See yesterday’s Weekend Reminders post for events happening this weekend.
Here’s an event I should have mentioned on yesterday’s post. Chicago indie rock band The Handcuffs will perform with Parker Barrow and Sonny Landreth tomorrow night at the Metro Jam Festival in Manitowoc, WI. The Handcuffs are now selling some cool-looking, brand new t-shirts at their gigs.
Modernism, the new album from Chris Stamey that finds The dB’s member offering cover versions of such hits as The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset,” The Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog,” and The Rolling Stones’“Ruby Tuesday,” as well as his own material, was released today via Flatiron Recordings. Several guest musicians, including his mates in The dB’s, helped in the production.
Happy Birthday to Heart’s dynamic singer Ann Wilson, who along with her guitar-wielding, fellow singer-songwriter sister Nancy, inspired other women rockers to follow in her path. Several years ago, I interviewed Ann Wilson and guitarist Howard Leese after a Heart concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in Wisconsin. Despite the band’s PR person suspecting the free paper I wrote for was about to go bust, Ann and Howard were incredibly nice. That free paper did implode, but luckily, a professional photographer was able to land my piece in the more respectable paper The Prairie Sun.
Also, Happy Birthday to Casey McDonough, who’s a current member of the legendary band NRBQ , as well as Pravda Records artists The Flat Five. Plus, McDonough can often be seen performing with musicians such as Phil Angotti on the local club scene.
English guitarist-vocalist Johnny Marr has released the catchy new single “Spin” as a teaser for his upcoming solo album The Age Of Everything, which is due out on October 2. Marr noted on his Facebook page that he has “two intimate warm-up shows” coming up on July 6 at Stylus in Leeds, and July 7 at O2 Academy in Liverpool.
Tickets are now on sale for An Evening With Steve Dawson, which will celebrate the Chicago-based singer-songwriter’s 35 years of performing. The event will take place on October 11 at Evanston SPACE in Evanston, IL. His Facebook page promises “a few very special guests.” I remember first meeting Dawson and his wife Diane Christiansen back when I was assigned to do a piece on their Stump The Host band for the Illinois Entertainer.
Here comes Rhymin’ Simon. Paul Simon will perform at the The Hunter Pavilion at Ravinia Park in Highland Park, IL on July 18.
Custard Flux, AKA musician Gregory Curvey, will headline a Chicago Alternafest! event taking place on August 15 at the Underground Lounge. Piper No; Oh My Lover; and Mystic Mulberry will also be on the bill. Enter Xenon, the latest album from Custard Flux, was chosen as one of 2025’s best prog rock albums by the Brit magazines MOJO and Classic Rock. Underground Lounge is located at 952 W. Newport Avenue in Chicago.
Chicago-based singer-guitarist Terry White will host another Songwriter Circle next Tuesday at Fitzgerald’s Sidebar in Berwyn, IL. This time out, White’s guests will be Pravda Records recording artist Brian Crumm and musician/engineer Brian Leach.
The Robert Plant with Saving Grace and Suzi Dian Up The Sharp End Tour is coming to The Chicago Theatre on October 15. Rockabilly musician Rosie Flores will be their special guest. Other stops on the tour, which kicks off on September 18 in St. Louis, include San Diego, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.
The impressive and always fun combo of Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets will be one of the headline acts at this year’s Square Roots Festival in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on Chicago’s north side. The event takes place on the weekend of July 10 – 12, and will also feature Margo Price; Dehd; Robbie Fulks; Sons Of The Silent Age; The Tossers; and several other acts.
R.E.M. bassist-vocalist Mike Mills, violinist Robert McDuffie, and Allman Brothers (and other bands) keyboards player Chuck Leavell will join forces with the Orchestra Of St. Luke’s for A Night Of Georgia Music at Carnegie Hall in New York on July 25. The one-night-only event will feature them covering Otis Redding; Ray Charles; The Allman Brothers; R.E.M.; The B-52’s; Outkast, and other acts. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at Carnegie Hall.
Drink The Sea, the adventurous band that includes Peter Buck of R.E.M.; Alain Johannes of Queens of The Stone Age; and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, has an upcoming American tour that will run from August 30 to September 24 in support of their new album. An extensive European tour will kick off on September 30.
Chicago-based band The Bad Examples, whose clever and catchy songs often call to mind the music of Squeeze, will perform at the Moonlight Theatre in St. Charles, IL on July 18, and at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights, IL on August 15. Later that month, they’ll perform at International Pop Overthrow - San Diego on either August 21 or 22 (the schedule hasn’t been released yet).
Mike Campbell And The Dirty Knobs will kick off a tour with special guest Sarah Lee Guthrie in Minneapolis on July 7, and will be at The Vic in Chicago two days later. They’ll likely perform songs from their recently released album Mission Of Mercy .
Earth, Wind And Fire (To Be Celestial Vs. That’s The Weight Of The World), a new documentary about the iconic soul band, directed by Questlove, recently debuted at the Tribeca Festival, and has be released on HBO and HBO Max.
Toronto indie rock band Metric will showcase its 10th album Romanticize The Drive on its current tour with Broken Social Scene and Stars. Stops will include Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago (July 24 at Aragon Ballroom), Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.
Cult Canyon, a new band formed by Chicago-based vocalist-guitarist Josh Chicoine, has a show coming up this Monday at Cafe Mustache. 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.
The Rolling Stones’ new album Foreign Tongues is due out on July 10, and can be pre-ordered from Amazon and other sites. A video of the hard-edged first single “In The Stars” on YouTube finds the band at the top of their game.
Theater Of The Mind, the imaginative adventure crafted by David Byrne from Talking Heads and writer Mala Gaonkar, has been extended through August 30 at the Reid Murdoch Building at 333 N. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. Theater Of The Mind, a Goodman Theatre production, has been picking up rave reviews in Chicago newspapers.
Local comedy group Famous In The Future will present its annual three-day celebration of counter-culture entertainment, YippieFest, on the weekend of October 9 – 11 at the Cornservatory. The event features FIF, along with a variety of acts presenting short plays, improv, monologues, sketch comedy, stand-up, music, performance art, and dance. YippieFest is modeled after the late Mary-Arrchie Theatre’s long-running Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Festival. Cornservatory is located at 4210 N. Lincoln Avenue on Chicago’s north side. Full disclosure: I was a member of Famous In The Future for several years.
The Roger Daltry - A Great Night Out! North American Tour will kick off in Mesa, AZ on August 23 and wrap up on September 29 in Medford, MA. Fans in the Midwest can choose New Lenox, IL on September 12 or Milwaukee, WI on September 15.
Billy Idol must have enjoyed his 2025 It’s A Nice Day To . . . Tour Again! gigs because he’s scheduled four new ones for this fall. The first is on September 10 in St. Louis, MO; followed by September 11 in Grand Rapids, MI; September 13 in Cuyahoga Falls, OH; and September 16 in Kansas City, MO. Bangles founding member and solo artist Susanna Hoffs will be Idol’s special guest at each location.
Susanna Hoffs has a solo gig at The Old Town School Of Folk Music on September 14. It’s a co-presentation with Chicago Humanities. A week later, Hoffs has a five-night engagement at the Café Carlyle at the Carlyle Hotel in New York.
This year’s Lollapalooza festival takes place from July 30 to August 2 at Grant Park in downtown Chicago. The lineup includes Lorde; The Smashing Pumpkins; Sombr; Wet Leg; Suki Waterhouse; and Wolf Alice.
