Incoming

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 this weekend, and will also feature Margo Price; Dehd; Robbie Fulks; Sons Of The Silent Age; The Tossers; JD McPherson; Hurray For The Riff Raff; an Al Green Tribute; and several other acts. Also, as noted in a Square Roots Chicago Facebook post, visitors to the festival can check out a new mural honoring the late folk legend John Prine on an outside wall of the Old Town School Of Folk Music.

The Rolling Stones’ long-awaited new album Foreign Tongues will drop this Friday. The hard-edged first single “In The Stars,” which was released a while back as a preview, suggests Mick and the lads are still at the top of their game.

Taste Of Chicago will return to Grant Park this Wednesday and run through Sunday, with performances by Beach Bunny; Original Koffee; Common, Babyface; Julieta Venegas; Friko; and others.

The Church will perform at Park West in Chicago tomorrow night as part of The Singles Tour. The Australian rockers are best known for their 1988 irresistible single “Under The Milky Way Tonight” and they have gigs coming up in St. Paul, MN; Kansas City, MO, and Denver, CO. The July issue of the Illinois Entertainer features Tom Lanham’s cover story on The Church. 

Congratulations to Chicago-based musician/recording artist Joel Paterson on being chosen to join Bob Dylan on tour. Even before journalist/author Mark Guarino’s piece ran in last Thursday’s Chicago Sun-Times, many of us were aware of this honor because of all the positive messages to Paterson from his fellow musicians on social media.

Mike Campbell And The Dirty Knobs will likely perform songs from their recently released album Mission Of Mercy at their show at the Vic Theatre in Chicago this Thursday. Guitarist-vocalist Campbell played an essential role with Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers.

The 19th Annual Petaluma Music Festival will take place on July 25 at the Petaluma Fairgrounds in Petaluma, CA. 10,000 Maniacs; The Smithereens; Cherry Poppin’ Daddies; Alejandro Escovedo; and Chuck Prophet are among the acts scheduled to perform.

Chicago-based recording artists Naked Brunch and Radkey will perform on the Hill Stage at the Merchant Street MusicFest in Kankakee, IL on July 25. Naked Brunch will likely showcase songs from its critically acclaimed 2025 debut album At the Humanoid Motel.

Whiting, Indiana’s annual Pierogie Fest will be held on the weekend of July 24 – 26, and some of the featured acts will be familiar to Chicago music fans. The Polkaholics bring a rock and roll sensibility to their ethnic songs; and Metropolly, led by Holly Senchak Dausch and Adam Dausch, is a frequent participant in the Hallowweekend shows at Montrose Saloon. Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti is a popular performer of original material and cover versions.

English guitarist-vocalist Johnny Marr will perform what he describes as “intimate warm-up shows” at Stylus in Leeds tonight, at the O2 Academy tomorrow night in Liverpool. Marr recently 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.

Death Cab For Cutie recently released its latest album, I Built You A Tower,  and will embark on a massive tour starting this Friday in Minneapolis.