Chicago’s own Thrill Jockey Records is celebrating their 20th Anniversary tonight at the Empty Bottle with longtime label artists Tortoise and The Sea & Cake. This hometown show wraps up a series of celebratory concerts and supplements their on-going anniversary LP reissues.
Established in New York in 1992, Thrill Jockey packed up and moved to the Windy City just three years later in 1995. With hundreds of releases, and most on vinyl, Thrill Jockey has created a loyal fan-base and an impressively tight-knit roster.
Both Tortoise and The Sea & Cake will be playing nontraditional sets tonight, as the Empty Bottle’s website states, “weird sets for the hometown weirdos.” From 8:00 – 9:00 PM, you can enjoy complimentary drinks from Goose Island and Virtue Cider. Sweet, huh?
Chicago’s Tortoise has been with Thrill Jockey since the beginning, releasing their “Lonesome Sound” 7” on the label during it’s first year in 1992. Twenty years later, Tortoise remains a prolific, genre-bending group of musicians.
Sharing a drummer with Tortoise, indie rockers The Sea & Cake have also been with Thrill Jockey since their early days. Releasing their 1994 self-titled debut on the label, the group recently put out their ninth studio album, Runner.
All of the band’s albums in the Thrill Jockey catalog are now available on vinyl again as part of the 20th Anniversary vinyl reissue campaign. You can get all the information you’ll need online.
Opening the show for Tortoise and The Sea & Cake will be experimental drum collective and Thrill Jockey artist, Man Forever.
The 21+ show kicks off at 8:00 PM tonight at the Empty Bottle – 1035 N Western Ave. Admission is completely free with an individual RSVP through TicketWeb. They’re only good for one, so make sure everyone grabs theirs!
