Incoming

Several well-known musicians from the rock and country genres, including Ringo Starr; Sheryl Crow; Willie Nelson and John Daly; Guy Clark; Rodney Crowell with Wendy Moten; John Oates and Chely Wright; and Shelby Lynne can be found on Songs From Quarantine Vol. 2. The 15-track album is now available for download on Bandcamp, with all proceeds going to benefit the Music Health Alliance.      

Graham Nash’s new book of photography and commentary A Life In Focus was officially released last week, and the copy I pre-ordered from Amazon arrived on Saturday. Nash has been doing online and  television interviews about it, including a stop at CBS Mornings. I can’t say much about A Life In Focus at this point, because I put it upstairs with some other recently purchased rock culture items I’m saving for Christmas morning. I did post a photo of the book on Instagram with the caption “It’s all right to buy yourself a present.” 

Tickets are now available for the Chrissie Hynde and Co. Perform Bob Dylan (And Other Songs) streaming event coming up on December 27. Hynde will be performing songs from her Standing In The Doorway album, which was released earlier this year. 

As mentioned by NME Magazine on Instagram, The Cure has a tour of the UK and Europe coming up next year.

Blues fans from, well let’s say all around the world, have plenty of time to plan for attending the Big Blues Bender being staged from August 25 through August 28 at the Westgate Resort And Casino in Las Vegas. In addition to over 50 live acts—including Buddy Guy, Tab Benoit, Shemekia Copeland, Little Feat, Larkin Poe, and Mike Zito—there will be panels titled Women In Music, Harp Benders, Piano Benders, and a Pro-Am Jam.

He knows us. Joe Jackson, of “Is She Really Going Out With Him?,” “Stepping Out,” and “Sunday Papers” fame, has a tour coming next year called Sing, You Sinners! It includes dates at Park West in Chicago on May 25 and 26.

Marc Martel, who contributed vocals as Freddie Mercury in the film Bohemian Rhapsody, will be performing The Ultimate Queen Celebration at two Chicago area venues later this week. He’ll be at The Arcada in St. Charles on Thursday, December 9, and at The Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines on Friday, December 10.

Other shows coming up at The Des Plaines Theatre include The Music And Magic Of Motown, a salute to Stevie Wonder,  Martha And The Vandellas, The Temptations, Four Tops, and The Supremes on December 11, and a New Year's Eve bash with The BoDeans.

Here are a few more holiday gift ideas for yourself or a fellow rock music fan. The official Jefferson Airplane website has t-shirt and vinyl combinations that include a trippy t-shirt featuring the amazing Grace Slick and a copy of the band’s Volunteers LP.

For a bit more money, you can buy a Giclee fine art print of Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders and Brett Anderson from Suede posing by a jukebox. Originally taken by noted photographer Kevin Cummins in 1992, the shot has now been transformed into an “individually numbered, limited to 100 only on 250gsm archival, hammered, acid-free stock using UV resistant inks.” The 47cm x 47cm (I have no idea what that translates to in U.S. measurements) is signed by Hynde, Anderson, and Cummins. The cost is £250, including postage and packing, with all proceeds going to BrandAid.

Now that The Hollies are scheduled for an April 7 concert at The Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago, the time seems right for a local Hollies tribute show by the critically acclaimed Tributosaurus. That’s just a wish on my part, and another suggestion would be a multi-act tribute featuring Phil Angotti And Friends, The Spindles, Androgynous Mustache; Great Moments In Vinyl, Michael Steven Cohen, etc. Just throwing some ideas out there.