Slumgullion

The Chicago-based power pop bands The Spindles and Go Time! will combine with Americana/pop band Falling Stars for a potent triple bill at Montrose Saloon tomorrow night, Saturday, August 20.

Happy Birthday to radio personality and my Best Friend In The Whole World Lin Brehmer. He’s currently on a medical leave from his daily show, and I wish him all the best. WXRT, the progressive rock station he’s called home for several years, is dedicating songs to him on the air today to celebrate his birthday.

 

Upcoming gigs at SPACE in Evanston include Phil Angotti with Katie Todd on September 14; the Tom Petty tribute band The Heartwreckers on September 15; and Frank Orrall of Poi Dog Pondering with special guests on October 1.

The West Loop Art Fest returns for its fourth year on the first weekend of September. Admission is free and organizers promise four blocks of art in a diverse range of mediums.

Tickets went on sale today for legendary guitarist Jeff Beck’s October 23 concert at the Chicago Theatre. 

Fans of The Smithereens are in for a pleasant surprise. A 12-song album of previously unreleased material recorded in 1993 will finally see the light of day. The Lost Album is available for preorder on Amazon.

Nancy Wilson’s Heart will be performing at the Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, IL on October 20. Tickets go on sale August 23. I’m thinking Heart fans won’t hear a lot of the band’s hits, based on the following message on the Nancy Wilson’s Heart Facebook page: “This group was formed to usher in a new era in Nancy Wilson's career with a focus on the future with the band members of her current project.” Still, we’re talking about an awesome guitarist, so it sounds promising.

Performances of the Tony-nominated comedy CLYDE’S start on September 10 at the Goodman Theatre in downtown Chicago. The play was written by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and is being directed by Kate Whoriskey.

And now for something completely British. If you fancy a trip across the pond for some theatre, a new production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into The Woods has just opened at Theatre Royal Bath in Sawclose Bath BA. The production is being co-directed by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame and choreographer Leah Hausman. 

Illinois Vintage Fest will present a Vintage Market at the renowned music venue Thalia Hall in the Pilsen neighborhood this Sunday, August 21. The event is free, and will run from 10 am to 4:00 pm.

Fans of the Ugly Things magazine, which covers “wild sounds from past dimensions,” will be glad to hear an Ugly Things podcast will be coming soon.

The annual YippieFest has returned to its live and in-person format for 2022, with a three-day run this weekend at the Den Theatre on Milwaukee Avenue. YippieFest is a direct descendant of the freewheeling Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Festival which was staged by the Mary-Arrchie Theatre for several years. Abbie Fest veterans the Famous In The Future comedy group and the whitewolfsonicprincess alt rock band are among the performers.

Nouvelle Vague, the French band that transforms punk classics in various fun and imaginative ways, will be at the Empty Bottle in Chicago next Tuesday, August 23. Marc Collin and Chrystabell from Strange As Angels are also on the bill that night.

Vocalist-guitarist Jim Peterik of Ides Of March and Survivor fame, has a special event titled Jim Peterik’s Guitar Madness - Songs And Stories coming up on August 24 at City Winery Chicago. As the City Winery website notes, Peterik is a Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter.

Corky Siegel, a founding member of the Chicago-based The Siegel-Schwall Band (along with the late Jim Schwall) a new album on the way from his Chamber Blues project, and it’s titled MORE Different Voices. It features several musicians who recorded themselves at home and then sent their contributions to Siegel’s producer to work his magic. It’s being funded through a Kickstarter campaign.