“I try to remind people that dance music can be fun and full of joy,” says the Black Madonna (a.k.a. Marea Stamper), a vet house music DJ whose blends of experimental electronic music have earned her a cult following. “Being good in Chicago is a different kind of good,” she says. “There is so much history and skill [here] that excellent becomes the average.” Average she is not: Last year the music website Resident Advisor named her one of the top 100 DJs in the world. When Stamper isn’t globetrotting, you can find her at Lake View’s Smart Bar, where she is music director.