Incoming

December remains the busiest month for office parties even though the past few years have seen many companies switch to a virtual format for their seasonal celebrations. Which is all the more reason to attend the Pravda Records Holiday Showcase this Sunday, December 10 at Rattleback Records on Chicago’s north side. Think of Pravda Records as the company, the performers as its employees, and yourself as a happy, satisfied client. The event will feature sets by The Sunshine Boys in a reunion show; singer-guitarist Nathan Graham; Chloe F. Orwell from The Handcuffs, and Steve Dawson from Dolly Varden (he’s also a successful solo artist.) The live music will last from 5:00 to 7:00 pm; Rattleback Records is located at 5405 N. Clark Street.

Tickets go on sale this Friday morning for the Echo And The Bunnymen concert at The Riviera Theatre on May 26.

Thrift Store Halo has a release party for their Live And Unlearn EP coming up tomorrow at Ballydoyle in Downers Grove. Special guests will be Dolph Chaney and Black Cat Heart Attack. “Back To Good,” a song from Thrift Store Halo’s new release, has been racking up airplay on various indie rock stations in America and the UK.

Fans of Chicago’s music scene were elated to see local guys Jason Narducy, Dag Juhlin, Gerald Dowd, and Eddie Carlson, along with actor Michael Shannon on the national NBC show Late Night With Seth Meyers. In addition to his many film appearances, Shannon has deep roots in Chicago theater, and is an accomplished vocalist who’s done tribute shows at venues such as Metro. The Late Night With Seth Meyers appearance was a preview of an early 2024 tour that will feature him and the above-mentioned Chicago musicians performing R.E.M.’s Murmur album.

As reported by Darel Jevens in today’s Chicago Sun-Times, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and his wife Chloe Mendel will be among the hosts on Channel 5’s A Very Special New Year! show on New Year's Eve.

Los Lobos will bring their 50th Anniversary Tour to The Vic Theatre in Chicago this Friday, as part of a WXRT Holiday Jam event. The radio station and its listeners have supported Los Lobos for a majority of those five decades. Them Coulee Boys will be the opening act.

Sons Of The Silent Age will perform their always impressive David Bowie tribute show at the Marion Cultural And Civic Center in Marion IL this Friday, along with garage rockers Acumen, the band.

Congratulations to Ron Lazzetti on his sold out Ron’s Very Special Christmas Special! at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn tomorrow night. The 14th annual event, hosted by Lazzetti, will offer an evening of music and comedy with him, a house band, and special guests Dag Juhlin, Cayne Collier, Westerners Michelle Billingsley and Wild Earp, Christine Melody, Famous Brothers, Laura Lopardo, Jodi Walker and Jenny Bienemann, and the Children’s School Singers.

Chicago’s long-running alternative publication The Reader announced the list of nominees for its 2023 Best Of Chicago poll in an online newsletter sent out to subscribers today. The choices are divided into the seven major categories of Arts And Culture; Buy Local; Cannabis; City Life; Food And Drink; Music And Nightlife; and Sports And Recreation. Each of these is further broken down into several smaller categories. Voting kicks off on December 13 and will continue through January 14.