Sunday Papers

Ellie Rowsell: Who knows what she’ll do next?

Wolf Alice’s “Bloom Baby Bloom” single, due out this Thursday, will be the London-based indie rockers’ first new music since their critically acclaimed album Blue Weekend dropped in 2021. That effort proved once again how emotionally convincing lead vocalist-guitarist Ellie Rowsell can be, whether she sings like an angel or screams like a banshee. Hopefully, “Bloom Baby Bloom” will be soon followed by a full album.

Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti is well known on the Chicago music scene for his tribute shows to Pete Townshend, The Beatles, The Bee Gees, The Zombies, and other worthy acts, but he’s also pretty impressive performing his own material. Angotti recently posted on Facebook that he has a new acoustic album titled Notebook Head coming out soon. As with his previous two releases, it will be available on Bandcamp. 

The Cruel World festival takes place in Pasadena, CA on May 17. Headline acts include New Order; ’til tuesday; The Buzzcocks; Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds; The Go-Go’s; Devo; OMD; Garbage; Alison Moyet, Blancmange; Stereo MC’s; Midge Ure; and Madness.

It’s only fitting that Chicago-based blues singer-guitarist Rob Moore will perform songs from his new album Chicago Dog at the Windy City Hot Dog Fest this year. The album was engineered and mastered by musician/producer Ellis Clark, and features members of Liquid Soul. Moore’s set kicks off on the Community Stage at 6:00 pm on Saturday, May 31. The Windy City Hot Dog Fest runs May 30 – June 1 in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood.

As reported on the Brooklyn Vegan website, Gina Birch from the Brit band The Raincoats has an album titled Trouble coming out on July 11. She’ll be backed by musicians Marie Merlet and Jenny Green. It’s the second solo effort from Birch, who’ll head out on tour with The Miki Berenyi Trio (led by the former Lush founder) this fall. They’ll be in Chicago on October 17 at Lincoln Hall. 

Tellin’ Tales Theatre will present Divercity: Breaking Through on the weekend of May 16 – 18 at the Goodman Theatre/Alice Center for Education and Engagement in downtown Chicago. The show will feature solo performances by writers, artists, and advocates with disabilities. Tellin’ Tales Theatre’s mission is “to shatter barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through the transformative power of personal story.

Sony Pictures Classic has announced the critically acclaimed rock and roll documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin will be back on big screens in selected theaters for another limited run. 

The Handcuffs have a gig coming up on June 27 on the Patio at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, IL. The Chicago-based indie rockers have four albums to draw material from, as well as songs that will be on their next release.

The Smithereens, with guest vocalist Marshall Crenshaw, have a summer-opening gig at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ on June 21. It’s part of the N2S North To Shore Festival.

The Stockport Music Story organization honored the late Eric Haydock—who played bass for The Hollies back in their early years—with a plaque at The Red Bull pub last week. A special poster by artist Vivian Lally commemorating this event will be available from the Stockport Music Story website soon. Stockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. Lally has several rock musician portraits available on her Etsy page.

UK-based music historian/author Peter Checksfield’s new book The Hollies - Elevated Observations: The Graham Nash Years 1963 – 1968 is available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback and kindle versions.

IPO - Liverpool will run May 25 – June 1 at The Cavern. The entire schedule is on the official International Pop Overthrow website, with links to most of the participants. If you can’t be there in person, the website is a convenient way to discover new music.

The feature-length documentary Bono: Stories of Surrender, which is described as The Tall Tales Of A Short Rock Star on the official U2 website, will stream on May 30 on Apple TV. The film is based on the Bono’s solo tour for his fascinating memoir, Surrender - 40 songs, one story.

Billy Idol’s It’s A Nice Day To . . . Tour Again! series of concerts, with special guest Joan Jett, kicked off in Phoenix, AZ and will include a stop at the Credit Union 1 Amphitheater in Tinley Park, IL on May 20. Other cities scheduled to have a nice day include Houston, Tampa, Nashville, Cincinnati, Toronto, Philadelphia, and New York. The final date is September 25 in Los Angeles.

Tickets are now on sale for the 99 Years Of Rock ’N Roll X And Los Lobos show on October 16 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. Each of these Los Angeles groundbreaking bands will feature all original members. The date is part of a tour that kicks off on July 19 in Denver, and includes stops in Salt Lake City, Toronto, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Seattle.

Folk rock legend Paul Simon will perform at the Chicago Symphony Center May 21 – 24.

Kinks fans 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.

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.

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.

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!

Online applications are now available for those interested in being part of YippieFest 2025 at Chopin Theatre on Chicago’s north side. The freewheeling, in-person entertainment event will return for its seventh year on the weekend of August 22 – 24. The long-running sketch/musical comedy group Famous In The Future will once again host YippieFest, which is inspired by the annual Abby Fest that was staged by Mary-Arrchie Theatre for several years.

Hung Up On A Dream, director/musician Robert Schwartzman’s 2023 documentary covering The Zombies’ entire career, is coming to American theaters starting May 11. It will be screened at the AMC theaters in Chicago and suburban Illinois on May 13; and on May 16 in New York and Los Angeles. The film features the British Invasion band’s most recent live performances, along with archival footage.

Local publisher Numero Group has released Dante Carfagna’s two-volume, 732-page set Soul Music Of Illinois. The website states Soul Music Of Illinois “chronicles over 3200 artists, 1200 record companies, and 10,000 individual releases between the years of 1960 and 1990.”

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.

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.