Weekend Reminders

Thursday posts focus on events that were previously mentioned on Broken Hearted Toy, and are taking place during the upcoming weekend. Plus, the occasional event taking place this weekend that has just come to my attention, or concert tickets going on sale. 

The Old Town Art Fair and the Wells Street Art Festival, longtime favorites among Chicago’s early summer (actually pre-summer) events, take place this Saturday and Sunday. The former is a more serious affair, while the latter appeals to a younger crowd that likes to party. Both events have live entertainment as well as art, and they’re within blocks of each other in the Lincoln Park area on the north side.

The Dallas-based band Shortwaves has a release party for its debut punk/pop album Mental Health In The Information Age at the Growl venue in Arlington, TX this Saturday.

The Songwriter City Unlimited event that takes place tomorrow at Picnic Wine And Provisions on Chicago’s north side will feature four participants who are listed only by the first names of Desiree, Jimmy, Danny, and Kiki. All I know is that I used to be in a comedy group with Desiree. Picnic Wine And Provisions is located at 7301 N. Sheridan Road; the music starts at 6:00 pm.

There will be five stages featuring outdoor performances this weekend when MidsommarFest returns to Andersonville on Chicago’s north side. The live music will include cover bands such as School Of Rock Andersonville; 16 Candles (1980s rock); The Ready Freddies (Queen); Fearless: The Unofficial Taylor Tribute; and Dancing Queen: An ABBA Tribute. There will also be local recording artists such as MIIRRORS, Rachel Drew Band, 6Kitty; Yasser Tejeda and Bev Rage And The Drunks. The entertainment will also include Jesse White Tumblers; Queer Dance Freakout; and Collective Yoga Co-Op. It should also be mentioned that Andersonville is a fun, creative neighborhood to visit at any time.

Singer-guitarist Michael Steven Cohen returns to the Tuscan Market & Wine Shop in Arlington Heights tomorrow from 7:00 to 9:30 pm on June 13 to perform selections from the Great American Songbook. The evening will also feature Cohen performing as part of the Everly Hillbillies band, which covers hits by the Everly Brothers.

The Twigs, AKA fraternal twins Laura and Linda Good, will perform a Sunset Sessions acoustic set at Wet Whistle Wines in Brooklyn, NY tomorrow. The former Illinois residents started their career as The Good Twins before morphing into The Twigs and releasing a few albums of fetching indie/techno pop. More recently, they wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Ladyship The Musical.

Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti’s 7:00 pm solo performance tomorrow at the 219 Taproom in Chesterton, IN will feature songs from his recently released album Notebook Head. The well-crafted collection of 10 acoustic solo tracks can be downloaded on his Bandcamp page, and will be available on CD in a few weeks.