Northern Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance experiences the magic of Chicago-style blues, dives into the origins of house music and samples some of the best street food the city has to offer
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00:00 My name's Foy Vance. I'm a singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, and I've toured all over the world,
00:05 but there's one place where the music keeps pulling me back for more. The USA.
00:10 So I'm on a journey to visit different cities across the country to experience the best music, food and culture that's on offer.
00:17 This is Notes From The USA.
00:20 Today I'm in Chicago, Illinois, one of America's biggest and most influential cities.
00:28 From blues, rock to house music and everything in between, Chicago is rich with a diverse history of artists bringing new science to the world.
00:37 I first call in at one of the city's many legendary blues venues, Rosa's Lounge,
00:47 to learn more about the evolution of blues music in Chicago from local musician Wayne Baker Brooks.
00:53 Where do we start?
00:54 Chicago, man, is the capital of the blues right now. I think this is where the birth of all American music was expanded through Muddy Waters.
01:04 Yeah, when he electrified the blues, he turned it into something else, man.
01:09 Blues is associated with sad and being depressed, but then you add music to that, it's the opposite,
01:18 because blues music makes you feel better about whatever the blues that you're going through.
01:22 When you get to work and the boss is watching you, you can't sit around like you ain't got nothing to do.
01:33 It don't work like that. It don't work like that. It don't work like that. It don't work like that.
01:42 It don't work like that. You got to find you something that will.
01:48 Go ahead and hit me.
01:49 Here you go.
01:50 If I was coming to Chicago, what are the main stuff?
01:55 Man, if I was coming to Chicago, the first spots that I would hit definitely is Rosa's.
02:00 From what I can tell, it's been here over what, is it 30, 40 years?
02:04 Almost 40 years, man. It's vibrant here, man. This place has kept the blues alive for a long, long time, man.
02:10 Well, it sounds like a little of the Chicago legends have played here.
02:13 Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. They even had President Obama have his party here one time.
02:19 He came and listened to some blues and then Kingston Mines and the Chicago Blues Fest, man.
02:28 Come and see me play the Chicago Blues Fest.
02:30 There you go. Get in there. Get in there.
02:37 Playing with a true blues man like Wayne in a venue like Rosa's, you can't help but feel the affection that this city has for its music.
02:45 There's just something about the blues in Chicago that I think everyone can tap into and enjoy.
02:50 It don't work like that. It don't work like that.
02:57 You got to find you something that will.
03:13 I can see why this is a Chicago staple.
03:15 After sampling the iconic Chicago Dog and Italian Beef.
03:19 Oh, my God.
03:20 Chicago Dog versus Spice.
03:22 Both staples of Chicago's famous food scene.
03:24 You're going to love it.
03:25 I head deeper into town to meet with the Chicago Greeter.
03:29 Passionate locals who have opened up their city to visitors with free guided tours.
03:33 My guide today, Jared Waters, presents me with a local's point of view.
03:38 What is a Chicago Greeter?
03:39 Chicago Greeter is a volunteer who takes people on personalized tours.
03:43 We take groups of anywhere from one to six people around and spend two to three hours showing them the city and just giving them a view of what it's like to be a local in Chicago.
03:52 What makes Chicago stand out from other cities?
03:58 I think one of the great things about Chicago is our river that you can see here and the opportunity to really explore the river either on the river walk or in the kayak or on a tour boat.
04:09 And then we have a wonderful lakefront, as we saw, that will really give you a chance to see the skyline from a different vantage point.
04:22 How would you describe Midwestern hospitality?
04:25 Midwesterners are really outgoing.
04:27 People in other places might take a little longer to warm up to you, but Midwesterners will really warmly greet you.
04:32 So it's true what I've heard, then, that in Chicago you never meet a stranger?
04:36 Absolutely.
04:41 After taking in some of the city's world famous landmarks, I go to explore a lesser known but no less integral building in the city.
04:49 Frederick Dunson, business partner to the legendary godfather of house music, Frankie Knuckles, has offered to take me on a trip down memory lane and show me the original warehouse venue where house music began back in the early 1980s.
05:03 This is it.
05:04 Wow.
05:05 This is Mecca.
05:08 This particular two block is named Frankie Knuckles Way.
05:11 So this is where everybody came in.
05:14 It does look like LA Special, what did I say?
05:16 Well, from the outside, but the inside, it was very simplistic, very clean, not a whole lot of gadgets.
05:23 It was all about the sound and the music that was coming out of it.
05:28 You know what?
05:29 I'd love to hear a bit more about this.
05:31 You want to grab a drink?
05:32 Sure.
05:33 Let's go.
05:34 Frederick and I head to the nearby Time Out Market in West Loop to talk more while sampling some of the city's many food vendors that are on offer here.
05:42 You like veggie?
05:43 I love it all.
05:44 Collard greens.
05:45 Collard greens.
05:46 Okay.
05:47 Well tell me this, what is house music?
05:49 House music is feel good music.
05:51 Music that has derived out of Chicago, produced out of Chicago, sounds like Chicago.
05:57 What's the key difference between music pre-house and then when that started?
06:01 It's funny how I term it, people will say house music, I term it all as dance music because what?
06:07 It makes you dance.
06:09 The Warehouse was a club that Frankie played at.
06:11 Eventually he opened another club here in Chicago and he started his international career.
06:17 Became a Grammy Award winning DJ and became known worldwide as the Godfather of House.
06:24 He didn't call himself that, that's what people called him.
06:27 Currently now there is still a vibrant scene in Chicago that would be reminiscent of the 70s, 80s, 90s.
06:34 There is a promotion called Queen, but it's at Smart Bar downstairs, but on certain nights they open up because there's another venue upstairs called Metro.
06:43 Metro has been around, they're celebrating their 40th year anniversary this year.
06:47 Are there any other places you'd go to learn about house music or Frankie in general?
06:51 Well currently there is a building on the south side called the Stony Island Arts Bank.
06:58 It's where Frankie's record collection is housed at.
07:01 You could go there and you could look at the collection, you could maybe hear some of the collection.
07:05 It's incredible to learn first hand about how much iconic music has started its life here in Chicago.
07:18 It's a city that delivers on its status as an American metropolis.
07:23 With jaw dropping architecture, a vibrant music scene, a world class collection of museums and cultural institutions.
07:32 And with that famous mid-western hospitality on display everywhere you go,
07:38 there's a sense of ease when moving through the streets that's rare to still find in big cities like this.
07:44 Chicago, I feel like I've only just scratched the surface.
07:48 (music)