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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini
Sydney Wood

Sydney Wood, Buzz Editor

Best Live Music Venue: The Canopy Club

Best Live Music Venue: The Canopy Club

By Sydney Wood, Staff Writer • Nov 4, 2022
Best House Show: Waluigi’s Mansion

Best House Show: Waluigi’s Mansion

By Sydney Wood, Staff Writer • Nov 4, 2022
Best Date Spot: Arboretum

Best Date Spot: Arboretum

By Sydney Wood, Staff Writer • Nov 4, 2022
The Canopy club host a Taylor Swift/Olivia Rodrigo-themed night on Oct. 7. For the Halloween weekend, the venue will be hosting Harry-ween on Friday.

Harry-ween to bring Harry Styles, costumes galore to The Canopy Club

By Sydney Wood, Staff Writer • Oct 28, 2022
C-U at Home, located on Washington Street, is the possible future home of Champaign County’s first 24/7 homeless shelter, Strides.

Champaign County prepares to open its first 24/7 homeless shelter

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Sep 28, 2022
One of the hot air balloons that will be featured at the first annual Champaign County Balloon Festival for tether rides. The festival will take place from Sept. 23 to Sept. 24.

First annual hot air balloon festival floats its way to Champaign

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Sep 16, 2022
Dancers participate at the Urbana flamenco-Jazz Reunion that featured the Illinois Flamenco-Jazz Collective, students from the University’s Jazz Program and guest artists on Aug. 19, 2021

Local collective aims to highlight Spanish culture via flamenco dance, music 

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Sep 13, 2022
Singer WILLOW will be releasing her newest album "Coping Mechanism" on Sept. 23. She released one of the songs from the track, "Curious/Furious," on Friday.

WILLOW delves into pop genre, maintains punk vibes

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Sep 12, 2022
Tiktoker Peter Martin, performs at Lollapalooza on the Discord Stage on July 28. Martin will be headlining Pygmalion on Sept. 23 at the Rose Bowl Tavern.

Pygmalion evolving into ‘cultural’ festival

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Sep 2, 2022
Editor’s Note | First day of class marks milestone for senior students

Editor’s Note | First day of class marks milestone for senior students

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Aug 26, 2022
Alvvays, an indie-pop band, released their newest single "Easy On Your Own?” on Aug 10. The song is featured in the group's upcoming album "Blue Rev" that is set to release on Oct. 10.

Alvvays releases cinematic tune from upcoming album

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Aug 14, 2022
Navigating social, academic aspects of Quad Day

Navigating social, academic aspects of Quad Day

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Aug 11, 2022
Lollapalooza attendees walk to and away from the Bud Light Seltzer stage at the first day of Lollapalooza on Thursday. Many festivalgoers are concerned about the lack of COVID-19 safety protocols.

Festivalgoers worry about potential super-spread after Lollapalooza’s lack of COVID-19 safety protocols

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Aug 2, 2022
Billie Joe Armstrong, lead, vocalist of Green Day, plays a guitar from behind without looking on the T-Mobile stage on Saturday. Other artists featured on the last day are J-Hope, Djo and more.

Lollapalooza brings the heat literally, figuratively on final day of festival

By Sydney Wood and Aidan Sadovi • Aug 1, 2022
Pop-rock artist, LØLØ, performed on the BMI stage at Lollapalooza on Saturday. Buzz Editor, Sydney Wood, does a Q&A with LØLØ on Lollapalooza and how she found her voice in music.

LØLØ talks origins of music career, feelings before Lollapalooza set

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Aug 1, 2022
Meet Me @ The Altar performs at Lollapalooza on the BMI stage on Saturday. The group performed an unreleased song titled "Kool, "Garden" and more.

Meet Me @ The Altar talks BMI set, expresses hopes for future

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 31, 2022
Dylan Minnette of Wallows sings on the T-Mobile stage on the third day of Lollapalooza on Saturday. Other performers featured for Lollapalooza on Saturday are J. Cole, Willow and more.

Third day at Lollapalooza highlights camaraderie among festivalgoers, artists

By Sydney Wood and Aidan Sadovi • Jul 31, 2022
Daisy and the Great performed at Lollapalooza on the BMI stage on Friday. Buzz Editor, Sydney Wood, asks the duo questions regarding Lollapalooza and their upcoming support tour.

Daisy the Great talk highlights at BMI stage, upcoming support tour

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 30, 2022
Flipturn, an indie-rock band from Florida, performed at Lollapalooza on Friday. They played “Hippies,” “Six Below” and more during their 40-minute set.

