Every First Wednesday of the month, Chicago locals visit The Playground Theater for the ultimate gathering, Midwest Mixtape. Created by musician Mitch Mead, the event alternates between two musicians and two comedians in an intimate theater, creating a diverse, personalized experience of singing and laughter. The enjoyable madness is contained in The Playground Theater, which is a non-profit space dedicated to providing the community with free performances. But while the performances are free, donations are greatly appreciated in order to keep the venue running.
May’s edition of Midwest Mixtape was a roller coaster of talent. The night started out with a brief introduction and performance by the event’s creator, Mitch Mead. Mead gave a short acoustic set with never before heard songs, showcasing his hilarious song writing and harmonica skills. One of which was about his first Chicago apartment and the real, raw experience of living in a space that you hate and it hates you back. His songs are both catchy and amusing, demonstrating why he is the mastermind behind Midwest Mixtape. Before hopping off stage, Mead received an urgent message that a black Chevy Tahoe was about to be towed out front, adding to the light-hearted, quirky event.
First up on the docket was Claire Sundbye, who is a comedian that is regularly seen at The Laugh Factory, Zanies, and Comedians You Should Know. Sundbye kept the audience laughing from jokes about her height to hometown anecdotes. Her humor was at times self-deprecating but consistently raunchy. One joke talked about how hookups were a bit difficult because instead of owning a traditional bed, she uses a dog bed. Obviously, that makes for an awkward situation, but more importantly, it connects back to her very popular guest appearance on the YouTube show, Subway Takes, which has nearly 20 million views. Sundbye has a lot to say about beds and may be the funniest person to do so.
With an amused audience, the show pivoted over to a solo acoustic performance by Sara Geist, but not before another, more urgent announcement that the black Chevy Tahoe out front was actively being towed. Geist took to the stage and sang a set of completely new songs that will be on her new album that has yet to be announced and named. It will discuss how body image is a journey, one that she has been creatively writing about for the past 3 years. One song, “Shower Wall” explored how the body changes and had the lyrics, “I don’t have a body, my body has me,” kick starting a conversation about much we let our appearance control us. With Geist’s raw vocal power and deep lyricism, she is an impressive musician that is worth keeping an eye on for future album releases.
With the night escalating back into comedic fun with Kristen Toomey, so did the situation with the black Chevy Tahoe, which involved a now broken tow truck. Toomey is an impressive local comedian that was the first woman to host the Chicago/ Midwest Emmy awards solo and has several shows on streaming platforms, her newest being Shriller which you can find on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. Where Claire Sundbye brought a more Gen Z type of humor, Toomey went full force with Gen X hilarity. She talked about phone usage, specifically Tik Tok, and how she’s been really into Witch-tok recently. Toomey’s stage presence exuded experience and gave an incredible performance, which could only leave audience members thinking, “wow, I get to see this for free?”
To finish off the night, a woman crashed into the black Chevy Tahoe and was requesting to see the driver as Samuel Aaron came on stage with special guest, Chris Rohner. Aaron sang while playing guitar while his band mate rocked a pedal steel. Together they played songs off of Aaron’s most recent album Rambler. The duos performance was mesmerizing in conjunction with Aaron’s insane vocals and Rohner’s skill on the pedal steel. During one song, “Wichita,” I know I wasn’t the only person in the audience that wanted to throw up a phone flashlight or dance with a loved one. Samuel Aaron is another local performer to keep your eye on, and you can see him at his next performance at Shubas on May 26th.
Midwest Mixtape is an incredibly well-rounded show put on by locals, showcasing locals. It is a night that covers so many talented, but different artists, all in which you can see for free every month. Mitch Mead organizes a great event and even better comedic bits, like with the black Chevy Tahoe, the is the cherry on top of the cake.
To keep up with future events you can follow the event’s Instagram @MidwestMixtapeshow and support local comedians and musicians at the amazing, Playground Theater.
All photos taken by Lizzy Morris
