Phil Knott Photography


If you’re going to see Tennis at Union Transfer on Monday, October 1st, be sure to get there early to see the Chicago band Wild Belle. The brother-sister duo, Elliot and Natalie Bergman, combine indie-pop, singer-songwriterisms and elements of reggae and world music. Elliot is a member of NOMO, a highly regarded African/Jazz instrumental dance band; Wild Belle grew out of Natalie adding vocals to some of the band’s music. Music fans and music industry folks took notice of Wild Belle last March at SXSW when the band did a series of well received shows. As is sometimes the case, the unsigned bands at SXSW who deliver great shows and music, wind up being pursued by labels. In Wild Belle’s case, they recently signed with Columbia. Greg Kot, the music critic from the Chicago Tribune, and one of the hosts of Sound Opinions from WBEZ in Chicago (WXPN runs Sound Opinons on Sundays at 5PM) had this to say about the band: “Write this name down: Wild Belle. So far, the South by Southwest Music Conference belongs to them.” Below, listen to a new song from Wild Belle, “It’s Too Late.”