DeKALB | Like Rats is a hardcore punk-inspired black metal band from Chicago. Citing heavy, aggressive influences such as Celtic Frost and Discharge, the group may look somewhat out of place when they play with the pop punk band The Wonder Years on Tuesday...

DeKALB | The Nirvana baby, the Beatles walking across Abbey Road, Andrew W.K.'s bloody nose. -- some album covers are as iconic and evocative as the music itself. Sheet Music and Record Albums: Graphics of Their Time is a new exhibition in the NIU Art...

DeKALB | So you’re probably thinking you want to get out of here this weekend. Another incident means more hysteria which means more people saying “Why did I even come here?” That’s not without reason, but DeKalb is not the apocalyptic wasteland...

Coming from Lake in the Hills, Ill., I feel lucky to have the Smoking Popes. The only good rock group to come out of my tiny town, The Smoking Popes are one of my favorite punk bands of all time, regional or not. Their riffs are melodic, and singer/guitarist...

Inspired people are everywhere in this town, and Lorelei Bell is one of them. I first met Bell on a Huskie Bus, and she recognized me from the paper and asked me to review her book, Vampire Ascending. However, Lorelei isn't a student here. She drives...

Indie group Margot & the Nuclear So and So's will headline Thursday night at Otto's, 118 E. Lincoln Highway. With their most recent release, Happy Hour at Sprigg's Volume 1: Live and Acoustic, Margot proves that it is ready to let its subtle maturation...

DeKALB | NIU will play host to several film-related events this week. Starting tonight, the Department of Communication will host the annual Reality Bytes film festival in Jack Arends Auditorium. Student submissions from as far away as South Korea and...

Dan Monaghan is a student here at NIU in the English education department. His album, Submarine Paratrooper came out recently, and it rules. Instead of just a lesson in DIY recording and ethics, or a low-fi EP of guitar-based indie rock, Submarine Paratrooper...

Ever wondered what's beyond DeKalb on Route 23? Just over 10 minutes away and northeast of NIU sits the closest neighboring town, Sycamore. If you and your friends have access to a car, Sycamore's downtown district is well worth the trip. The five square...