Slumgullion

Late last month, FitzGerald’s in Berwyn released the schedule for its July 3 – 6 American Music Festival (The Jayhawks, Old 97’s, Robert Randolph Band, and Marcia Ball are among the performers) and now a few more Chicago area festivals are revealing their lineups.

The Out Of Space Skokie event will be held at a new location closer to downtown Skokie this year since its usual spot at the Canal Shores Golf Course is being renovated. The event runs July 26 –28 and will feature Courtney Barnett and Bob Mould; Thee Sacred Souls and St. Paul & The Broken Bones; and Guster and The Lone Bellow with Devon Gilfillian. Headliners for The Millennium Park 20th Anniversary Celebration taking place July 18 – 21in downtown Chicago will include actor-musician Common; Fruko y Sus Tesos; the Grant Park Orchestra; and The S&S Chicago Experience.

Pitchfork Music Festival, which takes place July 19 – 21 in Union Park, will offer Black Pumas, Carly Rae Jepsen, Alanis Morissette, and Brittany Howard, along with several other acts. The Ravinia Festival in Highland Park will present James Taylor; Robert Plant And Alison Krauss; Michael Franti And Spearhead; Kurt Elling; Roger Daltry; Daryl Hall and Elvis Costello; Norah Jones; Gipsy Kings; Melissa Etheridge and Indigo Girls; The Roots; Crowded House; and several other shows from April through September.

Hello and welcome to The Kooks, who are in town tonight at the Riviera Theatre. The concert is part of their current 16-city tour, which has brought them to America for the first time in quite a while. The shows will celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Kooks’ debut release Inside In Inside Out.

“This Time Tomorrow,” the third single from Tall Poppy Syndrome, became available to download today on Bandcamp. It’s an energetic and faithful rendition of a vintage album track by The Kinks, given new life by music veterans Vince Melouney from The Bee Gees; Clem Burke from Blondie; guitarist Jonathan Lea from The Jigsaw Seen and singer Paul Kopf and bassist Alec Palao of Strangers In A Strange Land. An instrumental version is included with the download.

Chicago’s only performers of 21st Century Druid Music, whitewolfsonicprincess will have guitarist Rich Poston as their special guest when they headline a triple bill with The Lady Parts and John Ballantyne’s Crazy Heart tonight at Montrose Saloon. The music starts at 8:30 pm.

U2 fans can hear a recording of the final performance of the band’s U2:UV Achtung Baby, Live at Sphere series in Las Vegas via U2 X-Radio at SiriusXM. The concert starts at 8:00 pm ET and will be preceded by an interview with the band members starting at 7:00 pm. You can turn on a few strobe lights but it probably won’t fully capture the experience of actually being at Sphere.

Tickets went on sale this morning for Wilco and special guest singer-songwriter Cut Worms, AKA Max Clarke, at The Salt Shed in Chicago on June 14. Wilco will most likely feature songs from their 2023 album Cousin, as well as previous gems such as “Random Name Generator,” “You And I,” and “You Never Know.”

The Sound And Vision exhibit, which features artwork by well-know artist-musicians, opens tomorrow and will run through April 21 at Mad.Kat Gallery in Rancho Mirage, CA. Participants include Joan Baez, Jon Langford, Penelope Houston, Juliana Hatfield, and Steve Wynn.

The Soul Brunch Presented By Puresoul series continues at City Winery Chicago this Sunday with Stevie Wonder, Wonders Of Motown.

The combination Trouser Press 50th Birthday Party And Zip It Up! The Best of Trouser Press Magazine 1974-1984 Book Launch takes place tomorrow at the Bowery Electric venue in New York. Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey from The dB’s will be on hand to perform, along with The Shirt Event featuring Dennis Diken from The Smithereens; the Washington, DC alt rock band Dot Dash; and DJ Steve Reynolds. Zip It Up! is now available on the Trouser Press Books website.

Scott Ligon and Casey McDonough, recently described on Facebook as “2/4ths of NRBQ 

or 2/5ths of The Flat Five,” will perform as a duo tonight at Goldy’s in Forest Park. The music starts at 8:00 pm.

