Mr. Blotto was born in Chicago as an off-night vehicle for musicians who loved each others playing but were in different bands at the time. The only rule was that they would only play what they loved. That philosophy continues today and has led Mr. Blotto into unique musical situations.

Mr. Blotto takes the Jam band asthetic into areas unfamiliar to the standard Jam Scene. They have been known to cover entire albums by Led Zeppelin and the Who as well as perform entire shows of Country and Reggae. Artists as diverse as the Grateful Dead, the Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson and The Velvet Underground have seen their material interpreted by Mr. Blotto in the 2000+ shows the band has performed in the last 15 years, yet covers only pepper the bands hefty catalog of original material stemming from five studio albums and other unreleased crowd favorites.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the band that loves fusion and loud jazz. Gitchagumi plays jazz of every era, from the early days of be-bop, to post bop, to latin, to soul and funk, to more contemporary artists. If you like jazz at all, this band has something for you. Featuring alumni of such Chicago bands as Family Lifted, The East Village Project, Pala, Fat Time, Starcandy, P-1, Smittyvision, The F-Word, and the Powers that Be, Gitchagumi is a tree with many branches and deep roots.

Born in England, and most recently living in Dubai, Gillian Rose is a singer-songwriter with deep roots in Chicago. Having lived overseas for 10 years, her music reflects her many relocations and extensive travels.

Gillian’s first musical endeavor was at the age of 15, when she picked up her mom’s unused Gibson guitar. As a birthday gift to her supportive mom, and a thank you for the loan of the amazing guitar, she taught herself one of her mom’s favorites, “The First Cut Is The Deepest” by Sheryl Crow. Inspired by the amazing reception of the audience (party attendees), she started writing her first original song. It wasn’t long before she had saved up for her own guitar. Self-taught on the guitar, she continued to write songs, teaching herself the piano along the way.

Through all of her travels, music has been a calming constant in Gillian’s life. It has remained a way for her to express herself freely, as all of her songs truly come from the heart. However, it wasn’t until her mom and dad encouraged her to post some of her videos on YouTube that Gillian Rose realized people all over could relate to her songs.

After the YouTube postings, she quickly acquired a large, diverse group of fans from all over the world. Her videos were flooded with comments, including some odd proposals of marriage, from all over the world including countries as far as Venezuela, India, and Australia.

One of her favorite fan encounters was right at home in Dubai when, unbeknownst to her, the middle schoolers at her school selected her original song “Lately” to sing as their special graduation song. Watching so many young fans sing her song on stage brought tears to her eyes, especially because the song meant so much to her. She is hopeful that her U.S. debut will widen her audience even more.

Between her music, studying at Purdue University, and her modeling career, Gillian Rose keeps very busy. She is very willing to put in the hard work necessary to achieve success in all parts of her life. Gillian continues to write songs that people all over the world can relate to. With support from her family and friends, Gillian is optimistic that her music career will grow.