Chicago Tribune

The pandemic brought a Chicago man closer to his neighbors — and inspired his album of songs about each of them

CHICAGO -- When the world was isolating in pandemic bubbles, Alex Hardaway was channeling his inner Bob McGrath — the late “Sesame Street” character who sang the “People in Your Neighborhood” song. Hardaway began a marathon music project — his first solo album, called “Be My Neighborhood,” where he wrote a song for each of his neighbors in his 15-unit Andersonville apartment building. The ...
Alex Hardaway, who wrote a song about all of his neighbors in his 15- unit apartment building during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, is seen outside his Andersonville home on April 5, 2023.

CHICAGO -- When the world was isolating in pandemic bubbles, Alex Hardaway was channeling his inner Bob McGrath — the late “Sesame Street” character who sang the “People in Your Neighborhood” song.

Hardaway began a marathon music project — his first solo album, called “Be My Neighborhood,” where he wrote a song for each of his neighbors in his 15-unit Andersonville apartment building. The album debuted Thursday.

During the height of the pandemic, Hardaway, a longtime employee at Oiistar Japanese restaurant, had started doing maintenance work around the building to chip some money off his rent. That led him to meet all his fellow tenants. The 33-year-old graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University said a lot of

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