Rock music marathon rocks "The Nights We Stole Christmas"

Arts & Culture, Fall 2015

Rock music marathon rocks “The Nights We Stole Christmas”

December 8, 2015

By Ashley Altus and Ariana LaBarrie

From electronic infused indie pop to old school rock and roll, the 101WKQX’s The Nights We Stole Christmas showcased a cavalcade of diverse rock bands.

Fans packed the Aragon Ballroom Dec. 3-6 as international artists like Bastille from the United Kingdom to Chicago’s own K.Flay took the stage with Grizfolk, The Wombats, Circa Waves, The Struts, Meg Myers, Foals, Highly Suspect and headliners Twenty One Pilots. Add to that the music of Bastille, AWOLNATION and Silversun Pickups.

While fans came to immerse in the sights and sounds of some of the most popular bands in alternative music, the Christmas spirit added harmony too. Taking pictures with Santa Claus and all the Christmas decorations on the lower level of the Aragon brought a festive atmosphere to the concert series.

Night 1

Grizfolk lead singer Adam Roth said they were excited to perform in Chicago because 101WKQX was one of the first radio stations to play their debut single, “Troublemaker.” (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Roth said they plan to have their next CD release party in Chicago because of their large fan base in the area (Ashley Altus/Medill)

K.Flay brought electronic-pop music to the Nights We Stole Christmas. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

K.Flay is a native of Wilmette, Illinois. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Twenty One Pilots sold out the first show of The Night We Stole Christmas concert series. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Twenty One Pilots also sold out there headlining show at Allstate Arena in June. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Twenty One Pilots fans call themselves the skeleton clique. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Twenty One Pilots closed the show with their song “Trees.” (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Twenty One Pilots performed at Lollapalooza last summer. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

DSC04644-copy — The band played new tracks from their fourth studio album “Blurryface” (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Night 2

Night 3

Meg Myers set the stage for dance moves during her opening set. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Meg Myers newest album, “Sorry” was released in September on Atlantic Records (Ashley Altus/Medill)

The Struts brought retro-inspired music to the Christmas concert series. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

AWOLNATION first burst onto the music scene with their hit song “Sail” in 2011. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Before playing Aragon Ballroom, AWOLNATION just finished up the Run Tour in late September. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

AWOLNATION will return to Chicago in March to perform with Fall Out Boy and PVRIS. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

AWOLNATION musicians danced nonstop for their entire set. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Night 4

Progressive rock band Highly Suspect opened up the last night of the concert series. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Highly Suspect’s album, “Mister Asylum” was released this past summer. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

British band Foals has been together for 10 years. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Foals blends influences of electronic and rock in their music (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Silversun Pickups closed out the final day of The Nights We Stole Christmas (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Silversun Pickups played two songs during their encore (Ashley Altus/Medill).

Silversun Pickups was recently announced for Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Silversun Pickups has released four studio albums since their debut in 2002. (Ashley Altus/Medill)

Photo at top: Fans loved it when Luke Spiller, lead singer of The Struts went into the crowd. (Ashley Altus/Medill)