Chicago Reader52%
Chicago songwriter Ktwheels refreshes classic alt-rock 23%
By Jamie Ludwig0%
7/20/2026, 2:00:00 PM
Keywords: Listings, Reader Recommended
BS Summary: This article contains 11 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Anecdotal, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 38.3% saturation with 106 hits. Analysis detected 406 faulty-reasoning hits from 277 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 36.5% and a BS Rank of 23% (16,311 of 21,194 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 77.00% of the article peer group.
Katie Wheeler breathes fresh air into familiar rock styles.
The California-raised singer and guitarist played in bands as a student at Indiana University before moving to Chicago in 2023.
Since then, she’s gotten involved in several local projects, most notably singing and playing guitar in indie-rock outfit Junior Miss (who announced a hiatus in June).
In 2024, Wheeler launched her solo vehicle Ktwheels (usually styled “ktwheels”), and last year she dropped her debut EP, Junk Drawer, where she’s backed by guitarist Alvin John Santner, drummer Tommy Sagins, bassist Aval Stanley Zaucha, and multi-instrumentalist Max DiFrisco (who also produced the EP).
The record’s five songs merge straightforward 1990s alt-rock and poppy early-2000s emo, sometimes adding hints of introspective indie folk.
The laid-back, twangy “Slate, Clean” would sound just as good on the soundtrack of a coming-of-age flick as it would though the PA system in a dive bar, and “Midwestern Deprestern” enhances its forlorn mood with mandolin, double bass, and viola.
Wheeler’s latest single, the March release “Does She Know,” pairs melancholy guitar à la Smashing Pumpkins with lyrics about a broken relationship that hasn’t quite ended, even though her partner is already seeing someone else.
(Girl, run!)
But in true 90s alt-rock fashion, Wheeler follows the heart-on-sleeve confessions with a swift hit of guitar rage—it sounds like she’ll bounce back strong and never play second fiddle again.
At this Cole’s show, Wheeler will be joined by the same trio that accompanied her on a short east-coast tour this spring—Santner, Sagins, and bassist Matt McCarthy.
Ktwheels Sun Queen and Tiffy open.
Fri 8/7, 9 PM, Cole’s Bar, 2338 N.
Milwaukee, $16, 21+
Speakers
1speaker45%attributed speech151writer words
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28%flagged-word coverageKatie Wheeler
126 attributed words100% of attributed speech71% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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