Weekend Reminders

Photo of Billy Corgan from the official Lyric Opera Of Chicago Facebook page.

Performances of The Lyric Opera Of Chicago’s A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness start tomorrow and will run through November 30. Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan worked with Lyric boss John Mangum on creating a piece “based on arranged and orchestrated music” from the Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness album.

Paul McCartney’s Got Back North American Tour 2025 will make one of its last stops with a concert in Hamilton, ON tomorrow night.

The Chicago-based, freewheeling covers band EXPO ’76 will stage the last of a series of record release parties for their official debut album Hot In The Dark this Sunday at Evanston SPACE. The music starts at 7:00 pm. Hot In The Dark is a fun record that reflects the variety of styles this band covers, including from Al Hirt’s “Java”and Ernie K-Doe blues classic “A Certain Girl.”

International Pop Overthrow - Toronto, the very last IPO event for 2025, will take place from tomorrow through Sunday at The Painted Lady venue. Twenty acts will perform; there are afternoon and evening showcases on Saturday. Congratulations to International Pop Overthrow founder David Bash on another trip around the globe.

The Western Elstons, the Chicago band featuring well-known local players Casey McDonough, Scott Ligon, Joel Paterson, and Alex Hall, have a gig coming up tomorrow at Robert’s Westside venue in downtown Forest Park.

The Gram Fest - Cosmic American Music Festival is taking place this Saturday at the Joshua Tree Cultural Center - Blak Box Theater in Joshua Tree, CA. Performers at this salute to the late country rock legend Gram Parsons include Sin City All Stars with special guests Jonny Kaplan And Friends, plus numerous other acts.

Chicago-based band whitewolfsonicprincess, which describes its approach as 21st century druid music, will share a bill with Dark Room Men at Cary’s Lounge this Saturday. The venue is located at 2251 W. Devon on the city’s far north side.

Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan’s 2025 North American tour in support of her recently released Better Broken album will stop at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago this Saturday.

WGN Radio’s cultural- and civic-minded program Outside The Loop will celebrate its 1,000th episode with a live taping at the FitzGerald’s venue in Berwyn, IL this Saturday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. Admission is free with RSVP. Singer-songwriter AJ Rosales, who recently released the impressive new album Phasedrift, will be a featured guest.

Four Chicago area bands who’ve long shared the goal of creating their own brand of catchy rock and roll will share billing at Montrose Saloon this Saturday night. If my memory is correct, Otter Petter, Golden Richards, The Spindles, and Rolling Numbers are all veterans of International Pop Overthrow - Chicago.

Another VU, the Chicago-based band that performs 1969-era Velvet Underground songs, has a gig coming up this Sunday at Simon’s Tavern on the north side.