The Mission
MISSION STATEMENT: The Chicago Roots Collective is a collaboration of musicians working together to get their music heard.
History: (from OurVinyl.com article)
The history of the CRC traces back to last year’s Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival, where members of the collective preformed at the Congress Theater along with The David Grisman Quintet and The Avett Brothers. Mike Raspatello, one of the founders of the festival, and current friend of the collective, explains how it all started: “It was a really exciting night for local music. We had independently thrown this festival, and it allowed area bands who had been carving out separate niches in the Chicago music scene to connect with each other and realize there was a shared experience among them.”
Donnie Biggins of The Shams Band, initially proposed the idea of playing Pre-Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival shows throughout the summer to promote the 2009 festival in December. When proposing the idea to Tate Troelstrup of How Far To Austin and Danny Surico of The Future Laureates, the three brainstormed and realized that they could take the idea even further.
Once setting initial goals and extending the offer to 7 other Chicago bands, the reaction was more than receptive. Everyone that heard the idea wanted to get involved.
CRC Presents: Chicago Venues We’ve Rocked
- Congress Theater
- Double Door
- Cubby Bear Lounge
- Lincoln Hall
- Abbey Pub
- Bottom Lounge
- Subterranean
- Goose Island Wrigleyville
- Elbo Room
- Uncommon Ground
CRC Presents branches out:
- Cubby Bear West (Lincolnshire, IL)
- Bear’s Place (Bloomington, IN)
- Wilmot Mountain (Wilmot, WI)
- Mickey Finn’s (Libertyville, IL)
