See yesterday’s Weekend Reminders post for events happening this weekend.
I was saddened to see the recent Facebook posts from journalists Cary Baker and Albert Williams, and musician Lee D’buddah stating that Bohemia lead vocalist Carla Evonne has passed away. One of Chicago’s first and best punk bands, Bohemia never achieved the national success it deserved. I interviewed the band members in April, 1983 for the Prairie Sun newspaper prior to an afternoon concert at the University Of Illinois - Chicago. They were promoting their No Ordinary Moon EP and came across as very friendly and cool. Rock In Paradise, Carla.
Green Day’s American Idiot is coming to the Goodman Theatre in downtown Chicago on June 18 and will run through July 25. The musical will be directed by Susan V. Booth, with music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong, and book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer.
Happy Birthday to vocalist Holly Senchak Dausch, who along with Adam Dausch, is a founding member of Metropoly. The alt rock band hails from Munster, Indiana, but is familiar to several Chicagoans via its inspired tributes to acts such as Hole, Liz Phair, Garbage, and Blondie at the Halloweekend tribute show that’s been staged at various Chicago venues over the years.
Australia’s adventurous and frequently humorous garage rock band Hoodoo Gurus will visit London for a single concert on September 28 at the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town. Girlband, a Nottingham, UK alt rock trio that sounds pretty cool judging from their Facebook page, will be the opening act.
Congratulations to Marty Lennartz on his 40 years as a DJ at the Chicago alt rock station WXRT. Lennartz worked various shifts over that span before landing the coveted weekday early morning shift. I’ve talked to him at a few WXRT events, and found him as friendly in one-on-one situations as he is doing radio show.
Death Cab For Cutie released its latest album, I Built You A Tower, today and will embark on a massive tour starting July 10 in Minneapolis.
Chicago-based band The Bad Examples, whose clever and catchy songs often call to mind the music of Squeeze, will perform at the Moonlight Theatre in St. Charles, IL on July 18, and at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights, IL on August 15. Later that month, they’ll perform at International Pop Overthrow - San Diego on either August 21 or 22 (the schedule hasn’t been released yet).
The Riverside Park venue in Aurora, IL has announced its 2026 Summer Concert Series, which includes Cheap Trick on June 25; UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell on August 9; The Beach Boys on August 14; and Poi Dog Pondering on August 15.
The lineup for this year’s Riot Fest, which will take place September 18 – 20 at Douglass Park in Chicago, has been announced. Participating acts include Alanis Morissette; Social Distortion; Morrissey; Iggy Pop; Elvis Costello; Pixies; Patti Smith And Her Band; and Sugar. Tickets are available on the official website.
Billy Idol must have enjoyed his 2025 It’s A Nice Day To . . . Tour Again! gigs because he’s scheduled four new ones for this fall. The first is on September 10 in St. Louis, MO; followed by September 11 in Grand Rapids, MI; September 13 in Cuyahoga Falls, OH; and September 16 in Kansas City, MO. Bangles founding member and solo artist Susanna Hoffs will be Idol’s special guest at each location.
Susanna Hoffs has a solo gig at The Old Town School Of Folk Music on September 14. It’s a co-presentation with Chicago Humanities. A week later, Hoffs has a five-night engagement at the Café Carlyle at the Carlyle Hotel in New York.
Souvenirs - 80 Years Of John Prine, a four-day event, will kick off October 8 at the Chicago Theatre. Members of Prine’s band will perform, along with Steve Earle; Ratboys; Jon Langford; Kathleen Edwards; Alynda Segarra; Amos Lee; Shemekia Copeland; Josh Ritter; Margo Price; and The Cactus Blossoms. Actor John C. Reilly will serve as host. All proceeds from Souvenirs will benefit the Prine-inspired Hello In There Foundation.
Jack White recently kicked off a massive tour that will keep him busy through November 21. It’s a mixed bag of European and American gigs (many of which have sold out) that includes Chicago on July 23 and 24.
As recently noted by Chicago Sun-Times staff reporter Kaitlin Washburn, the people at Lollapalooza have donated $1.1 million to Chicago public schools to help expand art education programming. That’s certainly worth a standing ovation. This year’s Lollapalooza festival takes place from July 30 to August 2 at Grant Park in downtown Chicago. The lineup includes Lorde; The Smashing Pumpkins; Sombr; Wet Leg; Suki Waterhouse; and Wolf Alice.
Joe Algeri and Paul Colombini of the Australian power pop band The Outryders are on the verge of releasing their first album in a few years. The new songs will also feature Illinois native, bass player Herb Eimerman, who has worked with Algeri on several projects, thanks to modern recording technology.
Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney, women performers who first found fame in the 1990s and have been successful ever since, will join together for The Flannel and the Fury Tour this fall. They’ll perform at The Salt Shed Fairgrounds in Chicago on September 17; other stops on the tour include Los Angeles; Denver; Brooklyn; Philadelphia, and Boston.
The Rolling Stones’ new album Foreign Tongues is due out on July 10, and can be pre-ordered from Amazon and other sites. A video of the hard-edged first single “In The Stars” on YouTube finds the band at the top of their game.
The Roger Daltry - A Great Night Out! North American Tour will kick off in Mesa, AZ on August 23 and wrap up on September 29 in Medford, MA. Fans in the Midwest can choose New Lenox, IL on September 12 or Milwaukee, WI on September 15.
SOLSTICE, which is being described as “A Festival Where Nature Is Not The Backdrop, But The Headliner,” is coming June 19 – 22 to Trematon Castle in Cornwall, England. As noted on the SOLSTICE website, the event will offer live music, dialogue, and workshops centered on the concept of “what a truly nature-centric culture could look like.” Performers include Anna B Savage; Alexis Taylor; Boss Morris; and Chapel Of (Nature) Love. Andy Bell and Deb Grant are among the DJs scheduled.
Psychedelic Soul: A Journey Through Rhythm And Time is now open at the Motown Museum in Detroit, MI, and will run through September 27. The website states the exhibit will focus on the years 1967 through 1975, “when the label expanded beyond its signature love songs to embrace experimentation and socially conscious storytelling.”
Chicago indie rock band The Handcuffs have a series of live performances scheduled for the next few months. They’ll be at the Metro Jam Festival with Sonny Landreth in Manitowoc, WI on June 20; Summerfest (as Kim Gordon’s opening act) in Milwaukee, WI on June 25; Mary’s Place in Rockford, IL on June 27; Evanston SPACE with whitewolfsonicprincess on July 28; and PravdaFest at FitzGerald's in Berwyn, IL on September 12. Also, The Handcuffs have recorded two new songs in the studio for a picture sleeve single to be released some time this summer.
A new music documentary titled Peter Asher Everywhere Man explores the multi-decade career of the English musician and producer. Several major stars are featured in the film, including James Taylor; Linda Ronstadt; Carole King; Paul McCartney; and Robin Williams. Peter Asher Everywhere Man will be shown in select theaters on June 19.
Theater Of The Mind, the imaginative adventure crafted by David Byrne from Talking Heads and writer Mala Gaonkar, has been extended through August 30 at the Reid Murdoch Building at 333 N. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. Theater Of The Mind, a Goodman Theatre production, has been picking up rave reviews in Chicago newspapers.
