Slumgullion

Award-winning director Mary Wharton’s new film Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free - The Making Of Wildflowers will have its global premiere on October 20. That’s also Petty’s birthday, so the event is being promoted as a celebration of the late rock rock star’s legacy. Some of the theaters participating in Illinois include AMC River East 21 in Chicago; AMC Streets Of Woodfield in Schaumburg, and Regal Lincolnshire and IMAX in Lincolnshire. Tickets and information are available at the film’s website 

Phil Angotti And Friends will celebrate John Lennon’s birthday a bit early on October 8 by performing 81 of his songs at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue. In addition to paying tribute to The Beatles at gigs around Chicago, Angotti has become a regular performer on the Apple Jam Stage at Fest For Beatles Fans when it comes to town.

It’s nice to see The Joe Show, a tribute to the late Joe Camarillo taking place this Sunday, September 26 at The Hideout Inn, has sold out. Participating acts will include Hushdrops, Waco Brothers, Phil Angotti, and Nora O’Connor. These were just a few of the musicians who performed with Camarillo on Chicago’s club scene, where his talent and friendly demeanor made him a popular guest on stage.

YippieFest takes place this Sunday, September 26; streaming with no admission price at YippieFest.com. It runs from 7:00 to 10:00 pm with a mix of skits, one-act plays, music, and standup comedy. The participants are Famous In The Future, Mike Felton; whitewolfsonicprincess; Collage Productions and Mobile Rave Films; The Rut; Crash Of Rhinos; Dark Room Men; Northside/Southside Players; Killer Robots; Rob Sternberg and Randall Parker; Telepaths; Debbie Sue Goodman; and Amy Crider. The full schedule is available online.

The Berwyn Blues Festival is taking place this weekend at the FitzGerald’s venue. The scheduled  acts include Shemekia Copeland; Cedric Burnside; and Black Joe Lewis And The Honeybears; Thornetta Davis; Jackie Venson; Zach Person Lil’ Ed and The Blues Imperials; and Joanna Connor Band.

Theatre Nebula’s production of Something Rotten! - A Very New Musical opened tonight at Cutting Hall in Palatine. I still have fond memories of Theatre Nebula performing Spamalot at this same venue a few years back. Tonight also served as the re-opening night for Cutting Hall, which had been shuttered during the pandemic. Welcome back, thespians.

 

The Pretenders will release 3-CD deluxe editions of their first two albums on November 5, along with limited-edition red and clear vinyl versions. The Second Disc website, always an essential source in these matters, has the full track listing for both Pretenders and Pretenders II. The new versions are available for pre-order on from Pretenders HQ. 

The dBs have an album of vintage material coming out on October 15, and it’s going to be available in various enticing package deals. Fans can choose to purchase I Thought You Wanted To Know: 1978 – 1981 as a double gatefold LP or a CD separately, together, or together with a t-shirt. Prices range from $14.99 for the CD to $70 for the t-shirt, CD and LP. The 23-tracks include demos and live recordings from the band’s earliest days.

Daryl Cloran’s swinging London interpretation of As You Like It opens October 6 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier and will run through November. The production will feature several Beatles songs.

Congratulations to Carla Hayden, a member of Black Forest Theater Company and the whitewolfsonicprince alt-rock band, on her successful art show at the Brothers K Coffeehouse in Evanston. She’s already sold some of her paintings, and they’ll be on display through September 30. Brothers K is located at 500 Main Street.