Slumgullion

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

A recently remastered and expanded version of director Cameron Crowe’s 1982 film Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party can now be viewed via the Paramount+ streaming service. The documentary had previously only been seen on MTV. In related news, a video of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers covering “Wild Thing” by The Troggs is available for viewing on YouTube. 

Autographed copies of Mike Campbell’s Heartbreaker memoir are now available for pre-order from the talkshoplive and Premiere Collectibles websites. Campbell was a founding member of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, and currently leads the band The Dirty Knobs.

Tickets are now on sale for Sunny Afternoon at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The play is based on the music of The Kinks, with original story, music, and lyrics by Ray Davies; book by Joe Penhall; and direction by Edward Hall. It will run from March 21 to April 27.

Graham Nash fans can enter to win the signed Fender acoustic CD-60 guitar he gave to Fandiem by making a donation to help raise funds to provide relief to musicians and music industry workers affected by the Los Angeles fires. Donations range from $10 to $500, with the highest amount bringing the most amount of entries. The entries must be received by April 21.

The Classic Albums series continues at Reggies on March 21 with Phil Angotti performing The Byrds’ Fifth Dimension album and Niko performing Billy Bragg’s Talking With The Taxman About Poetry. The music starts at 8:00 pm. Reggies is located at 2105 S. State Street, just south of downtown Chicago.

A day later, the above-mentioned Phil Angotti will perform Bob Dylan songs at Reclaimed Bar, which is located at 3655 N. Western in Chicago.

Aimee Mann has a 22 1/2 Lost In Space Anniversary Tour with guest Jonathan Coulton coming this summer. It opens on June 5 in Cranston, RI and wraps up at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on June 27.

Wisconsin-based Americana rockers The BoDeans, who have given us gems such as “Closer To Free,” “Fadeaway,” and “Good Things,” will perform at the Des Plaines Theatre in downtown Des Plaines, IL on March 21

Shaky Knees - The Music Festival is scheduled to take place at Piedmont Park in in Atlanta, GA from September 19 through 21. Scheduled acts include Lenny Kravitz; Pixies; Spoon; Inhaler; Cage The Elephant; Johnny Marr; The Beaches; Vampire Weekend; Devo; Wet Leg; Franz Ferdinand; and Stereophonics.

The Handcuffs, whose latest album Burn The Rails offered another batch of melodic and inventive indie rock songs, will open for fellow Chicagoans The Steepwater Band at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, IL on April 25. The Steepwater Band has recorded a series of albums filled with hard-hitting Americana rock.

Tickets are now on sale today for Theo Epstein and Peter Gammons’ Hot Stove Cool Music event at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston on April 12. The event will feature Cheap Trick; Greg Hawkes and Eddie Japan performing songs by The Cars; and the Hot Stove All-Stars (Peter Gammons, Theo Epstein, Bill Janovitz, Kay Hanley, Will Dailey, and MLB Legends). 100% of the proceeds will go to the Foundation To Be Named Later Gammons College Scholarships fund.

Chicago-based label Pravda Records will release a remastered, reissue of The Chamber Strings’ 2001 album A Month Of Sundays later this summer. Vocalist-guitarist Kevin Junior, who passed away in 2016, was the guiding force on what Pravda describes as, “a beautiful album from a beautiful soul.” 

The feature-length documentary Bono: Stories of Surrender, which is based on the U2 vocalist’s solo tour for his fascinating memoir, will stream on May 30 on Apple TV. According to an online post from Billboard, director Andre Dominik’s film will include footage of Bono performing some of the songs he’s made famous with U2.

Tickets are now on sale for The Color Purple - The Musical coming to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago starting June 21. The production will be directed by Lili-Anne Brown, with book by Marsha Norman, and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Alee Willis, and Stephen Bray.

The Miki Berenyi Trio, led by Lush founding member Miki Berenyi, has its first album Tripla coming out in digital and vinyl formats on April 4.