Flipturn discusses playing ‘Chicago’ in Chicago, upcoming debut album

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 30, 2022
Sean Caskey, lead vocalist of The Last Dinosaurs, sings during their set at Lollapalooza on Thursday at the Bud Light Seltzer stage. The group will release their new LP “From Mexico With Love" in November.

Last Dinosaurs talk Lollapalooza, upcoming LP

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 30, 2022
Machine Gun Kelly, also known as MGK, performs at the Bud Light Seltzer stage during the second day of Lollapalooza on Friday.

Lollapalooza rages on with Avril Lavigne resurgence, Dua Lipa-inspired drone show

By Sydney Wood and Aidan Sadovi • Jul 30, 2022
Artist Mills gets interviews by buzz Editor, Sydney Wood, after his performance on Thursday at the BMI stage for Lollapalooza. Mills sang Mills played “Lovely,” “Clashing Thoughts" and more during his set.

Mills brings big dreams, folk-pop-rap sound to Lollapalooza

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 29, 2022
Ashnikko points the microphone towards the crowd at the Coinbase stage during her performance of her song “STUPID (feat. Yung Baby Tate) on Thursday. The first day of Lollapalooza featured 48 sets from artists with Metallica as Thursday's headliners.

Lollapalooza opening day kicks off with a bang, ends with Metallica fireworks show

By Sydney Wood and Aidan Sadovi • Jul 29, 2022
Tyler the Creator preforms at Lollapalooza 2021 on July 30. The buzz staff prepare for their coverage on Lollapalooza.

Editor’s Note | buzz staff looks toward upcoming Lollapalooza coverage

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 22, 2022
Local band, New Game+, performs at The Powder Room on March 22. The Powder Room is one of the local house show venues in Urbana for music and art enthusiasts to come together.

Pop the University bubble: Go off campus

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 19, 2022
Author and muscian Michelle Zauner, also known as Japanese Breakfast, on the album cover of "Jubilee" released on June 4, 2021. Zauner attended the zoom event “An Evening with Michelle Zauner,” presented by Illinois Libraries Present on Thursday.

Michelle Zauner explains writing process, grief in her best-seller ‘Crying in H Mart’

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jul 3, 2022
Sarah Shook and the Disarmers will perform will play at the Rose Bowl Tavern on Monday. The band has recently celebrated the release of their third album “Nightroamer.”

Sarah Shook & The Disarmers prepare to bring relief to C-U

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jun 27, 2022
Abortion rights activists demonstrate in front of anti-abortion activists outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on Friday.

Community members, students shocked by abortion decision

By Faith Allendorf and Sydney Wood • Jun 24, 2022
Summers are for self-care, listening to mom

Summers are for self-care, listening to mom

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jun 23, 2022
Travis Newgren and Elena Buenrostro, creators of band Soft and Dumb, releases a new song that challenges the norms of summer tunes titled "never wanna" on June 10 which will be a part of their upcoming album "Soft and Dumb" set to release on September 2.

‘never wanna’ is this summer’s anthem for sad people

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jun 13, 2022
Red Hot Chili Peppers releases their newest song "Nerve Flip" as a part their latest album "Unlimited Love." This is the bands 12th album and is a Japanese deluxe edition.

Red Hot Chili Peppers bring the heat with ‘Nerve Flip’

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Jun 6, 2022
Violinist Andrew Bird will be releasing the album "Inside Problems" on June 3. Bird has debuted the song "Make a Picture" on May 26 that will be featured in his newest album.

‘Make a Picture’ makes for perfect summer tune

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • May 30, 2022
The Rose Bowl Tavern held its first C-U Irish Session of the season on Tuesday. For the third summer in a row, the tavern has set up its outdoor patio performance space.

Rose Bowl Tavern’s outdoor venue revitalizes downtown Urbana music scene

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • May 27, 2022
Harry Styles’ latest album “Harry’s House” was released on Friday. The album features songs “As it Was,” which was released April 1 as the lead single, “Late Night Talking” and more.

‘Harry’s House’ calls upon interpersonal nature of ‘home’

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • May 25, 2022
Reflecting on college experience as a mosaic

Reflecting on college experience as a mosaic

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • May 19, 2022
Nectar, a local indie-punk band, releases their latest album “No Shadow,” on Friday. The group will perform at Exile on Main Street in Champaign to celebrate the release of the album on May 20.

