Slumgullion

 

“February Sky,” a brand new song from Ringo Starr’s Crooked Boy EP, is now available to download from various streaming sites. The physical EP, on black and white marble vinyl, will be available exclusively as part of next Saturday’s Record Store Day releases.

The entire list of this year’s limited-edition vinyl offerings is available on the official Record Store Day website. Once again, the selection has something to entice fans of just about every genre and era. Here’s a sampling of recording artists involved: Cannonball Adderley; Chet Baker; The Beatles; David Bowie; Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas; Alex Chilton; Nat King Cole; The Cure;  De La Soul; The English Beat; George Harrison; Howlin’ Wolf; Ian Hunter; Chris Isaak; Elton John; John Lennon, Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman and Marty Stuart; Willie Nelson; Delores O’Riordan; OMD; Paramore; Charlie Parker; Parliament; Pearl Jam; Public Enemy; Queen; Queen Latifah; Ramones; The Replacements; The Roches; The Rolling Stones; Sonny Rollins; Linda Ronstadt; Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson; Siouxsie And The Banshees; Sleater-Kinney; Sonic Youth; Sparks; Donna Summer; Sun Ra; Supergrass; Talking Heads; T. Rex; U2, The Who; Wilco; The Yardbirds; Yes and Frank Zappa. There are tons more I didn’t mention, as well as a number of interesting various artists compilations.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the long-time, critically acclaimed South African singing group, will perform tomorrow night at Old Town School Of Folk Music on Lincoln Avenue.

Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti, along with Casey McDonough, John San Juan, and John Perrin,  will focus on The Beatles Second Album, along with other gems from the band at this Sunday’s Beatles Brunch at City Winery Chicago.

Gerald Dowd and Rachel Drew will reunite for a three-hour performance at Cary’s Lounge this Sunday, starting at 4:00 pm. Drew had a record release party for her impressive new album Old Sky New last Thursday at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, and Dowd is a member of Sonic45 and has performed with Steve Dawson, and other well-known Chicago musicians.

Stompin’ Grounds Cafe in Lake Zurich is staging one of its semi-regular live music events this Tuesday with a Spring Fling featuring acoustic music by the Face N Time band. The music starts at 7:00 pm, and the cafe promises “great treats [and] wonderful drinks” will be available for sale. Reservations are recommended.

EXPO CHGO - The International Exposition Of Contemporary and Modern Art, an annual event that’s a favorite among many art fans, has returned to Navy Pier for its 11th year and will run through this Sunday. There will be 170 international exhibitors from 29 countries.

ebertFest - Roger Ebert’s Film Festival will be marking its 25th Anniversary when it kicks off  next Wednesday, April 17 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL. Special Guests will be on hand for most of the screenings, which include Star 80; Little Indian Girl Collective Panel; Conducting Life; The Light Of Truth: Richard Hunt’s Monument To Ida B. Wells; Stony Island; The Teachers’ Lounge; Cookie’s Fortune; Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind; Little Richard: I Am Everything; The Best Man; Blackmail; Omoiyari: A Song Film By Kishi Bashi; Albany Road; and Man On The Moon. The festival runs through April 20.

Indie rockers The Telepaths and Dubble Bubble, a new act that features two members of the power pop band Triple, will share the bill at Lighthouse Tavern tomorrow night. Each is scheduled to perform a single set before joining forces for “Jamming, Chaos After.” The venue is located at 7301 N. Sheridan.

Chicago indie rock band Vinto Van Go, which describes its approach as, “Chicago-style psychedelic music rooted in this city’s garage rock and soul music,” has an album release show coming up next Thursday at the Epiphany Center For The Arts. The 321’s, a recently formed group that’s already busy on the local club scene, is also on the bill. In addition to live music, Epiphany Center For The Arts has art galleries, and serves drinks and appetizers. It’s located at 201 S. Ashland. The doors open at 5:00 pm, the music starts at 7:00 pm.

International Pop Overthrow - Chicago 2024 returns next Friday, April 19 and will through April 27 at Montrose Saloon. The schedule is now available on the official IPO website. CFO/Founder David Bash has brought his multi-act showcase to a number of Chicago venues over the years, and Montrose Saloon is a particularly good fit. I believe this will be its third time hosting.

Northeastern Illinois University radio station WZRD Chicago 88.3 will celebrate 50 years of offering freeform radio with a free of charge party at Martyrs on May 4. There will be live music by Cosmic Bull, Silver Abuse, Sons of Ra, and Charlie Otto. Martyrs’ is located at 3855 N. Lincoln Avenue.

Long-time Chicago-based rock musician Michael Steven Cohen has been specializing in classic tunes from The Great American Songbook lately, and he’ll perform Friday Night Love Songs on April 19 at Tuscan Market and Wine Shop in Arlington Heights. The romance begins art 7:00 pm.

