Slumgullion

Please see yesterday’s Weekend Reminders post for events taking place this weekend.

Today’s batch of new album releases includes The Human Fear from Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdinand of “Take Me Out” fame. It’s their first album in a while and since the band is about to kick off a world tour, fans will soon be rocking to catchy new tunes such as “Build It Up,” “Audacious,” “Hooked,” and “Night Or Day” in a live setting. The American leg of that tour includes an April 5 concert at The Vic in Chicago.

Joel Paterson, a guitarist who’s been impressing audiences in Chicago area clubs for a while now, recently recorded an album of rock and country music covers titled Atta Boy Girl  with L.A. singer-guitarist Annie Dolan. The duo will perform some of those songs on January 15 at the FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn, IL.

 

Ringo Starr’s first full-length album in five years (after a few EPs) is available in CD, LP, and digital formats as of today. Look Up finds the former Beatle performing country music, a genre he obviously likes and has successfully explored in the past.

The Webstirs have a show coming up on March 8 at Phyllis’ Musical Inn on Chicago’s north side. The band has been setting clever and humorous lyrics to catchy arrangements for several years now, and has released six albums. Phyllis’ Musical Inn is located at 1800 W. Division.

Inhaler will release Open Wide, the follow-up to its highly successful 2023 album Cuts And Bruises, on February 7. That’s also the day the Irish band kicks off a major European tour. Open Wide is available for pre-order in CD and vinyl formats on the official Inhaler website. 

 

McLuhan, the adventurous seven-piece Chicago band inspired by philosopher Marshall McLuhan, will begin a Thursday night residency at Montrose Saloon on January 16. Upcoming residency gigs at the north side venue will be March 6 and April 3. Vinyl copies of McLuhan’s ground-breaking and recently re-released album Anomaly will be available for sale at these shows.

“A Thousand Times,” the first single fromVicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s new album will be released on January 24. In related news, John Cowsill will be the guest vocalist for The Smithereens on their upcoming spring tour. One of the dates already announced is April 25 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL.

Americana singer-guitarist Mindy Smith will likely be performing songs from Quiet Town—her first album in 10 years—at her City Winery Chicago concert on January 30.

Here’s an item I forgot to include in yesterday’s Weekend Reminders post. Steve Barton will have a record release show for Time Hard Won at Showdown Saloon in Portland Oregon this Sunday. The former Translator member stated in a recent Facebook post that he and a full band will perform the entire album, along with a few songs from “my past and future.” Americana singer-guitarist Nina Yates will be the opening act.

The annual My Sweet George George Harrison birthday tribute will take place on February 22 at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue. If previous years are any indication, the event’s organizers—Ellis Clark and Ary Paloma— will  recruit some of Chicago’s best musicians to join the celebration, and the selection of Harrison material performed will range from hit singles to deep tracks and rarities.

The Zombies are having a New Year New Deals sale with up to 80% off for merchandise in their official online store through January 15. That includes posters and t-shirts for $10 each. Other official websites, such as the ones for Graham Nash, Tom Petty, Ronnie Wood, and Goldmine magazine, are currently running January sales.

Poi Dog Pondering has sold out its January 24 show at Chicago’s Athenaeum Center for the Arts, and tickets are going fast for their show there on the following night. The multiple-member band led by Frank Orrall has several albums to choose from, and they’ll be joined by special guests Chicago Poetry Slam founder Marc Kelly Smith, dancer/singer Sophia Sanchez, and The PDP Chamber Music ensemble.

A Freddie Mercury Birthday Party 2025 bash will take place at the Casino Barriere Montreux in Paris on September 6th. Since the event will also celebrate 50 years of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” single, attendees are being asked to wear white to match the outfits worn by band members on the A Night At The Opera album cover. According to the official announcement, tickets, t-shirts, and posters will be available to purchase soon. The Freddie Mercury Birthday Party 2025 will benefit The Mercury Phoenix Trust. 

Andrew Robert Palmer, who has released solo albums as ARP! and with his sister Becca Palmer as the Chicago alt rock duo Mother Z’s, has a new solo EP titled Letters to the Moon coming out this Monday. The four-track effort (two power pop/two acoustic) will be available on his Bandcamp page.

Solo artist and New Pornographers band member Neko Case will kick off her 2025 book tour for The Harder I Fight The More I Love You memoir with a January 18 appearance in London with fellow author/musician Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s. Case’s stops in North America through early February include February 4 in Chicago with South African journalist Lior Phillips.

SPACE in Evanston has announced tickets are now available for Robbie Fulks on April 25 and 26 and Beautiful Vision: The Songs Of Van Morrison with Steve Dawson, Chris Greene, Alton Smith, John Mead, John Abbey, Larry Brown, and Sophie Creutz on March 17. The Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy and Friends R.E.M. tribute on March 15 is already Sold Out.

Guster’s We Also Have Eras Tour 2025 will start on January 24 in Philadelphia, and will include a stop at Riviera Theatre in Chicago on January 31. Along with performing hits such as “Satellite” and “Amsterdam,” the alternative rock band will present “a deep chronological journey through our music with skits, costume changes, and plenty of piss-poor acting.”

Vocalist Kate Fagan is probably best known for her years fronting the Chicago-based ska band Heavy Manners, but a new single coming out January 17 reaches further back to her early punk days. “Go Faster” bristles with high energy and a rebellious spirit, making it an interesting follow-up to her previous single, the melodic and mid-tempo “2 Good 2 B True.”

Los Angeles-based screenwriter/musician Bill Kelly has released a new album under the name Brighton Express. The six-song Stanley offers easy-going yet off-kilter pop tunes such as “Wild Dog” and “Sunset” and the more energetic “Into The Room Again.” Jeff Murphy from Shoes helps out on harmony vocals and synths; along with Scotty Lund on drums and Ted Russell Kamp on bass.

Singer-songwriter Coley Kennedy from the Chicago-based alt-rock band Welcome to Ashley and comic alt rock band The Buddies has a solo debut titled Neptune Blue coming out on January 17. The catchy first single, “(We Are) Born to Lose” finds Kennedy working in an atmospheric vein that calls to mind Richard Butler from The Psychedelic Furs.

 

Tickets are now on sale for The Jeff Tweedy Annual Benefit Shows that will be held at the Vic Theatre on April 18 and April 19.