Slumgullion

The Chicago Blues Festival, an annual event since 1984 and believed to be the world’s largest blues festival, returns to Millennium Park for the long weekend of June 5 – June 8. Mavis Staples will be among the headliners, and there will be a centennial tribute to the late B.B. King. Opening day will take place at the Ramova Theatre at 3520 S. Halsted and feature performances by Bobby Rush and Billy Branch And The Sons Of The Blues.

Fans of Wolf Alice are hoping recent mysterious social media posts from the U.K. band are meant to plant a seed that a new album—or new song—is on the way. Wolf Alice used a similar teasing approach before releasing the masterful Blue Weekend in 2021.

I’m proud to share the news that my nephew Joe Flamm will co-chair this year’s Taste of the Nation for No Kid Hungry, along with fellow successful chef Diana Davila, on June 27. The event will be held at Rockwell On The River (3057 N. Rockwell) and feature 50 chefs and mixologists. Several well-known Chicago area restaurants will be involved, including Joe’s Rose Mary and il Carciofo; and Diana’s Mi Tocaya Antojeria. General Admission is $150, while an All Access Pass is $200.

The Big Star Quintet has three concerts coming up in July. The lineup comprises original Big Star member Jody Stephens; along with Mike Mills from R.E.M., Jon Auer from The Posies, Pat Sansone from Wilco, and Chris Stamey from the dB’s. They’ll be in Germantown, TN on July 19; Nashville, TN on July 20; Minneapolis, MN on July 23; and at my house on July 25 to celebrate my birthday. Just kidding about that July 25 gig.

The Handcuffs will likely include a few new songs they’ll be recording soon for their 5th album when they open for 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.

Bruce Springsteen plans to release an 83-song collection of previously unreleased material titled Tracks II: The Lost Albums on June 27. Springsteen’s website states the project will be available “in limited-edition nine LP, seven CD and digital formats.” It will also include a 100-page, cloth-bound hardcover book. Springsteen will also release a less ambitious set titled Lost And Found: Selections from The Lost Albums offering 20 highlights on two LPs or one CD.

International Pop Overthrow - Chicago kicks off on April 25 and will run through May 3 at Montrose Saloon on the city’s north side. CFO/Founder David Bash has several acts lined up; a mix of ones fans have enjoyed at previous IPO - Chicago shows and newcomers. Named after Material Issue’s stellar debut album, the festival was born in Los Angeles back in 1997. Three Chicago area bands, 92 Degrees, The Idea, and The Critics, performed on opening night of that 1997 festival in Los Angeles. Check the official International Pop Overthrow website for the full Chicago schedule.

The Cincinnati, OH publisher Ruffian Books has released a new one titled 500 Essential Pop-Punk Albums - From Blondie To blink-182, offering more than 550 pages of famous and lesser known artists. It’s available for $29.95.

Detroit-based singer-songwriter Jeremy Porter will bring his Spring 2025 Solo-Acoustic Tour to the Lakeview Uncommon Ground venue in Chicago on May 7. Porter, whose songs mix catchy melodies with dark humor, will share the bill at Uncommon Ground with Phil Yates and Gary Camaro.

The always engaging duo Sparks will release a new album titled Mad! on May 23 in vinyl, CD, and cassette fomats. After a world tour that will take them across Japan and Europe, Ron and Russell Mael will arrive in Atlanta, GA on September 5 to kick off an American tour that will include 15 dates. Chicago is not among the cities on the U.S. tour, which is likely to leave fans here, well, Mad.

Big Brother’s Vinyl, a Chicago area band that performs classic rock songs that haven’t been covered endlessly by numerous other local acts, has a gig at Peggy Kinnanes in Arlington Heights on April 25.

John Cowsill, who started his career with The Cowsills (“The Rain, The Park, And Other Things”) and recently released an album with his wife Vicki Peterson of The Bangles, will be the guest lead vocalist when The Smithereens perform at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL on April 25. He’ll be in that same role for more upcoming Smithereens shows, including Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN; and Philadelphia, PA. Chicago’s own Sunshine Boys will be the opening act at the North Shore Center gig.

Tickets are now on sale for Todd Rundgren’s July 13 concert at The Riviera Theatre in Chicago. The show is part of Rundgren’s Still Me (Still We) Tour, which kicks off on June 21 in Cranston, RI. The 22-date tour also includes stops in Syracuse, NY; Cincinnati, OH; Kalamazoo, MI; Minneapolis, MN; Cleveland, OH; and Orlando, FL.

Peter Checksfield, a UK-based music historian/author whose previous efforts have covered The Rolling Stones and Jerry Lee Lewis, has released a new book titled The Hollies - Elevated Observations: The Graham Nash Years 1963 – 1968. It’s available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback and kindle versions.

YippieFest will return for its seventh year of freewheeling, in-person entertainment on the weekend of August 22 – 24 at Chopin Theatre on Chicago’s north side. The long-running sketch/musical comedy group Famous In The Future is once again serving as host, and most likely will perform a revue of their own as part of the festivities. Online applications for those interested in performing at YippieFest 2025 will be available soon.

Sunny Afternoon, the UK play based on the music of The Kinks, continues its run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater through April 27. As I stated in my review here on March 25, cast members Danny Horn, Oliver Hoare, Michael Lepore, and Kieran McCabe consistently impress with their live performance of Kinks songs such as “You Really Got Me,” “Til The End Of The Day,” “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” and “A Rock ’N' Roll Fantasy.”

In other Kinks news, people from around the world get an opportunity to express their admiration for the band in author Chris Kocher’s new book Thank You For The Days: Fans Of The Kinks Share 60 Years Of Stories. Those fans include musicians such as Jonathan Lea, John Wesley Harding, and Ron Sexsmith, along with other professionals who’ve worked with The Kinks over the years. Thank You For The Days is now available on Amazon.

Dead Freddie, the self-described Punk Pop Phenomena, will join fellow Chicago bands Go Time! and The Spindles in a triple bill at the Heroes West Sports Grill in Lemont, IL on May 2. The music starts at 7:30 pm.

Hung Up On A Dream, director/musician Robert Schwartzman’s 2023 documentary covering The Zombies’ entire career, will come to American theaters this May. The film features the British Invasion band’s most recent live performances, along with archival footage.

Peter Asher, who was half of the popular British Invasion duo Peter and Gordon before moving on to a highly successful career as a producer, also continues to perform music himself. His multimedia show A Musical Memoir of the 60s and Beyond comes to The Old Town School Of Folk Music May 16.

Tickets are now on sale for The Color Purple - The Musical, which is 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.

Garbage, the band that gave us songs such as “Stupid Girl,” “I’m Only Happy When It Rains,” and “I Think I’m Paranoid,” have a Happy Endings Tour with special guest Starcrawler coming this fall. It kicks off on September 3 in Orlando, FL, and will include a stop at The Salt Shed in Chicago on September 29. Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, the band’s eighth album, is due out May 30.

Chicago-based, guitar-powered instrumental band Outronaut recently released an extensive and ambitious new tune titled “Demonic Republic.” Check it out, along with other previous gems on the Outronaut Bandcamp page.

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.