Recording musicians live on location in unique places around the city of Chicago

Rooftop Sessions Chicago, taking its name from the obvious, is a local production group seeking to elevate the status of local musicians in and around the Chicago area, as well as beyond. Pulling the artist out of the mainstream and placing them squarely above the normal performance environment. Rooftop Sessions seeks to engage musicians in a new and fun way, and hopefully inspire something previously untapped in the artist. More
Rooftop Sessions Chicago with Tom Schraeder

Artists

  • Roarmen

    Roarmen

    What better way to celebrate another Halloween than by resurrecting some ancient ghosts from the past?  Well, maybe not exactly ancient, but it has been a while…  Rooftop Sessions Chicago is excited to announce our return from the grave by presenting our first video from local rockers, Roarmen!  RSC was stoked to get our feet wet again working with Roarmen on our very first socially distanced live concert stream event earlier this month.  Check out the initial release from the night, Roarmen performing Goddamned Ghost, live from Algonquin! 

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  • The Lucky Dutch

    The Lucky Dutch

    The Lucky Dutch combines americana and blues for a seductive rock-driven performance. Nathan Graham and Claire Corriveau’s haunting vocals blend seamlessly with Graham’s guitar solos, making their live performances hard to forget.

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  • Zapruder Point

    Zapruder Point

    Dan Phillips has been writing and recording as Zapruder Point in Chicago for over a decade. Singing simple yet heartfelt songs, he performs both as a solo acoustic act and as a duo with drummer Larry Brown. A first-time father in 2015, Dan is currently focusing on writing new material for a rock musical, as well as a solo folk album. He plays out when he can.

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  • Crow Moses

    Crow Moses

    Chicago songwriters walks the line between Indie-Blues & Urban Americana.

    Borrowing elements of Experimental Folk and broken-down Orchestral music, Crow Moses grew up listening to his father’s obscure folk and roots rock records.

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  • Jim Green, formerly the Wandering Endorphin

    Jim Green, formerly the Wandering Endorphin

    This was the first shoot at our friends Gus’ house back in 2011. Jim Green, the Wandering Endorphin, dazzled us with his incredible finger picking and tapping guitar skills. Especially in regards to the tapping style, Jim may very well be considered as the finest that Chicago has to offer. For the Rooftop crew, we had heard of Jim before, but were completely blown away to witness the incredible performance up close and personal. Despite the unceasing accompaniment of the […]

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  • 2014 High Fidelity Music Series

    2014 High Fidelity Music Series

    In 2014 we curated a music series in collaboration with Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ, for their High Fidelity Music Series. We brought some of our favorite acts out to play at a pretty spectacular venue. The WBEZ studio terrace at Navy Pier. With only 150 tickets available to each show, each one sold out in a matter of minutes. All in all each night was pretty special. Incredible music from extremely talented artists grown right out of our own region.

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  • Pat McKillen

    Pat McKillen

    McKillen continues to adapt to an ever-changing music scene and always seeks to find ways to enhance the solo singer-songwriter experience. An experienced looper, he brings the layering techniques of the studio into the live setting for a performance that resonates with a wide range of ages and audiences.

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  • Mucca Pazza

    Mucca Pazza

    Mucca Pazza was born in a steel mill parking lot along the Chicago river. Combining marching band traditions and street theater experience with rock band sensibilities, Mucca Pazza quickly found a home for its 30-odd members in the thriving Chicago underground music scene. Their eccentric, frenetic visual presence, and genre-bending original compositions earned them critical praise and a loyal local following.

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  • Communist Daughter

    Communist Daughter

    A few years ago John Solomon walked away from music. After a long struggle with addiction and a brief stint in jail he broke up his band and moved to a small town. And supposedly that was that.

    Even though Solomon left music, music never left him. After a long hiatus, he called some friends to demo up a new album….

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  • The Lulabelles

    The Lulabelles

    The Lulabelles’ beginnings as a group can be traced back to the fall of 2013, and a series of weekly jam sessions held between then casual friends. These nights of conversation and mid-90′s cover songs quickly evolved into something they never saw coming; a band.

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  • Will Phalen

    Will Phalen

    For Will Phalen, it’s about writing songs with depth and feeling. But Phalen doesn’t stop there. He takes his lyrics and his melodies and surrounds them with textures and sounds that move the music far beyond “the guy with the guitar on the stool”.

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  • Antony and The Tramps

    Antony and The Tramps

    “We call it American Gypsy, because it wanders but isn’t lost. Its a tramp, you can’t get lost when you’re in love with where you are.”

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