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Genre
chicago indie
Parent Genre: rock

Chicago indie music is a diverse genre that features a range of sounds and styles. It is characterized by its DIY ethos and independent spirit, with artists often producing and releasing their own music. The genre is known for its introspective lyrics, catchy melodies, and unique instrumentation. It draws inspiration from a variety of sources, including folk, rock, and pop music. Chicago indie music has produced some of the most exciting and innovative artists of recent years, with a growing community of musicians and fans who are passionate about the scene.


Top artists of chicago indie genre

The Walters
Beach Bunny
Wilco
Andrew Bird
Whitney
OK Go
Slow Pulp
Nick Waterhouse
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chicago indie music timeline

Explore chicago indie history by listening to songs from every decade. Click on the decade to view songs.

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s

Similar Genres to chicago indie

Discover more related genres to chicago indie genre. This list is ordered by similarity from left to right.

indie rock indie punk freak folk emo indie pop indie garage rock garage psych midwest emo alternative emo indie folk stomp and holler bubblegrunge emo punk post-hardcore modern rock alternative rock chamber psych math pop lo-fi math rock
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chicago indie playlist created by Chosic

Enjoy this playlist of popular chicago indie music. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team.

Play on spotify

List of chicago indie artists

Here is a list of chicago indie artists on Spotify, ranked based on popularity, who exemplifies the chicago indie genre. You can find out what chicago indie genre sounds like where you can preview artists or sort them the way you want, just click the headers to sort.

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
The Walters
70 6 57 54 45 50 110 485362
2
Beach Bunny
68 7 51 68 23 54 127 1136496
3
Wilco
60 16 55 58 34 51 115 701056
4
Andrew Bird
57 13 55 44 62 43 121 557730
5
Whitney
54 33 59 47 66 48 113 256688
6
OK Go
54 6 59 69 7 50 125 497854
7
Slow Pulp
52 12 51 63 25 45 129 96376
8
Nick Waterhouse
50 8 63 59 43 71 125 94626
9
Knox Fortune
49 6 63 72 21 57 126 27845
10
The Symposium
47 65 50 49 16 60 117 77124
11
Twin Peaks
47 37 48 72 24 50 119 157113
12
ProbCause
45 0 59 51 10 44 204 14071
13
The Hush Sound
41 1 54 61 29 55 129 81180
14
Deeper
39 44 60 77 6 73 131 21981
15
Pet Symmetry
38 1 56 77 12 52 127 35536
16
Ratboys
38 28 50 60 19 42 120 33037
17
Tortoise
37 84 54 44 38 33 118 127032
18
Into It. Over It.
35 15 50 67 35 36 133 51602
19
The Sea and Cake
34 41 59 51 33 48 118 58392
20
Varsity
33 12 47 68 19 56 134 62491
21
Meat Wave
32 27 29 85 5 42 154 20634
22
Dark Dark Dark
31 15 46 25 86 24 124 52769
23
Califone
30 23 57 45 50 34 110 16004
24
Smith Westerns
30 5 42 74 6 60 139 55750
25
Maps & Atlases
30 5 53 65 40 56 128 46405
26
Blah Blah Blah
29 22 44 67 27 39 137 14491
27
Sam Prekop
29 57 49 32 51 42 138 18253
28
Their / They're / There
28 0 37 80 0 47 145 17608
29
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
26 0 59 63 33 67 133 19014
30
Fort Frances
26 0 63 50 28 38 116 6660
31
Gold Motel
26 0 56 77 12 77 151 9367
32
Company of Thieves
25 0 55 79 12 26 130 20572
33
Monobody
24 80 41 55 34 28 122 17852
34
Jimmy Whispers
24 0 51 67 10 56 109 3523
35
FACS
22 71 41 80 3 38 133 7672
36
Joan Of Arc
21 58 56 59 34 34 115 19426
37
Circuit des Yeux
21 14 36 43 32 18 104 19064
38
California Wives
18 20 48 77 0 42 163 5787
39
Driftless Pony Club
18 41 49 86 5 44 143 7431
40
Scattered Trees
17 3 63 45 56 25 115 4372
41
NE-HI
16 24 48 85 1 60 146 8156
42
Lume
16 39 43 47 36 10 116 3634
43
Empires
15 14 39 85 1 33 137 5344
44
The Kickback
15 10 73 70 7 53 128 2416
45
Lionlimb
15 13 52 83 8 62 119 2623
46
Melkbelly
13 0 0 0 0 0 0 6664
47
The Ponys
12 47 37 86 1 29 128 4117
48
Colossal
11 31 33 80 4 42 137 3668
49
Jennifer Hall
11 0 54 63 13 53 142 2380
50
The Right Now
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 1458
51
Sidewalk Chalk
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 5796
52
Electric Empire
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1365
53
Yoko and the Oh No's
8 0 46 81 1 51 155 1494
54
Will Phalen
8 0 0 0 0 0 0 159
55
Flesh Panthers
7 97 36 96 0 36 115 2129
56
Mutts
7 65 41 40 29 40 128 1306
57
I Am Not Lefthanded
7 6 51 38 44 55 117 1059
58
Make Believe
7 14 56 67 15 67 123 3855
59
The Record Low
6 0 39 64 15 34 149 535
60
Mike Maimone
6 0 66 69 6 72 123 2061
61
Marrow
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1779
62
Negative Scanner
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1889
63
Troubled Hubble
5 82 37 95 0 49 145 735
64
Michele McGuire
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 259
65
Baby Teeth
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 343
66
The Island of Misfit Toys
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1746
67
Elsinore
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1425
68
Chin Up Chin Up
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1198
69
Glass Lux
4 0 80 88 4 94 120 801
70
Lifted Bells
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1258
71
The Mobros
3 0 48 84 41 40 139 895
72
Bailiff
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 999
73
Aktar Aktar
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 355
74
Sharpless
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 508
75
The Like Young
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 537
76
White/Light
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 207
77
Clearance
2 0 41 57 0 55 120 1347
78
Tom Schraeder
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 145
79
Sunjacket
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 760
80
Soft Speaker
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 228
81
Valaska
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 438
82
Cassettes On Tape
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 378
83
Yeesh
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 729
84
Nervous Passenger
1 0 40 93 1 55 150 286
85
Juniper Mays
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35
86
Jon Drake & The Shakes
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 46
87
Rabble Rabble
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 92
88
Paper Thick Walls
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 171
89
Will Phalen And The Stereo Addicts
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44
90
The Field Auxiliary
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42
91
The Shams Band
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 156
92
Julie Meckler
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80
93
Wally Dogger
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 113
94
architecture
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 183
95
SHAPERS
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
96
Tinkerbelles
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 137
97
Reds and Blue
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
98
Baron von Something
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 93
99
Bully In The Hallway
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 75
100
Moritat
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 139
101
Shellac
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 73839
102
Flame Shark
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36
103
Soddy Daisy
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 78
104
Jitney
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 67
105
Warm Ones
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 121
106
Chaperone
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 71