The Mix — Cool Things to Do 01.18.13

NOW YOU KNOW

Chicago’s annual multi-day, multi-venue winter music festival Tomorrow Never Knows returns in 2013 with a typically rich lineup, continuing through Jan. 20 at Lincoln Hall, Schubas, the Hideout, Smart Bar, Metro and the Vic Theatre. A full schedule and tickets are available …

Grace Potter, Nocturnals finding success in all genres

Grace Potter swears a lot and is immensely talented. She’s a movie buff with a photographic memory when it comes to movies and song lyrics. She has more than 91,000 Twitter followers, and she’s besties with country great Kenny Chesney. Plus, she is gorgeous and …

Speaking With ... Jackie Evancho 01.18.13

At age 10, she wowed viewers of “America’s Got Talent” by singing “O mio babbino caro,”the gorgeous and demanding aria — generally reserved for the most seasoned of opera sopranos — from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.” But for Jackie Evancho, the haunting melody seemed to flow …

Chris Young savoring return to Chicago

Yes, your eyes weren’t fooling you, country music fans. That was indeed the award-winning and chart-topping Chris Young, standing out on the corner of Clark and Addison last summer, taking pictures of a sign he never dreamed he would actually see. “I still have photos …

DePaul exhibit probes climate change

A flock of crows swoop across the turbulent sky over a lonely field in one of Vincent van Gogh’s final paintings, “Wheat Field with Crows,” a haunting scene that some have seen as a portent of the artist’s impending suicide. That famous work rushes to …

Quaytman exhibition looks at the beginnings of a celebrated art museum, career

For those who’ve followed art in Chicago for long enough — say 10 or more years — R. H. Quaytman’s exhibit at the Renaissance Society is a trip down memory lane. The artist, who in 2000 began enigmatically dubbing her exhibitions “chapters” (perhaps of an …

East meets West via uniquely visual ‘Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West’

Study any of the grand paintings of the Renaissance and you might easily believe there could not possibly be a more sublime or detailed evocation of reality. Yet with the invention of the modern camera in the early half of the 19th century, there came …

Origins of ‘Yo Gabba Gabba’: ‘Barney’, MTV

Californian Christian Jacobs had nothing against the purple dinosaur. It was a harmless character his oldest daughter was watching on television 10 years ago . . . and it kept her happy. It just wasn’t making Daddy very happy. “I don’t want to throw anyone …

La Sirena Clandestina takes South American cuisine in Chicago to the next level

During the day, blood runs through these streets. At night, it’s whiskey that flows. Despite the fact that some of Chicago’s most refined, hot restaurants — Next, Moto and the Publican — have claimed their place in the Fulton Market district, it is still very …

The Big Deals 01.18.13

From upscale to low-cal, the Sun-Times’ “Big Deals” column brings readers the dish on food and drink specials that will not break the bank.

Canned goods

Timothy O’Toole’s Pub, 622 N. Fairbanks. Salute National Beer Can Day, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Jan. 24 with …

Brandy headlines Project HOOD benefit

R&B; singer Brandy is known for her “good girl” image while ruling the charts in the 1990s and being the star of the television series “Moesha” while still a teenager. That made her the ideal choice to perform Jan. 19 at the Project HOOD “Party …

Spunky skater at home in latest Disney on Ice role

With her wavy red locks and spirited demeanor, it’s no surprise that Disney on Ice casting staff picked Taylor Firth to portray two of its fiery heroines.

A New York native, Firth made her Disney debut as Jessie the Cowgirl in the“Toy Story 3” ice …

Chicago’s winter filled with some pretty cool footwork

HEDY WEISS: Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street, Hamburg Ballet and other dance companies will heat up those winter nights.

Chris Smither’s blues hide hope in tough topics

Chris Smither has traveled countless miles with his careworn blend of folk and acoustic blues. His hallmarks include the fingers of an effortless musician, a voice as craggy and deep as the earth, the soul of a philosopher and master poet, and the foot-tapping percussion …

The Mix — Cool Things to Do 01.11.13

PLENTY OF BULL

More than 35 professional bull riders saddle up for the PBR: Built Ford Tough Series Chicago Invitational
at 8 p.m. Jan. 12 and 2 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim, Rosemont. Tickets are $15-$125. Visit ticketmaster.com .

ZEPPELIN …