Chris DeLine

The last two months have been insanely eventful for Cloud Cult: The band completed the first leg of their current tour while playing a series of co-headlining dates with Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos, made their first-ever appearance at the mammoth Coachella Music and Arts Festival, and released the career-spanning retrospective DVD No One Said It Would Be Easy. And as the second round of early-summer dates gets going, it’s hard not to take a bit of pride in the band, who have long since proven to be one of the most consistent and sustainable (not to mention talented) groups to have hatched from our state. The band’s music is heavily layered around singer Craig Minowa’s often overwhelmingly passionate lyrics, offering a sound akin to a small, communal chorus. Add to that a pair of live painters who work alongside musicians onstage, and it is a show like no other you’ve seen before. Opening will be Chicago’s Maps and Atlases. 18+.

[This critics’ pick was originally published by City Pages.]