On Friday, Chicago began a four-day celebration for Steve Albini — the underground rock polymath who tragically passed away in May — in honor of his birthday on July 22. On Sunday, it was revealed that Belmont Avenue, which goes by Albini’s Electrical Audio studio, would be renamed Steve Albini Way.
Albini became a fixture of the Chicago music scene when he moved there to attend Northwestern University and remained there until his death, engineering a slew of important albums for generous prices. Steve Albini: The Gathering was a private event, but was livestreamed (watch a clip from it here.). It included many friends, family members, and musicians remembering Albini, such as his widow Heather Whinna, Fred Armisen, David Pajo, Rachel Grimes, Shannon Lay, Tim Kinsella, Chris Fuller, Silkworm, Scrawl, Nina Nastasia, The Breeders, Ty Segall, and more.