Slumgullion

For those whose new year’s resolutions include traveling the world to see rock concerts: Australian garage rockers Hoodoo Gurus will be backed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on January 29 at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl. The listing on the Ticketek site promises the band’s material will be “reimagined on an epic scale, with orchestral arrangements bringing fresh energy and grandeur.” In other down under news, Hoodoo Gurus, along with Iggy Pop; Joan Jett And The Blackhearts; and ZED will share a tour in Auckland, New Zealand on January 23, 26, and 31.

Congratulations to Danny Horn on being chosen by theatre critic Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune as having given one of the top 10 performances on Chicago Stages in 2025. Horn portrayed Ray Davies of The Kinks in the musical Sunny Afternoon, which was staged at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The well-respected Jones covers a lot of ground with his list, which appeared in today’s issue. His top 10 performances also include Sondra Radvanovsky’s title role in the Lyric Opera’s Medea, and Ava Lane Stovall for her work in Jekyll And Hyde by Kokandy Productions.

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 Book and is expected to ship on February 20.

Chicago-based indie rockers Local H will close out the year with a show at the Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI (with Fig Dish) on December 30, and with its annual New Year’s Eve show at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago. Looking ahead to 2026, Local H will have several shows as part of a triple lineup with Filter and Finger Eleven.

Patti Smith will continue promoting her Bread Of Angels memoir with events New York City on January 21; and New Haven, CT on January 26.

Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights will hold its annual Women’s Jazz Festival from January 6 through January 10. Somaluna And Tomeka Reid are the scheduled performers for the first day; followed by Hana Fujisaki and the Marlene Rosenberg Trio on January 7; and Carmani Edwards and Paige Brown on January 8. On Friday, January 9, there’s a 4:00 pm set with Christy Bennett, and a 7:30 set with Stacy McMichael and JoVia Armstrong. There will be three sets on Saturday, January 10: Student Ensembles at 12:30 pm; Lucy Smith with JoAnn Daugherty at 4:00 pm; and Joanie Pallatto and Tromblau And Friends at 7:30. See the official Hey Nonny website for the full festival information.

Fans of The Gin Blossoms can pre-order an autographed copy of the indie rock band’s 1992 album New Miserable Experience on marble colored vinyl for $49.98 from the TalkShopLive! website. That’s the record that includes the hits “Found Out About You” and “Hey Jealousy.”

Congratulations to Custard Flux, AKA musician Gregory Curvey, on his latest album Enter Xenon coming in at number 8 on MOJO’s Top 10 Prog albums of 2025 and grabbing the number 2 spot for the Top 5 Prog Albums in Classic Rock. Seems like these UK rock magazines really like his music. Curvey is a veteran of the Chicago-based prog rock band The Luck Of Eden Hall, and is noted for creating adventurous albums and graphics.

Gina Marie and The Golden Bucks, a Chicago-based Americana sextet whose 2024 album Pastures Of Plenty offers several examples of authentic country and swing, can just as easily slip into genuine blues. “Without That Man,” the latest single from Pastures Of Plenty, employs a slow, slinky arrangement to capture the sense of loss singer Ruth Etting brought to the original 1931 version.

What’s The Big Idea - 30 Great Concept Albums, a new book from author Bill Kopp, is now available from HoZac Books for $21.99. Kopp’s exploration of musical storytelling includes an interview with concept album master Pete Townshend, and a foreword by Let’s Active founder and critically acclaimed producer Mitch Easter.

What could be a better time to honor The Belfast Cowboy than on St. Patrick’s Day? Tickets are now on sale for the Beautiful Vision: The Songs Of Van Morrison event taking place on March 17 at SPACE in Evanston, IL.The participants will be Steve Dawson, Chris Greene, Alton Smith, John Mead, John Abbey, Larry Brown, and Sophie Creutz.

Autographed copies of musician Melissa Auf der Maur’s upcoming book Even the Good Girls Will Cry are available to pre-order from the TalkShopLive! website. Auf der Maur, who’s known for performing with Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, describes her book as “part rock memoir, part travel diary, [and] part psychedelic scrapbook.”

Local singer-guitarist Phil Angotti and the Nash String Duo will perform a brunch time tribute to The Beatles at City Winery Chicago on January 18. Having performed Beatles brunches several times at this venue over the years, Angotti has become quite good at it. Looking further down the road, the Phil Angotti Band will be at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights on February 19.

The Smithereens, with Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill, will perform at The Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, IL on March 6. Cowsill and Peterson, who released the Long After The Fire album together earlier this year, have become regular guests at live gigs by The Smithereens.

Sons Of The Silent Age, the Chicago-based David Bowie tribute band led by vocalist Chris Connelly, has a tradition of kicking off the new year with a benefit performance at Metro. The January 31, 2026 event finds Sons Of The Silent Age taking “Our second trip through the Berlin trilogy, consisting of the albums Low, Heroes, and Lodger.” A second set will concentrate on Bowie’s hit singles and well-known material. And, as noted by guitarist Steve Gerlach in a Facebook post, “It’s a benefit for Endeavor Health’s excellent Integrative Medicine program.”

British recording artist Mordecai Smyth, who specializes in catchy, offbeat tunes, has a new album coming out soon on the Mega Dodo indie label. He recently posted a video of “Breaking The Backs,” one of the songs from that release, on his Facebook page as a preview. Smyth has a gig on March 1 at the Crumbs Coffee Shop in Woodley, Reading, with musician/producer/DJ Robert Sowden as supporting act.

Chicago-based indie rockers Ratboys are offering another impressive preview of what fans can expect from their up coming album Singin’ To An Empty Chair. According to a recent message on their Bandcamp page, a Thelma and Louise inspired video for their song “What’s Right?” can be viewed on various sites, including Apple Music and YouTube. Two other two tracks, “Anywhere,” which is getting some airplay at radio station WXRT, and “Light Night Mountains All That” are already available to download. The full album drops February 6.

My nephew chef Joe Flamm has opened a new restaurant called Bar Tutto. As with his already established venues Rose Mary and il Carciofo, this one’s located in the happening Fulton Market area, just west of downtown Chicago. 1114 W. Carroll Avenue, to be exact. The difference with Bar Tutto is that it takes an all-day approach, which means patrons can order breakfast, lunch or dinner. I was able to attend a preview event, and rest assured, I’ll be back. Maybe for a chai latte and a croissant.