Incoming

Best wishes to everyone across the United States for a safe, fun and entertaining 4th of July weekend. Be sure to celebrate by catching some live music. Looking back over several years of living in Palatine, IL, I’d say my favorite outdoor performances around here have been by The Smithereens, The Bad Examples, and Cliff Johnson with Off Broadway.

Tomorrow will be opening day of a new tour for The Baseball Project, when the sports-minded, indie rock band comprising Peter Buck, Linda Pitmon, Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey, and Mike Mills performs at SPACE in Evanston. Other dates include Milwaukee, Des Moines, Tulsa, and Fort Worth. Their fourth album, Grand Salami Time, was released in 2023 and includes the songs “Disco Demolition” and “Fantasy Baseball.”

Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights will continue its tradition of booking top notch blues acts when recording artist Mud Morganfield—son of Muddy Waters—returns to the venue this Friday night. Showtime is 7:30.

The Zombies are no doubt busy preparing for their second annual Begin Here Festival, which will take place in St. Albans, UK in November, and lead vocalist Colin Blunstone has even more on his plate. He’s lined up concerts in Harpenden, Milton Keyes, Bury St Edmunds, and London, in which he’ll perform his entire 1971 solo debut One Year, joined by a full band and the Q-Strings quartet. According to an official email, Blunstone is doing this “for the first time EVER.” I had the pleasure of seeing him do a solo show at City Winery Chicago a number of years ago, where he performed a variety of tracks from his solo efforts, along with a few Zombies hits. 

Vocalist Gerald McClendon The Soulkeeper will perform A Night Of Motown and Classic Rhythm and Blues this Saturday at SPACE in Evanston. If you’ve seen McClendon blow the roof off Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue when he sings “My Sweet Lord” at the annual George Harrison tribute, then you know this Saturday’s SPACE event is going to be special.