District 97 is undoubtedly the most musically adventurous rock band in the world to feature an American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist. Formed in the Fall of 2006 by drummer/primary composer Jonathan Schang, keyboardist Rob Clearfield, bassist Patrick Mulcahy and guitarist Sam Krahn, the band drew upon influences from heavy metal to avant-garde jazz. The foursome from Chicago honed a no-holds barred style of eclectic and intricate Instrumental Rock before deciding the right vocalist was needed to complement their sound: enter 2007 American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist, Leslie Hunt. With a look, sound, and stage presence comparable to a young Ann Wilson from Heart, Leslie’s dynamic performances pushed the band into a new direction that forged a unique marriage between accessible, catchy vocal melodies and an adventurous instrumental prowess. She was followed shortly thereafter by one of Chicago’s finest guitarists, Jim Tashjian. With this new blend of charisma and stellar musicianship in place, their live shows over the past several years at festivals such as RoSfest, Prog Dreams II and V, and numerous appearances across the USA, UK and Europe cemented the band as a force to be reckoned with onstage as well as in the recording studio.

Hybrid Child, the band’s 2010 debut on record label Laser’s Edge, immediately made a big impression worldwide. The album garnered praise such as “District 97 is a wildly ambitious progressive-rock group whose youth belies its accomplishments onstage and on its new Hybrid Child CD” (Jim Derogatis of NPR’s “Sound Opinions” and Rolling Stone Magazine). The release of 2012’s critically-acclaimed followup Trouble With Machines proved the band was the real deal. They had attracted the attention of legendary bassist and vocalist John Wetton (King Crimson/UK/Asia), who sang the role of Chicago serial killer H.H. Holmes on Schang’s “The Perfect Young Man.” With the collaboration heralded as a “tour de force” (dprp.net), the band and Wetton joined forces in 2013 for tours of both Europe and the US, later documented on 2014’s live release, One More Red Night: Live in Chicago. 2013 also saw the band nominated for a Breakthrough Artist Award by Prog Magazine. Rather than rest on their laurels, District 97 took to the studio in 2014 to record the new material they’d been honing at home and on the road. The resulting album, In Vaults (released June 2015), continued and accelerated the upward trajectory of great songwriting and incredible musicianship that had become their hallmark.

In August 2015, Rob Clearfield and Patrick Mulcahy left the group and were succeeded by Andrew Lawrence and TIm Seisser, respectively. The new lineup debuted in highly successful tours across Europe and North America in 2016 and 2017, with highlights including joining the trailblazing prog rock band Yes on their Cruise To The Edge and supporting Pain of Salvation on the In The Passing Light Of Day North American tour. In 2016. District 97 launched the Inside The Vault Club via their website, a monthly subscription series featuring exclusive audio and video downloads, as well as physical releases, the first of which being their stunning Live At De Boerderij DVD. They joined the Dave Kerzner Band for the joint STATIC VAULTS US tour in Fall 2017, and ended the year with a pair of shows with the NYC-based Consider The Source.

2018 saw the band complete a much-lauded North American 10th Anniversary Tour, as well as completing tracking for Screens, their highly-anticipated fourth studio album, and first with the new lineup. Released October 2019 through the UK’s venerable record label Cherry Red, the band featured music from it to great acclaim on Cruise To The Edge, as well as Marillion Montreal Weekend, Seaprog, Summer’s End, and other dates throughout North America, UK, and Europe. One listen perfectly illustrates why iconic drummer Bill Bruford (Yes/King Crimson/Genesis) told Rolling Stone Magazine (10/29/19), “There’s a great band out of Chicago called District 97, who are very good, and they’re here in the U.K. right now. And you know, it’s the next generation of so-called progressive guys who played much better than we ever played.” Mike Portnoy (drummer extraordinaire of Dream Theater/Transatlantic/Liquid Tension Experiment) adds “District 97 continue to prove to be one of the most unique bands in modern Prog!”

The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop the band from innovating. Their Virtual Screening Tour and stunning Ghost Girl animated short film kept them at the top of the prog rock heap. The sprawling double-disc live album Screenplay  (2021) delighted music fans worldwide and served as a preface to live dates in the latter half of 2021 and 2022. With new music having gestated during and following the pandemic, their fifth studio album Stay for the Ending (released October 2023 via Spirit of Unicorn Music) has been widely acclaimed as their greatest work to date. 

Based in Chicago and Nashville, Kick The Cat is an internationally renowned fusion quartet. Musically, the band falls within the virtuosic lineage of classic fusion and prog ensembles like Return to Forever and Weather Report but draws on contemporary groove elements, electronics, and a healthy dose of humor. The result is a heady, yet approachable, combination of mind-bending rhythms, harmonies, and kaleidoscopic textures.

The band formed while in college in the late 1990s, performing one another’s unique and challenging compositions. At the time, the four musicians lived together and worked on their music while also individually making names for themselves in the Chicago music scene. Over the last twenty years Kick The Cat has released three full length albums of original material and has performed hundreds of shows, headlining and opening for national acts such as Umphrey’s McGee, Vital Information, Oz Noy, Jazz Mandolin Project, John Novello, Stu Hamm, and more. KTC has long been noted as being one of the most engaging ensembles to emerge from Chicago’s richly varied scene.

Drummer Kris Myers is a founding member of KTC (performing on the first two albums) but left the band in 2003 after being recruited by now-renowned jam band Umphrey’s McGee. He was temporarily replaced by Tom Hipskind (Hamilton, Brian Culbertson), but has rejoined the original lineup for the current album and shows. Guitarist Chris Siebold is a well known prodigy and in-demand session player in Chicago who has also performed regularly with Howard Levy and Garrison Keeler’s Prairie Home Companion. Keyboardist Vijay Tellis-Nayak has performed with many greats including Marcus Miller and Jennifer Hudson and was featured in 2007’s Keyboard Magazine for KTC’s Scramble album as Unsigned Artist of the Month. He is also one of the owners and producers at Chicago’s Transient Sound Recording Studio. Bassist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Clemente is one of the most sought after musicians and educators in Chicago and has performed with many greats including Jon Secada, Randy Brecker, and Kanye West

KTC’s new album Gurgle (due out June 2021) is a long awaited tour de force. It’s varied style takes you from 70s-style fusion to Rio’s Carnival, from dub-step to RnB, and from Zappa to country, all the while telling a story in a humorous, ponderous, and delightfully irreverent tone.

Chris Clemente – Bass
Kris Myers – Drums
Chris Siebold – Guitar
Vijay Tellis-Nayak – Keyboards

He has been a professional singer/songwriter/musician since the late 1960s as a member of such progressive rock bands as Mogul Thrash, Family, King Crimson (working with childhood friend Robert Fripp), Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry band, Uriah Heep, UK and Wishbone Ash. Wetton found worldwide fame in 1982 with the band Asia, whose self-titled debut album sold millions and became Billboard magazine’s #1 album of 1982.