Incoming

Best wishes for success to The Who on its all-star charity event Teenage Cancer Trust At The Royal Albert Hall in London. It kicked off today with The Who with Orchestra And Very Special Guests Squeeze, and those two stellar acts will return on Wednesday. The Teenage Cancer Trust will run through March 24; the other scheduled performers are Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds With Very Special Guests Blossoms; Young Fathers Plus Special Guests (TBD); The Chemical Brothers Plus DJ Paul Holroyd; and Ovation, which is described as A Celebration Of 24 Years Of Gigs For Teenage  Cancer Trust With: Roger Daltrey, Kelly Jones, Robert Plant With Saving Grace, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, and Paul Weller. See the official website for full schedule information. There are all kinds of really cool merch, including t-shirts and prints, for those who can’t make the trip to London but would love to support this worthy cause.

A recent post on the official Facebook page for The Smithereens calls out CHICAGO AREA FANS with an announcement of a free concert at this year’s Prairie Fest in Wood Dale, IL on June 28. Since the passing of the supremely talented and amazingly friendly Pat DiNizio, The Smithereens have used either Robin Wilson from Gin Blossoms or Marshall Crenshaw as their guest lead vocalist. There’s no mention of which will be with The Smithereens in Wood Dale. The event’s official Facebook page promises four days (June 27 – 30) of live music, carnival rides, and food and drinks, but doesn’t list any of the performers yet. No doubt, we’ll get more details in the coming weeks.

Sleater-Kinney have a concert coming up this Thursday night at the Riviera Theater on Chicago’s north side. The duo of Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker will no doubt be performing songs from their latest album, the emotionally charged Little Rope. Chicago Sun-Times writer Joshua M. Miller interviewed Tucker for an article that appeared in yesterday’s issue.

There will be an all-star tribute to Sinead O’Connor and Shane McGowan of The Pogues at Carnegie Hall in New York this Wednesday. David Gray, Cat Power, Glen Hansard, Amanda Palmer, and Dropkick Murphys have been confirmed as taking part, and other acts are expected to join in.