Nectar releases sophomore album, talks about future

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • May 16, 2022
Editor’s Note: Reflecting on The DI’s recent editorial

Editor’s Note: Reflecting on The DI’s recent editorial

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Apr 22, 2022
Kamila Glowacki plays her guitar by Oregon Street and Goodwin Avenue on April 5. Glowacki, founder of the band Nectar and alum from the University, provides insight to her positive relationship with the C-U area, which often inspires the creation of her songs.

Local musician, artist embraces CU charm

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Apr 13, 2022
Pat Wingert, 2022 Illini Media Hall of Fame inductee and former The Daily Illini editor-in-chief, speaks during the hall of fame award ceremony on Saturday. Wingert believes that her biggest accomplishment is the ability to find ways to tell the stories of all different kinds of people.

Illini Media alumni share greatest professional accomplishments

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Apr 11, 2022
Ralph Nozaki worked for WPGU during his time at the University, and once graduating he began working at WCLR and created a program called “The Sunday Lite Brunch."

Smooth jazz radio pioneer enters Illini Media Hall of Fame

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Apr 5, 2022
COIN releases their fifth album "Uncanny Valley," on Friday. The album brings into question of human society in heavily dependent technological world.

COIN’s new album addresses relationship between human, machine

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Mar 28, 2022
Spring brings editor turnover, new changes to buzz

Spring brings editor turnover, new changes to buzz

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Mar 25, 2022
Mr. Chair, a genre fusion quartet of jazz and rock, begins their spring tour at Rose Bowl Tavern, located on Race Street, on Sunday.

Mr. Chair brings genre fusion to Rose Bowl Tavern

By Sydney Wood, buzz Editor • Mar 12, 2022
Artist Christian Felner talks about his latest album, "Young Fel 2," and thoughts on going back on tour. Felner's tour "Rush of Road" began on Feb. 15.

Felly brings dynamicism, new album to Chicago

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Feb 21, 2022
Georgia King, local AIDS activist, works on a pillar of the Champaign House. The House provides a place for those with HIV to stay who don't have other housing options.

Champaign House provides refuge for those with HIV

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Feb 16, 2022
Intimacy directing facilitates consent-based theater

Intimacy directing facilitates consent-based theater

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Feb 9, 2022
Lead vocalist of The Greeting Committee, Addie Santino, talks about the band's newest album and their experience on tour.

The Greeting Committee tours nation, shares album insight

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Feb 4, 2022
Alix Page released her debut album on Jan. 28 and is joining singer Gracie Abrams on her nationwide tour this month.

Alix Page debuts latest EP on tour

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Feb 2, 2022
Amy Myers hosts a pride event in 2018 at 51 Main. Myers will be hosting a "Drink ‘n Drag” drag show at The City Center in Champaign Jan. 8.

Drag show to feature local queens, special guest

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Jan 5, 2022
Kamila Glowacki stars in Nectar's new music video for the band's song "Routine." The song came out on Dec. 14, and the band filmed all over Champaign-Urbana for the video.

Nectar releases music video featuring local businesses

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Dec 14, 2021
People dance on a table at Chester Street Bar in Champaign. The bar, which was one of Champaign's only gay bars, closed in 2017.

CU lacks spaces for LGBTQ+ community 

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Dec 8, 2021
Kangaroo Court opens for Post Animal at Canopy Club Nov. 12. The band is currently working on an album that is planned to come out early next year.

Kangaroo Court brings psych-punk rock to CU

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Nov 29, 2021
Athletics department salaries dwarf College of Media’s

Athletics department salaries dwarf College of Media’s

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Nov 24, 2021
Filmmaker Kat Williams, senior in the College of Media, hopes to inspire other Black student filmmakers with her organization Focus Pull.

Kat Williams creates spaces for Black voices via filmmaking 

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Nov 10, 2021
Best of CU: Best Place to Take Your Parents

Best of CU: Best Place to Take Your Parents

By Sydney Wood, buzz Assistant Editor • Nov 3, 2021
Editors' Picks: Best Underrated Spots on Campus

Editors’ Picks: Best Underrated Spots on Campus

By Carolina Garibay, Sydney Wood and Olivia Rosenberg • Nov 3, 2021
Best of CU: Best Bathroom

Best of CU: Best Bathroom

By Sydney Wood, Assistant Editor • Nov 3, 2021
Best of CU: Best Local Band

Best of CU: Best Local Band

By Sydney Wood, buzz Assistant Editor • Nov 3, 2021
Remi Wolf poses for the cover for her first album "Juno" that was released Oct 15. Wolf takes a spin on soul and pop in her album with inspiration from other genres.

