It\u2019s a community-rooted affair born out of a love of music between Frahm and Ewing that began in college. The two met at Illinois State University and created a shared ritual: every Friday, when new music dropped, they\u2019d listen to albums together. After moving to Chicago, life, unsurprisingly, pulled them into separate apartments and separate routines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe felt like we were really losing that aspect of what we used to have, that easy, \u2018Oh, OK, I really like this song\u2019 energy,\u201d Frahm said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to share that over text, but it doesn\u2019t really feel the same. So we were basically trying to carve out that time again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus, The Heavy Rotation was born. Ewing described their initial attempts as a sort of book club meeting amongst friends at someone\u2019s house, but due to busy schedules and a text chain that never quite went anywhere, the idea was tabled. It was Frahm who insisted on reigniting the event in the summer of last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe set the foundation,\u201d Ewing added. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be really big or anything like that, but we have a good idea to slow down, get people back together and focus on music.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event found a home at Pour Souls, a living-room-esque event space that regularly hosts book clubs, community ventures and now deep listening events like The Heavy Rotation. Frahm\u2019s wife, Brie Hines, became their graphic designer, event photographer and social media manager.<\/p>\n
A couple of things happen for every Heavy Rotation session. Before the event, the founders will spin the album three or four times each, methodically playing through each song to establish what the theme of the album is and if there are any lyrics that speak specifically to them. They\u2019ll also develop a list of discussion questions to pass out during the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the time, our questions are posed to the audience around how a song or lyric relates to them personally, to their friendships, to their life,\u201d said Frahm.<\/p>\n
For their first session (featuring Clipse\u2019s \u201cLet God Sort Em Out\u201d), they focused on the break in the rap duo\u2019s creative relationship and their coming back together. \u201cWhat does brotherhood and friendship mean to you? How does it develop while still staying the same?\u201d Frahm recalled.<\/p>\n
During the night of an event, the two open up the room with a brief spiel. There are no set-in-stone rules. They may ask folks to stay off their phones or keep conversations to a minimum if they\u2019re not really about the music or the song that\u2019s playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s an adult,\u201d Ewing added. \u201cYou understand when you show up to an event. Just try not to be disrespectful or ruin someone else\u2019s experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first event saw around 15 guests, half of them friends. \u201cFolks sat there and listened to music, and it recreated what we had been doing for years already,\u201d Ewing said. \u201cThat was the stepping stone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, they\u2019ve held regular events almost monthly, and it\u2019s become something of a local hit. They attribute this in part to Chicago\u2019s deep music culture, its tight-knit creative communities and its abundance of events, making it the ideal backdrop.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago just has a natural appreciation for music and arts in general,\u201d Ewing added. \u201cA lot of people come to our events who maybe aren\u2019t musicians themselves, but they know someone who is a musician. I think that also adds to the appreciation, wanting to give the music the respect it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"Kalium](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-heavy-rotation003.jpg\"\/)
\nKalium Ewing, left, and Grant Frahm, who run album listening club The Heavy Rotation, at at Pour Souls in Chicago which is one of the venues that the duo uses for their events. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-heavy-rotation004.jpg?w=620\")
\nAn analog message board shows The Heavy Rotation, an album listening club, on the schedule in May at Pour Souls, 1740 W. Division Street in Chicago. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Kalium Ewing, left, and Grant Frahm, who run album listening club The Heavy Rotation, at at Pour Souls in Chicago which is one of the venues that the duo uses for their events. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
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More importantly, The Heavy Rotation is addressing a real, widespread need for analog connection and community in an overscheduled, screen-saturated world. During a time when most folks spend more time doom-scrolling on their phones, The Heavy Rotation leans into the purity and possibility of in-person community.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a space where you can just sit down with no expectations, not dancing, just slowing down and really listening \u2014 and then rolling with whatever emotions come from that \u2014 that\u2019s something different. That\u2019s what we\u2019re offering,\u201d Ewing said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no wonder that, their events have become more and more popular. Most recently, they launched The Spin Cycle, a community vinyl exchange and cocktail tasting also taking place at Pour Souls. They\u2019ve also begun talking to other venues to try to accommodate larger crowds in the future. Demand will only go up as people crave more experiences where they can connect and indulge in the sounds they love in non-traditional settings.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is just to get people to slow down,\u201d Ewing said. \u201cJust to create a space where people can take a moment, listen to music, connect with each other and honor whatever emotions come up.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you go<\/p>\n
Session 10 is \u201cAlligator Bites Never Heal\u201d by Doechii at 6:30 p.m. May 21 at Tree Top Lounge at the Salt Shed, 1357 N. Elston, threetoploungechicago.com<\/a>; Session 11 is \u201cOctane\u201d Don Toliver at 7 p.m. May 28 at Pour Souls, 1740 W. Division, poursoulschicago.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Britt Julious is a freelance critic.<\/p>\n
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