Charlie Coffeen

An intimate affair with live music. Front Room Concerts(FRC) is an exclusive monthly event featuring the most talented local artists, you never know who may stop by. This month, FRC is featuring Charlie Coffeen: Charlie Coffeen is a keyboardist based in Chicago, IL. He currently tours full-time with the 8-piece hip-hop/soul/jazz band Sidewalk Chalk as the band's leader. Sidewalk Chalk was awarded "Most Outstanding Group" at the 2012 Chicago Music Awards, and named "Best Hip-Hop Act" by the Chicago Reader in 2010. The group has shared stages with D'Angelo, ?uestlove, De La Soul, Action Bronson, Jean Grae, and Hiatus Kaiyote, among other notables. Their third album, Shoulder Season, was released on Ropeadope Records. Each of their three albums have received high praise from numerous press outlets: "There is some serious Native Tongues flavor injected into this well-rounded 8-piece of Mid-Western funk" - Okayplayer "...it's easy to sample Charles Mingus, but it's far harder to make music that Mingus would have liked." - Afropunk "While many Chicago bands strive hard for originality, it's unlikely that any of them could best Sidewalk Chalk..." - Jessica Hopper, Chicago Tribune Charles is also an in-demand sideman, arranger, and studio musician in Chicago, having acted as music director for Brother Ali, and performed with Buddy Guy, Isaiah Sharkey, and many others. Charles is a member of The Gala artists collective in  Chicago, and is adjunct faculty at Columbia College, teaching Hip-Hop: A Sonic History.