Slumgullion

George Harrison art from the official My Sweet George Facebook page.

The lineup for the 10th annual My Sweet George George Harrison birthday celebration taking place on February 21 at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago 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 celebrate Harrison’s music, and raise awareness for MusicCares.

Autographed copies of Joe Jackson’s new album Hope And Fury (due out April 10) are available for pre-order from TalkShopLive website. The offer is only available in the USA. Jackson’s extensive 2026 North America Tour kicks off on May 11 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and will include dates at Park West in Chicago on May 19 and 20. The European leg of his tour will start on September 24 in Cork, Ireland. 

Cult Canyon, the latest band formed by Chicago-based vocalist-guitarist Josh Chicoine, has a show coming up at the G-Man Tavern in Chicago on Feb 13. Chicoine is best known for his work with The M’s, an indie rock band that released a series of albums (2003 – 2008) and built a loyal following via numerous live performances. In more recent years, he led the bands Sabers and Cloudbirds. Cult Canyon’s G-Man Tavern gig will no doubt showcase songs from their Smoke Tricks album, which will be available to download on March 13 via Bandcamp. Rattleback Records on Chicago’s north side will carry a limited-edition vinyl version.

The Desert Rock - A Tribute To The Laurel Canyon Music Scene event is coming February 6 to The Raue Center For The Arts in Crystal Lake, IL. The two-hour multimedia show will celebrate the music of Linda Ronstadt; CSNY; The Byrds; Buffalo Springfield; Loggins And Messina; Poco; JD Souther; Warren Zevon; Lowell George; Tom Waits; Gram Parsons; and others.

It’s always nice to see one of Chicago’s regular club performers make the trek out to Arlington Heights for a gig at Hey Nonny. Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti and his band will be at the venue on February 19. I believe it’s his second show there.

Hey Nonny will stage its Blues Week from February 3 through February 7 with live performances each night. See the venue’s Facebook page or website for the full schedule.

The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles will present a double bill on February 6 featuring the current version of The Lovin’ Spoonful, along with singer-guitarist Terry Sylvester performing hits by The Hollies. Long-time Hollies fans will recognize Sylvester as the musician who replaced Graham Nash in the late 1960s and stayed with them for a few decades.

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.

Congratulations to The Twigs on the 30th anniversary of their debut album Bring Me the Head of Eternity. The Chicago-based alt rock band, led by fraternal twins Laura and Linda Good, specialized in catchy songs and harmonies. A Facebook post today from The Twigs seemed to suggest there may be some sort of celebration in the works.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Smithereens 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.

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.