Slumgullion

The Americana Music Association recently announced that Neil Young will be this year’s honoree at the Americana Pre-Grammy Salute on January 31 at the Troubadour venue in West Hollywood. So far, the tribute concert will include Jesse Welles, Margo Price, Rhiannon Giddens, I’m With Her, Maggie Rose, Molly Tuttle and Sierra Hull, with more musicians expected to be added soon.

This should have been in yesterday’s Weekend Reminders post: Van Go, a long-time favorite on the local indie rock scene, will share a double bill with LaRue DeVille (formerly Red Wigglers) tomorrow night at Lizard’s Liquid Lounge on Chicago’s north side.

Ann Wilson from Heart recently posted on Facebook that Heart will have “new music, new shows, and new stories” to share with their fans in 2026. Sounds promising. Heart is the cover story for the winter issue of Goldmine magazine.

Chicago-based singer-guitarist Terry White will return to Fitzgerald’s in Berywn, IL this Tuesday night as part of the venue’s Songwriter Circle series. White, a veteran of the bands Modern Day Saints and The Zimmermen, released the You Won’t Have A Name solo album in 2025. His performance, with special guests Andon Davis and Mark Anderson, starts at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, and admission is free.

As recently noted in an AP article in the Chicago Sun-Times, Green Day will be the major act when the NFL stages Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on February 8.

GMan Tavern on Chicago’s north side (3740 N. Clark) has announced it will celebrate International Clash Day with the tribute band Guns And Ammunition on February 6. DJ Stevo will provide a pre-show set. On February 20, PureSoul Presents will bring The Smiths cover band The Bomb That Will Bring Us Together to GMan Tavern.

PureSoul Presents will bring A Brief History Of R.E.M. to City Winery Chicago on March 19. As with previous PureSoul events, this concert will feature Chicago area musicians.

Three new dates have been added to the United States leg of the Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy Celebrate The 40th Anniversary Of R.E.M.’s Lifes Rich Pageant tour. The first new gig is at Codfish Hollow Barnstormers, which sounds like a great name for a band but is actually a venue in Maquoketa IA. Next up is The Riviera Theatre on September 25 in Chicago; and finally, The Majestic in Detroit, MI on September 25. As with their other recent tours, Shannon and Narducy will be joined by Dag Juhlin, John Stirratt, Vijay Tellis Nayak and Jon Wurster.

Sideshow Villains’ Deviant Cabaret will present its 7 Deadly Sins Masquerade at the Copernicus Center in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood on February 14. The troupe will offer musical tales of crime set to an adventurous mix of puppetry, vaudeville, and circus acts. Audience members are encouraged to arrive in costume.

“Queen Of The Scene,” the first single from The Buzzcocks’ upcoming Attitude Adjustment album, sports an energetic, guitar-driven arrangement and Steve Diggle’s unmistakable vocals. The 14-track Attitude Adjustment will be released on January 30, which is also the day The Buzzcocks embark on a busy year of touring that includes performances in the UK, Europe, and (so far) two gigs in the USA. 

Long-time entertainment writer Mark Caro (Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, etc.) has talked with several famous rock musicians on his Caropop podcast, and recently started making some of those interviews available on his YouTube channel. A recent edition finds him taking a behind the scenes look at the R.E.M. albums Murmur and Reckoning with the guys who co-produced them, Mitch Easter and Don Dixon.

Ratboys have now given those of us who’ve pre-ordered their album Singin’ To An Empty Chair album on Bandcamp a fourth reason to feel good about our decision. The catchy and engaging “The World, So Madly” is the latest song the Chicago-based indie rockers have released, and it’s another winner. Singin’ To An Empty Chair officially comes out on February 6.

It looks like Squeeze, a band well known for spinning tales with clever lyrics and irresistible melodies, will explore the seedy side of English nightlife on their upcoming album Trixies. A recent video clip on the Squeeze Facebook page asks, “Who hangs out at Trixies? All the sort of people who carry something lethal.” Still, we can count on founding members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook to work their usual songwriting magic. Trixies is due out in March. 

Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried of the Hoboken, NJ band The Cucumbers have released a video of “There’s a Crop Circle on My Daddy’s Land,” the quirky, country-flavored song that inspired Fried’s Hello, George novella, as well as the band’s new album As You Heard Me. The novella and album will be simultaneously released on Valentine’s Day; “There’s a Crop Circle on My Daddy’s Land,” is available to watch on YouTube. 

Congratulations to The Spindles on their album Wavelength being named by several websites and blogs as one of 2025’s best albums. The Chicago area power pop band has also garnered kudos for “Getaway” as one of last year’s best singles.

International Pop Overthrow founder David Bash has released his Top 150 Albums of 2025, with UK folk/power pop singer-songwriter Lavinia BlackwAll’s The Making nabbing the number one slot. Other honorees include Trolley; Tchotchke; Juliana Hatfield; the above-mentioned The Spindles; The Grip Weeds; The Len Price 3; Jeremy; Smoking Popes; Chris Stamey; Coke Belda; Tamar Berk; The Webstirs; Guided By Voices; Cheap Trick; Ken Stringfellow; Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill; and 20/20.

10,000 Maniacs have a show coming up at at City Winery Chicago on February 12. The band, which gave us hits such as “Like The Weather,” “Trouble Me,” and “Candy Everybody Wants,” will celebrate their 45th anniversary in 2026 by releasing of box set of material from their Elektra/Rhino Records years, as well as an album of new songs.

Cherry Red Records will release Various Artists: CBGB - A New York City Soundtrack 1975 - 1986 as a 4-CD set on January 30. The tribute includes songs by Patti Smith; Blondie; The Dictators; Ramones; Television; The Dead Boys; Talking Heads; The dB’s; Genya Ravan; Tuff Darts; The Cramps; Cherry Vanilla; Suicide; Bush Tetras; Mink Deville; Richard Hell and The Voidoids; Tom Verlaine; Richard Lloyd; Sylvain Sylvain; The Bongos; Beastie Boys; Sonic Youth; and Nona Hendryx.

The lineup for the 10th annual My Sweet George George Harrison birthday celebration taking place on February 21 at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue has been announced. The performers will include Clar & Gigi Monaco; Sandalwood Sitar, Phil Angotti, New Heartaches, Black Friars Social Club, Torpedo Los, Pierce Crask, Frankie B, and The Amazing Johnsons. Organized by Ellis Clark and Ary Paloma, My Sweet George aims to raise awareness for MusicCares.

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.

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.

Tickets are now on sale for an April 10 concert by long-time indie rock band Throwing Muses at Evanston SPACE in Evanston, IL. Led by vocalist-guitarist and acclaimed songwriter Kristen Hersh, the band has plenty of material to chose from, but might concentrate on songs from their 2025 album Moonlight Concessions.

The Smithereens, who were recently inducted (along with Darlene Love) into the Count Basie Center Walk Of Fame at the Count Basie Center in Redbank, NJ, have a show coming up on March 6 at The Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, IL. Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill, who released the Long After The Fire album together in 2025, will join The Smithereens for that show.