Sunday Papers

Actor-musician Michael Shannon and musician Jason Narducy recently announced the nine dates on their September 40th Anniversary of R.E.M.’s Lifes Rich Pageant 2026 UK and Ireland Tour. (The North American portion takes place earlier in the year.) The lucky cities are Bristol; Brighton; London; Manchester; Leeds; Edinburgh; Glasgow, Dublin; and Belfast. As on their previous R.E.M. tribute tours, Shannon and Narducy will be backed by musicians Dag Juhlin, John Stirratt, Vijay Tellis-Nayak, and Jon Wurster.

Ratboys, the Chicago-based indie rock band whose 2023 album The Window made quite an impression with local fans and the media, have a new album coming out on February 6. Singin’ To An Empty Chair is available for pre-order on the Ratboys Bandcamp page; and the two tracks already available —“Light Night Mountains All That” and “Anywhere”—are both impressive.

Aimee Mann and Ted Leo successfully collaborate on indie rock songs from time to time, and they also enjoy spreading holiday cheer. Their Aimee Mann and Ted Leo Christmas Show! opened with shows this weekend at City Winery in New York, and there will be two shows at that venue tomorrow. The show, which also features Paul F. Tompkins, Nellie McKay and Josh Gondelman, will then move on to other locations, including Chicago on December 11 and 12.

Wicked Cool Records and Little Steven’s Underground Garage will present The Chesterfield Kings Christmas Show with special guests The Grip Weeds on December 13 at Iron Smoke Distillery in Fairport, NY. 

The Chicago-based Kevin Brown Quintet’s Christmas album Adventus is an ambitious effort that updates nine hymns from much earlier centuries with contemporary jazz arrangements. “The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came,” “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” and “Gaudete” are particularly appealing, and like the other tracks, would go well with a sophisticated holiday brunch or get-together.

Tickets are now on sale for The Cure - The Show Of A Lost World - Troxy Live 2024. The concert film will be shown exclusively in cinemas for a limited run starting on December 11. Information on where fans can “see one of the most influential bands of all time on the big screen film” can be found on the film’s official website.

Now that Paul McCartney has wrapped up his Got Back North American Tour 2025 with two well-recieved concerts at Chicago’s United Center, he can concentrate on promoting the his autobiographical book Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run. It was edited by well-known biography author Ted Widmer, who also contributed the introduction.

The 45th Annual John Lennon Tribute - Benefit For Theatre Within will take place at the Town Hall venue in New York on December 12. Judy Collins will be given this year’s John Lennon Real Love Award and perform a few  Lennon and Beatles songs. The other musicians who’ll participate are Graham Nash; Suzanne Vega; Shawn Colvin; Jimmy Webb; Valerie June; Yola; Livingston Taylor; Willie Nile; Lucy Kaplansky; and The Kennedys. Joe Raiola will host the event, with Rich Pagano serving as Musical Director.

Looks like Graham Nash has no intention of slowing down in 2026. He recently announced the schedule for his Live On Tour 2026, with dates from April 4 though May 2. So far, there are no stops in Chicago.

The first volume of an enhanced and fully rewritten edition of Doug Hinman’s 2004 book The Kinks - All Day And All Of The Night - The Day-By-Day Story Pt. 1: 1940 - 1971 is now available to pre-order from Beatland Books. P.S. This publisher also really digs The Monkees.  

Patti Smith will continue the tour promoting her Bread Of Angels memoir with an appearance tomorrow (December 1) at the Marian Anderson Hall in Philadelphia. Upcoming stops include Brooklyn; Princeton; Washington, D.C.; and New York City.

Something for every prog rock fan’s holiday wish list: Pink Floyd’s 50th anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here, AKA Wish You Were Here 50, drops on December 12 in 2CD, 3LP, and a deluxe box formats.

How about some psychedelic mind-bending music for the holidays? Custard  Flux, AKA musician Gregory Curvey, a veteran of the Chicago-based prog rock band The Luck Of Eden Hall, has a gig scheduled for December 28 at Montrose Saloon on Chicago’s north side. Custard Flux is noted for his adventurous albums, with the most recent being Enter Xenon.

An exhibition titled The Continental Posters (1982 – 83) - Selections from Dean Brownrout opened this past Wednesday at The Fitz Books store in Buffalo, NY and will run through December 12, 2025. The posters on display will be from Brownrout’s private collection and focus on acts such as Billy Idol, The Fleshtones, and The Dream Syndicate that performed at the Buffalo, NY venue The Continental. Brownrout booked bands at the club back then, before moving on New York, where he founded the Big Deal rock record label. He offers a fun and informative look back in his recently released book No Big Deal - Chasing the indie music dream in the last days of the record business. Fitz Books is located at 1462 Main Street in Buffalo.

Henry Diltz, one of rock music’s most successful photographers, will present Once Upon A Troubadour - A Slideshow And Story-Telling Experience Of The Photographs That Made Music History By The Man Who Took Them at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on December 9.

Tickets are now on sale for The Smithereens with Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill concert at The Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, IL on March 6. Cowsill and Peterson, who released an album together earlier this year, have become regular guests at live gigs by The Smithereens.

Well done, mate. Mick Jagger surprised the students at Dartford Grammar School in Kent—which he attended as a lad—by dropping by for a visit. The occasion was the 25th anniversary of The Mick Jagger Centre at the school, a program he helped create to help kids looking for a career in music.

A Carnival Of Grey And White, the latest and long-awaited album from the Milwaukee-based power pop band Trolley is now available on Bandcamp. In addition to the catchy title track and Elvis Costello style “As Long As I Can Find You,” which were previously released as teasers, other energetic gems include “Leaving You Behind,” “Stepping Up,” and “Radio Silence.”

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.”