
A sign I saw outside of one of the tents that expresses the fandom’s sense of community. Photo by Kristin Stahlke.
A flag draped over a small tent. Photo by Kristin Stahlke.

Throughout history, we’ve seen types of hysteria that musicians, particularly boybands, have created: the 1960s brought us The Beatles, who set the precedent for the concept of dedicated fans. We experienced the the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync making their mark on the music industry with synchronized choreography in the 90s. The 2000s introduced us to The Jonas Brothers and One Direction. But what happens when a male group rises to fame for making music about depression, insecurities and the hardships of growing up? Twenty One Pilots is born.

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Golden Globes 2017

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The 74th Annual Golden Globes kicked off on Sunday, January 8 with a huge number of films and television shows featured throughout the night. While these sorts of award shows rarely present themselves as anything but predictable, this year’s event was interesting enough just for the wide range of people, experiences, and stories represented.

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