Amplified: Chicago Blues
Through August 10, 2019
Chicago History Museum
Chicago, Illinois
www.chicagohistory.org
Southern black migrants brought the blues to Chicago, where the music helped them forge connections and transform an unfamiliar, often inhospitable city into a new home. The music was also transformed—electrified and amplified to compete with urban noise.The photography of Raeburn Flerlage captures the streets, clubs, homes, and studios where a community of musicians defined the Chicago blues sound. Immerse yourself in the Chicago scene of the 1960s through Flerlage’s images, and experience the blues by playing guitar, designing an album cover, writing lyrics, and singing karaoke.
Image credits: Howlin’ Wolf, c. 1964 courtesy Chicago History Museum
