Slumgullion

Shindig!, the British magazine that does a fab job looking back at everything people loved about the 1960s (or would have loved if they had lived through them) has another Montage Collector’s Edition issue on the way. This one’s titled The American Psychedelic Explosion 1965 – 71, and offers a 128-page “carefully curated collection of articles originally published between 2010-2017.” The articles and interviews have been “edited, redesigned, and updated” for this issue. It’s available to pre-order for £10.99 plus postage from Silverback Publishing Ltd. 

The 2024 Chris and Heather’s Country Calendar Show at FitzGerald’s In Berwyn, IL will take place on December 21. Andrew Sa; Jodee Lewis; Zachary Stevenson and The Oh Boys; Dave Drazin; Phil Angotti; Nora O’Connor; The Hushdrops; Jane Baxter Miller and Kent Kessler; Casey McDonough; Hillbilly Frolic; Scott Ligon and Kelly Hogan; and The Saturn Kings will be the entertainers joining Chris Ligon and Heather McAdams. Each local act will cover a well-known country or rock act.

McAdams’ Country Calendar is always an ambitious, fun, and informative gem you’ll want to save long after the year has ended. It was a pleasant surprise to see Dave Drazin making what I believe will be his debut as a Calendar particpant. I’ve known Dave since we started performing together in the Famous In The Future comedy group back in 1989. Frank Carr is now the only original member, but Dave did a fabulous job as a guest musician playing piano between skits at the 2024 FIF YippieFest and the Chopin Theatre this past August.

 

Also, at FitzGerald’s, a charity event titled To Find A Friend: An Evening of Tom Petty Music for Hurricane Relief will take place on November 23. Ryan Joseph Anderson, Scott Tipping, Brian Morrissey, Jim Tuerk, Mike Holtz, and James Farrell will perform Petty songs, and proceeds will benefit the North Carolina Arts Disaster Fund.

Since this year’s International Pop Overthrow - Boston will run from October 30 through November 2, CFO/Founder David Bash decided to take a spooky, Halloween approach in his promotion of the live music event. There will be 21 indie rock and pop acts are scheduled to perform at The Square Root in Boston, MA, and according to the Facebook post, some of them are from Beyond. IPO - New York is scheduled to take place a week later, at The Parkside Lounge.

WXRT radio personality Terri Hemmert will be at the Treetime Christmas Creations store in Lake Barrington next Thursday, October 24th from 6:00 to 9:00 pm for a holiday season kick-off celebration. Hemmert will play some of her favorite holiday songs starting at 7:00 pm, and patrons will have a chance to win prizes. Treetime Christmas Creations suggests those interested to pre-register in order to guarantee a spot at the event.

Tickets are now available for the Joey’s Song Freezing Man Festival taking place January 8 – 11, 2025 at the Majestic Theater in Madison, WI. Several well-known acts will take part in the charity event, which raises funds to help find treatments and cures for epilepsy. This year’s performers are Debbi and Vicki Peterson, Jane Wiedlin, Tracy Bonham, Belly, The Know-It-All Boyfriends, Cory Chisel, Letters To Cleo, Look Park, John Cowsill, Garbage, Against Me!, Kenny Hoopla, Freedy Johnstone, Portugal. The Man, Silversun Pickups, Heather Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, The Goo Goo Dolls, Sierra Swan, The Nielsen Trust, and Gina Volpe.

The 60th Chicago International Film Festival opened this past Wednesday and will run at various locations through October 27.

As noted on the Official Tom Petty Facebook page, a fully remastered version of the Heartbreakers Beach Party will be screened in cinemas this Sunday. Billed as The Lost Classic Documentary, Starring Tom Petty, it was directed by Cameron Crowe, and includes “20 minutes of additional, never-before-seen footage from the Petty Archive.” 

Here’s an important date to mark on your calendar if you’ve already bought one for next year. A Pat DiNizio - Smithereens Tribute Night will be held on April 24, 2025 at Montrose Saloon on Chicago’s north side. The venue has started offering some good tribute events, including Squeeze and  XTC.

Soundtrack Serenade, the self-described “Chicago-Based Eclectic Cover Band,” will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the cult classic Pulp Fiction next Tuesday at Montrose Saloon on the city’s north side.

