Matthew Kaplan Photography

Sweet Home South Chicago Street Fair on the Southeast Side - August 27th 2022

There was great live music Saturday afternoon on 90th Street and Commercial Avenue, at the main stage of the Sweet Home South Chicago street festival. The groups I caught included the trio Liliana y Los Caballeros, whose lead singer Liliana hails from the east side; The 63rd Street Drummers; and the Myron Mills Project, with Flo Mills belting out a killer rendition of the Gershwin classic "Summertime", a la Janis Joplin. Community organizor and newly announced 10th ward aldermanic candidate Oscar Sanchez introduced the artists.

Among the artists showing their work on the avenue was one of Chicago's outsider masters, Roman Villarreal. A longtime resident of the Southeast side, and one of the most imaginative and prolific artists I know, Roman's monumental sculptures grace both Big Marsh Park and Steelworkers Park.