Incoming

Depending on when you read this, you could catch Decoy Prayer Meeting, a Chicago band that specializes in rockabilly and vintage Country and Western music, performing at the north side venue Montrose Saloon tonight. The music started at 7:00 pm.

Also tonight, The Joe Policastro Trio has a release show for their new album Mending Wall at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. They recently posted an instrumental take on the Modern English song “Melt With You” on their YouTube page.

Ring in the new with Old 97s at SPACE in Evanston. Tickets are now on sale for the Dallas, TX band’s December 29, 30, and 31 shows at the Illinois venue. Old 97s will likely perform selections from their 2024 album American Primitive, as well as favorites such as “Champagne, Illinois” and “Big Brown Eyes.”

Tickets are also available for Chicago folk legend Bonnie Koloc’s November 30 show at SPACE in Evanston.

 Material Issue, the Chicago power pop trio that scored MTV hits such as “Valerie Loves Me” and “Diane” back in the early 1990s, and later returned with new vocalist-guitarist Phil Angotti, have a show coming up with Tamar Berk at the north-side venue Schubas this Saturday.

Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen, who have achieved critical acclaim as co-leaders of the alt rock/Americana band Dolly Varden; as a duo, and as solo artists, will head northwest for a gig this Sunday at the Rabbit Box club in Seattle on Sunday, Sept 28th.

The West Loop Fine Art Expo will take place at the Stephen M. Bailey Auditorium in Plumbers Hall just west of downtown Chicago on the weekend of October 17 - 19. The event’s organizers describe it as “a curated boutique expo showcasing over 40 invitation-only fine artists from 7 states offering original art.” Plumbers Hall  is located at 1340 W. Washington.

The Reel Underground, which describes the films it screens as Forgotten, Overlooked, Off The Radar Music Documentaries, will host a showing of Elvis Costello and the Attractions - The Making of Almost Blue this Wednesday at Montrose Saloon. DJ Louie B will start spinning Elvis Costello records at 6:00 pm; the screening takes place at 7 pm; and local musician Phil Angotti will perform a solo set  of Costello tunes at 8:30. Montrose Saloon is located on Chicago’s north side.

Chicago has produced impressive music acts for decades, and the experimental, jazz rock ensemble The Flock first joined that legacy back in the mid-1960s. So there’s good reason to have high expectations for The Return Of The Flock, along with the Rick Biordi Band show coming on November 1 to Park West on the city’s north side.

Congratulations to Penn and Teller on 50 years of combining magic, humor, and audience participation in their entertaining shows. Their anniversary tour will make a stop at the Chicago Theatre on October 24.

Rhythm and blues singer Gerald McClendon, who’s impressed many audiences around the Chicago area, will perform with his band on the patio at Fitzgeralds in Berwyn, IL this Friday. As McClendon noted in a Facebook post, that patio has heat lamps so there’s no need to worry about it being chilly outside.