Fri, May 18 - 9pm - $10

Anna Soltys and the Familiar is a modern Folk Rock band with an entrancing new sound. Anna spent the first part of her childhood in Poland followed by 6 years in Paris before she moved to her self-proclaimed home, Chicago. It is the cross-cultural awareness that may awaken the type of delivery that is so unique to her sound. On top of the music, her lyrical, poetic content fills the heart with an awareness of the self we could all use a little of.  Anna’s music explores and embodies elements of pain, strength, honesty, and sorrow. From start to finish, lyrically driven simple melodies leave you with a sense of colorful melancholy.

 In ancient Greek it means to sing, in Bosnian it means to leave, in Chicago Ode means a five piece indie rock group that specializes in combining elements of Balkan Folk Music with hints of Dark Americana and World Punk. Founded by brothers Davor Palos (Lead Vocal) and Robert Palos (Lead Guitar) and brought to perfection by fellow group members Nikola Dokic (Guitar), Elliot Taggart (Bass) and Daniel Crane (drums).  With influences ranging from Nick Cave to Alice and Chains to old world balkan folk, Ode has created a sound all their own and impossible to bookshelf. Ballad Rock, Stadium Rock, Punk, Funk, Grunge, and Jazz infusions woven and interwoven creating something new and something wild. 

 There’s drama when Ami Saraiya and her band, The Outcome, take the stage. It’s a dark atmosphere, but it swings baby—a worldly staging of folk punk and jazz cabaret. And amongst the accordion, the violin and the guitars, it’s Ami’s sultry voice that recalls Piaf and Holiday which takes the spotlight. Then, there are the song-stories—often saturnine, often employing magical realism.  Ami is a veteran of the Chicago eclectic and varied music scene—before she released her first solo album, Archeologist, Ami was a member of pop collective Radiant Darling and R&B band Pelvic Delta, and hastoured locally and regionally with appearances at The Hideout, The Empty Bottle, Metro and Double Door. A classically-trained pianist and a former music major at Indiana University, Ami also plays accordion and the guitar.