Tickets are now on sale for Stevie Wonder’s tour, which opened in Pittsburgh on October 8. Its slogan, Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Heart, is inspired by Wonder’s call for peace and unity on his new single “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart?” New York City; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Greensboro; Atlanta; Detroit; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; Grand Rapids; and Chicago are the other stops on the tour. 

Six Stories Up On The Campaign Trail - A Student Council Calamity runs  at Filament Theatre November 18 – 27 weekends only.

Psychedelic Renaissance: 1982-1986 is now available to preorder as a double-LP or CD Digipak from the Futurismo site. It’s the next volume in Futurismo's Altered Vision compilation series, and features tracks by The Three O’Clock, The Rain Parade, True West, The Bangles, Thin White Rope, Game Theory, The Dream Syndicate, The Long Ryders, Green On Red, 28th Day, The Pandoras, and Wednesday Week.

The official schedule for this year’s Halloweekend has been announced, and once again the lineup features local musicians paying tribute to an eclectic selection of world famous acts. The event was staged at various Chicago venues for the better part of this century before finding a home at Montrose Saloon in 2018. Halloweekend 2024 will run on October 25 and 26, with long-time participants such as Rachel Drew; Phil Angotti; Metropolis; Androgynous Mustache; and Dead Freddie scheduled to appear. If some of the other band names seem unfamiliar, keep in mind musicians sometimes craft a one-off identity strictly for this event.

I was happy to receive an update from the people working on the Melanie And Kim Monday fanzine that’s due out soon via the GiveSmart Fundraise campaign. Pre-orders are now closed for the limited-edition, 60-page tribute to musicians Melanie Vammen and the late Kim Shattuck, and it’s now in the process of being printed. All proceeds from the fanzine will benefit the ALS Network.

Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets will likely play tracks from his recently released album Indoor Safari at Lincoln Hall in Chicago on October 29 and 30. The final shows for his fall will be on November 2 and in Minneapolis.

 

I just received my copy of Issue 19 of the Second Scene alt rock newspaper, and once again, it’s filled with eye-catching graphics, along with news and reviews. Readers won’t find much copy here on big-name acts, other than a profile on the legendary KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. But, much like MOJO magazine promotes Brit musicians many of us in the States are unfamiliar with, Second Scene introduces us to indie acts worth checking out.

Sonic45, the self-proclaimed “Chicago-based new-wave quintet” led by sports broadcaster/musician/songwriter Len Kasper, will return to the Hey Nonny venue in Arlington Heights on November 24. The band’s second album, SuperSonic, has several standout songs, such as “You And I Are Stereo,” “Flying Away,” and the quite unnerving “The Phantom.” In addition to Kasper, the band features Matt Spiegel, Dag Juhlin, Gerald Dowd, and Liam Davis—all veterans of critically acclaimed Chicago area acts. Tickets for the Hey Nonny November 24 gig will be available soon. 

Record Store Day has released the list for this year’s Black Friday Record Store Day, and once again, there are vinyl treasures to be found in all genres of music.

What could be a better night for a new batch of “21st Century Druid Music” than Halloween? The Chicago-based band whitewolfsonicprincess, which proudly applies that label to its inventive indie rock approach, will unveil a new album titled Love Without Fear on October 31 at Evanston SPACE.

Chicago: Home Of House, an exhibit honoring the city’s pivotal role in widespread success of house music over the past 40 years, runs through the end of October. 

English musician Matt Johnson will bring his band The The to The Salt Shed in Chicago on October 25 as part of radio station WXRT’s Fall Jam Series.

Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate has a performance coming up this Sunday at Hideout Inn on Chicago’s north side. Autographed copies of Wynn’s recently released memoir I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True are now available on his Bandcamp page, which is where you can also order his a new solo album Make It Right. Rick Rizzo from Eleventh Dream Day will be the opening act.

Sting, former Police vocalist-bassist, is coming to Chicago at the end of this month and he’ll stay a while. The Sting 3.0 Tour, which features the three-piece combo of Sting, guitarist Dominic Miller, and drummer Chris Maas, includes shows at the Auditorium Theatre on October 28, October 29, November 1, and November 2. His most recent album, The Bridge, was released in 2021 and included the terrific track  “Rushing Water.” Concert pianist/DJ/film composer ELEW will be Sting’s special guest.