Remi Wolf’s debut album showcases kaleidoscope of sound

By Sydney Wood, buzz Assistant Editor • Nov 1, 2021
The Psychology Building is one of many places on campus and around CU that are haunted hot spots.

Beware of these CU, University haunted hot spots

By Sydney Wood and Kylie Corral • Oct 30, 2021
Two drag queens ride atop a white convertible during the CU Pride Parade on Saturday. The community rallied together in support of pride while honoring AIDS history.

CU Pride Fest uplifts LGBTQ+ community

By Sydney Wood, buzz Assistant Editor • Oct 1, 2021
The band members of Nectar pose for a photo. Nectar will be performing at Pygmalion Thursday.

Nectar prepares for Pygmalion, reflects on summer shows

By Sydney Wood, Assistant buzz Editor • Sep 17, 2021
Champaign coffee shop eludes national worker shortage

Champaign coffee shop eludes national worker shortage

By Sydney Wood, Buzz Assistant Editor • Sep 15, 2021
Still Woozy poses in his new album cover. The album was released on Aug. 13.

Still Woozy’s debut album features gooey, avant-garde indie pop

By Sydney Wood, buzz assistant editor • Aug 28, 2021

Prepare for semester with this post move-in day checklist

By Sydney Wood, buzz Assistant Editor • Aug 12, 2021
Tyler, The Creator performs on the Camp Stage at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Nov. 9, 2019. Lollapalooza has an impressive lineup full of watch worthy artists.

Look out for these artists at Lollapalooza

By Carolina Garibay, Sydney Wood, Aidan Finn and Raina Kutliroff • Jul 27, 2021

Flourish in college with these low-maintenance plants

By Sydney Wood, buzz assistant editor • Jul 15, 2021
The band "Boyish" poses for a photo. LGBTQ artists deserve recognition post pride month.

Check out these LGBTQ artists you may have missed during Pride Month

By Sydney Wood, buzz assistant editor • Jul 9, 2021
The cover of K.A. Moll's new book "Seeing by Heart" is shown above. Moll strives to include important LGBTQ+ representation in her books.

K.A. Moll releases new book, explains importance of representation

By Sydney Wood, Buzz Assistant Editor • Jun 28, 2021
Alex McArtor poses in a photo ahead of the release of her EP "Welcome to the Wasteland." The EP comes out June 25.

Alex McArtor bends genres in ‘Welcome to the Wasteland’

By Sydney Wood, buzz assistant editor • Jun 22, 2021
Cover art for "Streetlight" by Maps of the Midwest, which was released on Bandcamp Friday. The song is a tribute to songwriter and group member Taylor Loveall's grandmother.

Maps of the Midwest releases latest single in homage to songwriter’s grandmother

By Sydney Wood, Buzz Assistant Editor • Jun 9, 2021
Ella Williams, professionally known as Squirrel Flower, poses in a photoshoot. Her new album "Planet (i)" comes out June 25.

Squirrel Flower prepares for album release, fall tour

By Sydney Wood, Buzz Assistant Editor • May 26, 2021
The YMCA of the University of Illinois sits quietly at 1001 S Wright St, Champaign on a sunny day. The YMCA recently held its annual Stand Against Racism campaign on their Facebook page in a series of online presentations.

YWCA’s annual campaign concerns racism’s effect on public health

By Sydney Wood, buzz assistant editor • Apr 30, 2021
The band Ratboy composed of Julia Steiner, Sean Neumann, Marcus Nuccio and Dave Sagan pose for a photo. Ratboy is releasing a new album for their tenth anniversary and plan to perform it on tour in Europe next year.

Ratboys celebrates 10th anniversary with album release

By Sydney Wood, buzz assistant editor • Apr 28, 2021

Slowthai addresses cancel culture through album release

By Sydney Wood, staff writer • Feb 19, 2021
The cover for the movie “Tongues Untied” is pictured above. The film was released in July 1989 and was one of several LBGTQ movies produced by Marlon Riggs.

LGBTQ representation evolves in film

By Sydney Wood, Staff Writer • Feb 11, 2021

French Cassettes gear up for newest album release

By Sydney Wood, buzz staff writer • Dec 4, 2020
Budget empty? Your stomach doesn't have to be

Budget empty? Your stomach doesn’t have to be

By Sydney Wood, Staff Writer • Sep 21, 2020
The cover art of Samia’s new album, “The Baby.” The album was released on Aug. 28.

Samia Finnerty abridges the human experience in debut album

By Sydney Wood • Sep 16, 2020