Pure Soul Presents will continue its monthly Soul Brunch events at City Winery Chicago with a Tribute To Parliament Funkadelic on April 12; and a Tribute To Marvin Gaye on May 10. Each of these shows will start at noon.

Adventurous prog rock musician and The Luck Of Eden Hall founding member Gregory Curvey, AKA Custard Flux, has a new album titled Enter Xenon coming out on June 1. It can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp, and the first three tracks are already available to purchase and download.

The Chicago Women Of Color Puppetry and Performing Arts Fringe Festival has extended its run at the Zhou B Art Center to March 22. The event is being held on the 4th floor of the Women of Color Theatre and includes performances, workshops, and discussions regarding the artists’ work.

International Pop Overthrow - Chicago 2025 will be held from April 25 through May 3 at Montrose Saloon, and 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 is its fourth year of hosting. Per tradition, each night will bring a set of at least five acts; and there will be afternoon and evening sets on April 26, 27, and May 3.

Jason Narducy and Dag Juhlin will celebrate Pete Townshend’s birthday on June 21 at the Hey Nonny venue in Arlington Heights, IL. Townshend was born on May 19, which is why this event is being billed as a (Belated) Birthday Bash. Understandable since Narducy and Juhlin have a busy schedule these days.

Former WXRT radio personality Richard Milne will once again book the musical talent for the annual Lakeview East Festival of the Arts. The event takes place on Sept 13 and 14, and as Milne stated in a recent Facebook post, he’s “not looking for tribute or cover bands although covers mixed in with your originals are perfectly acceptable.

Pravda recording artist Nathan Graham is known for mixing classic blues with Americana music, and he’ll likely showcase songs from his Saint Of Second Chances album during his April 4 gig at the Thornton Distilling Co in Thornton, IL. Falling Stars, who gave us catchy indie rock songs on their recent Garden Variety EP, will be the opening act.

Lovely Stuff, the first new studio album from the Chicago-based indie rock band Smoking Popes in seven years, is due out on April 4.

Vocalist Gerald McClendon will receive the Bobby Blue Bland Award when the 25th Annual Jus’ Blues Foundation holds its Night Of The Living Legends event on July 30 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Many of us in Chicago are familiar with McClendon because of his superb performance of “My Sweet Lord” at a number of My Sweet George events at the Martyrs’ venue on Lincoln Avenue.

Lorraine Hansberry’s award-winning play A Raisin In The Sun is picking up rave reviews, and has been extended through March 23 at Chicago’s Court Theatre. The venue is located at 5535 S. Ellis.

Patti Smith and her band have added a second Chicago date to their 50th anniversary tour of Smith’s groundbreaking debut album Horses. They’re now performing November 17 and 18 at the Chicago Theatre.

Long-time Chicago-based power pop band Thrift Store Halo will make its 2025 performance debut on March 20 at Montrose Saloon. They’ll be joined by Dolph Chaney and The Phins and Rent Party.

Great Moments In Vinyl, a rotating collection of area musicians devoted to honoring famous LPs and rock and roll artists, will perform the music of The Cars on March 20 at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue.

Fans of Chicago rock and roll circa the mid 1960s might have a willingness to check out The New Colony Six on May 23 at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights.

Tickets for the September 9 Supergrass concert at The Riviera in Chicago are now on sale. The Oxford, England trio is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its terrific debut album I Should Coco with concerts in the U.K., North America, and Mexico. Supergrass will perform their entire first album along with other hits.

The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune recently revealed the dates for some of the city’s most popular spring and summer outdoor events. Here’s a sample of what we can expect in the coming months: Chicago Blues Festival June 5 – 8; Chicago Gospel Music Festival July 12; Chicago Air and Water Show August 16 and 17; Chicago House Music Conference and Festival August 22 and 23; Chicago Jazz Festival August 28 – 31; and Taste Of Chicago Grant Park September 5 – 7.