A new and ambitious version of the song “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” from Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler’s 1983 soundtrack album was released today. Several well-respected musicians, calling themselves Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes, joined him on the recording. The list includes Jeff Beck (his last recording); Roger Daltry (playing harmonica) and Pete Townshend; Sheryl Crow; Ry Cooder; drummers Ringo Starr and Zak Starkey; Sting; David Gilmour; Joan Armatrading; Peter Frampton; Buddy Guy; John Sebastian; Keith Urban; Steve Cropper; Ronnie Wood; Joan Jett; Nile Rodgers; Albert Lee; Dave Mason; Rick Nielsen; Orianthi; Bruce Springsteen; Susan Tedeschi and Dereck Trucks; Joe Walsh; and Mike Ruthereford. The all-star version of “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” will benefit The Who’s Teenage Cancer Fund and is available from Mark Knopfler’s official online store, and other sites.

EXPO CHGO - The International Exposition Of Contemporary and Modern Art, will be held on Navy Pier from April 11 through April 14.

Graham Nash is having a splendid time touring in the land down under, judging from a recent Facebook post proclaiming, “Cheers, Adelaide! We’re having a blast out here and loving your enthusiasm!” He’ll finish up on March 27 with a gig at the Twin Towns Showroom in Tweed Heads, AU.

The documentary Live At Mr. Kelly’s will have a screening on March 25 at Hideout Inn on Chicago’s north side. Mr. Kelly’s was a well-known night club in Chicago’s Rush Street area that featured acts that were some of the most popular performers during the 1950s and 1960s; such as Barbra Streisand, Richard Pryor, Bob Newhart, Bette Midler and Steve Martin. The event at Hideout Inn will also offer a live performance by Paris Schutz on piano. The music starts at 7:00 pm, and the documentary will begin at 7:40. Tickets are $12 in advance.

Matthew Sweet is set to go back on tour with Debbi Peterson from The Bangles again, starting in Madison,WI on April 4. They’ll be in Chicago the next day for a concert at Metro on the north side. Other stops include Pittsburgh, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, New York , and Washington, D.C.

My city was rocked. The Pretenders’ US Tour 2024 will include a stop at the Chicago Theatre on July 26. The other American cities being visited by Chrissie Hynde and company are New York, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle. 

Sting has an upcoming tour that will bring him to Chicago for shows at the Auditorium Theatre on October 28 and 29. He’ll also visit Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, Brooklyn, and other locations.

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Lael Neale will kick off a west coast mini tour this Thursday with a show at Soda Bar in San Diego. Other stops include Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. After a short rest, Neale will travel to the east coast for eight gigs. 

007 Science: Inventing The World Of James Bond, a new exhibit that views the popular spy movies from an intellectual but still fun perspective, opened recently at Chicago’s Museum Of Science And Industry, and will run through October 27.

There will be an all-star tribute to Sinead O’Connor and Shane McGowan of The Pogues at Carnegie Hall in New York on March 20. David Gray, Cat Power, Glen Hansard, Amanda Palmer, and Dropkick Murphys have been confirmed as taking part, and other acts are expected to take part.

The Time Machine - A Tribute To The ‘80s recently opened at the Black Ensemble Theatre and will run through April 14. BET is well known for its musical salutes, and this latest one has a sci-fi twist involving a high school senior who travels back to the era when Prince, Sheila E., Al B. Sure, Keith Sweat, and LL Cool J. ruled the charts. The Time Machine - A Tribute To The ’80s is written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks. Black Ensemble Theatre is located at 4450 N. Clark Street on Chicago’s north side.

Congratulations to Elton John and Bernie Taupin on being awarded the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. They’ll be honored during a tribute concert being held in Washington, D.C. on March 20.

Dolph Chaney And The Phins will likely perform the catchy “Californiagain” single from Chaney’s latest album Mug during a free show at 5:30 next Saturday, March 23 at Cary’s Lounge at 2251 W. Devon in Chicago. Opening act The Dry Look will kick things off at 4:00 pm. 

Montrose Saloon on Chicago’s north side has a potent four-act showcase up next Saturday, March 23, featuring Thrift Store Halo, French Casino, The Unswept, and 90s Steve.

The Chicago Film Society will present a screening of director Frank Borzage’s 1920 drama Humoresque on March 24 at The Music Box Theatre. It will be preceded by director Fred Guiol’s 1928 20-minute film The Boy Friend. Both films with have live piano accompaniment by musician/comedic performer David Drazin. The Music Box Theatre is located at 3733 N. Southport Avenue in Chicago. David and I were both members of the Famous In The Future comedy group, so I may be a bit biased. But I’m pretty sure you’ll be impressed with how well he coordinates his playing with what’s being shown on the screen.