Chicago’s Vibrant DIY Community Celebrates Charles Joseph Smith at Elastic Arts
Review and photos by: Cara Col
The Chicago DIY community gathered at Elastic Arts this past Saturday to celebrate local icon Charles Joseph Smith’s work and influence. Catchy disco tunes spun by DJ Potions welcomed guests ready to celebrate the release of Smith’s first retrospective collection, and his first album, made widely available outside of Chicago, Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts.
They were also greeted by Smith himself, who danced from one side of the room to the other, stopping only to hug a friend or take a picture with a fan. Smith’s contributions go beyond his outstanding musical talent, he is known to be an excellent audience member. Smith is an avid supporter of the Chicago DIY and experimental music community; his presence shows encouraging other people to dance. Tonight was no different.
By the time Chelsea Bridge x Pan American were ready to take the stage, the room was packed. They played a spatial ambient set: as you moved through the room, you picked up different parts of the composition. Pan American synthesized resonant hums that moved from serene to melancholic. Chelsea Bridge layered melodic violin phrases, plucking, and vocal loops adding emotional texture to the layered soundscape that they both created. The performance appealed to several senses, turning abstract emotions into a tangible experience.
After a short break, Charles Joseph Smith took the stage as the crowd clapped in adoration. He began the performance with a medley of classical piano pieces, demonstrating his virtuosic skills. From Bach to Liszt, Smith led the audience through graceful notes and intense, staccato movements. Some in the audience became emotional when hearing Smith’s passionate interpretations.
Smith also performed his original compositions, starting with “Le Leader Negatif.” This is one of the more dramatic songs in Collected Works, characteristic of flamenco, and as Smith shared what got him hooked on the genre. The track began, and Smith sang a verse in Spanish, describing a struggle with stress. Then, the audience began to clap a Palmas rhythm taught to them by Smith before the song started. Smith began to dance flamenco, stomps punctuated by the claps and arms swaying to the song. Creating an intimate and expressive interaction with his audience purely through music and dance.
After singing an extended version of his ballad “My Days Are Not Over For Me,” the performance ended with a taste of Smith’s more avant-garde work. Over several tracks off of Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts, Smith narrated a story about intergalactic exploration and war. He sang, chanted, and created sound effects on his synth to bring the story to life. By the end, the audience was invested in the story, chanting along with Smith.
The celebration felt like a living reflection of the community Charles Joseph Smith has helped nurture. From the immersive collaboration to the dance floor that followed, every moment pointed back to the same idea: music as a shared experience. At Elastic Arts, Smith reaffirmed his role in shaping Chicago’s DIY scene. The crowd left energized, connected, and ready to keep creating together.
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Elastic Arts Event Details:
Dr. Charles Joseph Smith’s remarkable story begins with a mute child’s gift for music, and the purposeful way he nurtured this talent to become both life practice and raison d’être. Charles recounts this artistic journey in his autobiography, The 88 Keys that Opened Doors, a self-published book that chronicles a life in which music was (and still is) the primary key to overcoming immense challenges posed by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Born in 1970, Charles would go on to achieve three degrees in music (BM, MM, DMA) and perform concert piano in 5 countries.
Join us at Elastic Arts to celebrate this monumental occasion in Chicago culture: both the first retrospective collection of Dr. Smith’s work, as well as the first album of his work made widely available outside the City of Chicago. Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts releases April 3, 2026 on Chicago’s Sooper Records. The double vinyl / triple CD collection is the definitive album of Charles’ original recordings—and includes 9000 words of liner notes about his life and work, and 30 archival photographs. Sooper is also making his autobiography widely available for the first time to coincide with the release.
Charles Joseph Smith’s career as a musician starts in the church, reaches into the international concert piano circuit, and eventually settles to bear strange fruit in Chicago’s experimental underground. Along the way, Charles Joseph Smith’s compositional voice absorbed and metabolized popular music spanning pop to jazz, the gospel of the church, the canon of the classical conservatory, modern dance scores, and the rule-shattering experimentalism of his city’s DIY subculture, where he has been a mainstay for over 30 years.
Since the mid-1990s, Charles has been performing, dancing, and selling his self-published musical and written works in person, often at the local shows he frequents. He is known around Chicago as a living symbol of the power of music, and of the beloved spirit of community at the heart of DIY.
We’ll have an opening set from Chelsea Bridge X Pan American and DJ Potions spinning records all night. Don’t miss this incredbily special evening celebrating the legend Charles Joseph Smith!
Links:
Charles Joseph Smith
Bankcamp: https://charlesjosephsmith.bandcamp.com/music
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlessmith702210/
Elastic Arts:
Official: https://elasticarts.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElasticArts/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elasticarts
Sooper Records:
Official: https://www.sooperrecords.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sooperrecords
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sooperrecords/
