District 97

District 97 emerged from Chicago in 2006 as an instrumental quartet comprising drummer and composer Jonathan Schang, keyboardist Rob Clearfield, bassist Patrick Mulcahy, and guitarist Sam Krahn. Drawing on sources that stretched from experimental jazz to metal, the group quickly developed a technically demanding approach before vocalist Leslie Hunt, a former American Idol finalist, and guitarist Jim Tashjian joined the lineup. Their arrival steered the music toward a still-complex yet more melodic brand of progressive rock, prompting the band to sign with Laser's Edge Records and issue the 2010 debut Hybrid Child, which earned notice both locally and throughout the international prog scene.

The album also caught the attention of John Wetton, the former Asia and King Crimson singer and bassist, who lent his voice to the 2012 follow-up Trouble with Machines. Wetton subsequently toured with District 97 across Europe and the United States, performances later captured on the 2014 live release One More Red Night: Live in Chicago. By then the Chicago unit had already moved beyond its regional base, building audiences on both sides of the Atlantic while maintaining a precarious balance between soaring progressive rock and intricate, technically challenging metal.

After the 2015 album In Vaults, Clearfield and Mulcahy departed and were replaced by keyboardist Andrew Lawrence and bassist Tim Seisser. The revised configuration embarked on additional overseas dates, secured a berth on Yes' Cruise to the Edge tour, and won the admiration of drummer Bill Bruford. District 97 continued to appear at festivals worldwide and shared stages with such prog stalwarts as Yes and Marillion. Their fourth studio album, Screens, arrived in 2019 on the U.K. label Cherry Red.