The Neverly Brothers 20th Anniversary Tour will bring them to the Beverly Arts Center on May 4. It’s located at 2407 W. 111th Street - Chicago, IL. The trio provides a history of rock music dating back to the 1950s by performing artists such as Buddy Holly, The Beatles, and The Kinks.

Tickets went on sale today for the Paul Weller + Special Guests event taking place on September 15 at The Vic Theatre on Chicago’s north side. It’s his first US and Canada tour in seven years. Other cities in September will include Brooklyn, Boston, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver. After visiting North America, Weller heads back across the pond for a UK Autumn Tour. It would be great if he also played some material from his days with The Style Council and The Jam. His new guitar-driven single “Soul Wandering” is now available on streaming sites, and a full-length album titled 66 is due out May 24.

Chicago fans of offbeat theatre will likely enjoy Theatre Wit’s current production of Nick Robideau’s play Inanimate, which concerns a young woman falling in love with a neon sign. Theatre Wit describes the Jeremy Wechsler-directed Inanimate as “the best (and only!) objectum-sexual dramedy of the year.” Freelance theatre critic Emily McClanathan, writing in the Chicago Tribune, says it’s “a warmhearted, expansive story about living authentically and accepting others for who they are.” J.G. Smith stars in the lead role.

This year’s Skokie Backlot Bash will be held on the weekend of August 23-25 in Skokie, IL. The lineup will be Arrested Development, Big Wade And Black Swan Theory, Tonic, Woolworthy, Tributosaurus Become The Kinks Part 2, and Thrift Store Halo.

The Time Machine - A Tribute To The ‘80s recently opened at the Black Ensemble Theatre and will run through this Sunday, April 14. Black Ensemble Theatre is located at 4450 N. Clark Street on Chicago’s north side.

Gerry’s Cafe, which recently opened in Arlington Heights, is promising to give a free small cookie to each customer who comes in wearing something blue during April to support Autism Acceptance Month. The cafe’s motto is Changing Lives One Cup At A Time and is staffed by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Chicago-based power pop veterans Thrift Store Halo now has a cover band side project named Uncle Boogie. Fans can check it out when Uncle Boogie performs at the alliteratively named Lizard’s Liquid Lounge on April 20. I’ve never heard of this venue before, but from the photos on its website, it looks pretty cool. Plus, since it’s located at 3058 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago, I could almost walk there from the Metro Irving Park station.

 

The 40th Annual Latino Film Festival opened yesterday and will run through April 22 at the Landmark Century Center, Davis Theater, and Instituto Cervantes in Chicago. Admission for a regular screening is $15, and a 10-general-admission film passport costs $125.

The UPS for DownS Theatre Company is staging the musical Grease this weekend at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. Megan Gray is the director. UPS for DownS  (United Parents Support for Down Syndrome) states the performance “features actors with and without Downs Syndrome, their friends and peers.”

The Bad Examples have a show coming up at the Hey Nonny venue in Arlington Heights on April 20. The Chicago band has a number of albums brimming with clever and melodic songs reminiscent of Squeeze.

The Chicago Film Society will present a screening of director Allan Dwan’s 1926 film Padlocked at the Music Box Theatre tomorrow. It stars Lois Moran and Noah Beery, and will be preceded by director Fred Guiol’s 1925 film Flaming Flappers. There will be live piano accompaniment by David Drazin. The Music Box is located at 3733 N. Southport Avenue, in Chicago.

Steve Dawson has drawn critical acclaim for his solo career, as well as for the alt rock/Americana band Dolly Varden he fronts with his wife Diane Christiansen, and his other band Funeral Bonsai Wedding. Dawson will gift his fans with his next solo effort Ghosts at some point this summer and the first single—“Time to Let Some Light In”—will be available next Friday.

The Zombies have released a collection of five one-take demos titled less is more on Spotify and Apple Music. 

A Best Of  Bruce Springsteen collection in CD, vinyl, and digital formats will be released next FridayApril 19.

The very first Off North Shore Skokie Music Festival will be held at the Skokie Sports Park on June 21 and 22. Scheduled performers include Mike Campbell and Dirty Knobs; Larkin Poe; The Bones Of J.R. Jones; and The Empty Pockets on day one; and Grace Potter; Donavon Frankenreiter; Jaime Wyatt; and JC Brooks Band on the second night.

The Sound And Vision exhibit, which features artwork by well-known artist-musicians, is now open 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.

A Reader Best Of Chicago celebration will take place at 6:30 pm at the Lincoln Park Zoo on April 25. There will be live entertainment and performances by some of the award winners, as well as food and beverage vendors and other activities.

As someone who’d love to get my rock and roll/paranormal romance novel published some day and then see it adapted to film, I was fascinated with Chicago Sun-Times film critic Richard Roeper’s review of the new movie The Greatest Hits. It’s the story of a young woman who gets transported back in time whenever she hears a rock song that brings back memories of her recently deceased boyfriend. Roeper says it features a variety of recordings by current artists, including Roxy Music and Nelly Furtado. He gave it three stars.