Mr. Blotto was born in Chicago as an off-night vehicle for musicians who loved each others playing but were in different bands at the time. The only rule was that they would only play what they loved. That philosophy continues today and has led Mr. Blotto into unique musical situations.

Mr. Blotto takes the Jam band asthetic into areas unfamiliar to the standard Jam Scene. They have been known to cover entire albums by Led Zeppelin and the Who as well as perform entire shows of Country and Reggae. Artists as diverse as the Grateful Dead, the Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson and The Velvet Underground have seen their material interpreted by Mr. Blotto in the 2000+ shows the band has performed in the last 15 years, yet covers only pepper the bands hefty catalog of original material stemming from five studio albums and other unreleased crowd favorites.

Bring your BASS or HORN or GUITAR or STICKS or WHATEVER you play, and come sit in with some of Chicago’s best. Big Ants Jam session is an open improv session playing jazz, soul , punk , rock or whatever style of music is appropriate for the time at the time they play it. The ever changing band is curated by drummer, Anthony Capers.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the band that loves fusion and loud jazz. Gitchagumi plays jazz of every era, from the early days of be-bop, to post bop, to latin, to soul and funk, to more contemporary artists. If you like jazz at all, this band has something for you. Featuring alumni of such Chicago bands as Family Lifted, The East Village Project, Pala, Fat Time, Starcandy, P-1, Smittyvision, The F-Word, and the Powers that Be, Gitchagumi is a tree with many branches and deep roots.