The Chicago street on which Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio is located has been renamed Steve Albini Way in honour of the legendary musician and sound engineer, who passed away in May.
The announcement was made on the final day of Steve Albini: The Gathering, a four day celebration of Albini's life and legacy in the city, arranged by the Shellac man's wife Heather Whinna for family members and friends. City council officials representing the office of Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa read out the honorary resolution which was adopted by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on July 17. The resolution hailed Albini as "an eternally important worldwide representative of the global underground and experimental rock music scene" and declared that the block of West Belmont Avenue on which Albini's recording studio, Electrical Audio, is located, shall from now on be known as Steve Albini Way.
The council representatives also acknowledged Albini and Whinna's generosity in donating presents and cash to needy residents of the city for over 20 years via their Letters To Santa charity, and declared, "The great city of Chicago is a worse place without him, as surely as it was a better place with him in it, as is, and was, the rest of the world."
The Chicago record label Touch & Go, which released records by Albini's bands Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac, in addition to albums Albini recorded for the likes of The Jesus Lizard, Killdozer, Slint, Tar and more, shared an official letter of ordinance from the city council announcing the honour.
Shellac's final studio album, To All Trains, was released on May 17. The album was described by Louder as "the most bittersweet listening experience of the year."
