Glad Cloud is a monthly series that celebrates the rich landscape of Chicago musicians working with ambient music. Curated by Benjamin Mjolsness, the series provides an opportunity for ambient artists to color the air, walls, and liquids of the Whistler in a deliberately non-intrusive manner. Visitors can enjoy their cocktails and companions while the music envelops the room around them.
 
After three years of collaborating on the series, Mjolsness and the Whistler are working in concert to present a three-night festival featuring musicians and groups that have contributed to the series’ success, along with some new faces to keep things moving forward as year four begins.  The current list of scheduled performances includes: an ambient synthesizer ensemble led by Dan Mohr (DRMWPN); a guitar duet between Bill MacKay and Leroy Bach (ex Wilco, among others); solo performances by New Yorker Justin Walter and Chicagoan Paul Giallorenzo as part of 10/16’s co-curated evening highlighting the bridge between Glad Cloud’s ambience and the Whistler’s weekly Relax Attack Jazz Series; Male (Jonathan Krohn, Todd Mattei, and the series curator, Mjolsness); White/Light (a duo of guitarist Matt Clark and sound engineer Jeremy Lemos); and Solar Fox (an ethereal duo featuring Steve Krakow, AKA Plastic Crimewave).

The festival will also serve as the release party for the Glad Cloud Ambient Music Series Compilation, Volume One, a collection of songs featuring artists and groups from the first three years of the series.  The compilation will be released on the Whistler’s in-house label, Whistler Records, and features contributions from Tim Kinsella (Joan of Arc, Make Believe, Owls); White/Light (feat. Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth); Matt Jencik (Implodes, Hurl); Jim Schoenecker (Volcano Choir); Sam Wagster (Fruit Bats); Matt Christensen (Zelienople); Male; Magical, Beautiful; Fred Lonberg-Holm & Gonzo Almeida; Radiation Waves; Bill MacKay; Dan Mohr; and Estesombelo.

Glad Cloud Festival lineup:

Oct. 15:

• Set I: Ambient synthesizer ensemble led by Dan Mohr (DRMWPN)
• Set II: Guitar duet with Bill MacKay and LeRoy Bach

Oct. 16:

• Set I: Justin Walter (NYC)
• Set II: Paul Giallorenzo

Oct. 17:

• Set I: Male (Jonathan Krohn, Todd Mattei, Ben Mjolsness)
• Set II: Solar Fox (featuring Steve Krakow, AKA Plastic Crimewave)
• Set III: White/Light (Matt Clark and Jeremy Lemos)

—Billy