It’s 11:30pm on Friday night at Wicker Park’s newest venue, The Point. Chicago Loud 9 aka Cloud 9 very successfully warmed up the crowd and now Midwest Hype takes the stage. They’ll need to keep the energy high and that’s exactly what they do. It’s their first Chicago show post pandemic and they are ready to rock.

The band mixes so many genres together. Reggae, rock, funk, and hip-hop are all represented. In this way, they draw comparisons to 311, who also blend many of these musical styles. The set is a continuous groove that keeps the audience dancing late into the night.

The lead singer/guitarist is George Matthew. The rhythm section is Max Kepler on drums and Nate Miller on bass. On keys is Kevin Krizmanich. The horn section is Ben Morrisey on sax and Scott Whitford on trumpet. Justin “Ideal” Diehl is the emcee.

Quinn Delaney