Weekend Reminders

Weekend Reminders on Thursday posts focus on events that were previously mentioned on Broken Hearted Toy, and are taking place during the upcoming weekend. Plus, the occasional event taking place this weekend that has just come to my attention, record release info, or concert tickets going on sale.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow (today, if you have the WXRT presale code) for this year’s Hometown Celebration - A Benefit for The Lin Brehmer Scholars Fund at Metro on August 16. The featured acts will be The Linburgers (Tributosaurus members Matt Spiegel & Curt Morrison); Dag Juhlin; Michael McDermott; and Heather Lynne Horton. WXRT on-air personalities will also be there. Brehmer will always be remembered as one of Chicago’s best-friendliest and knowledgeable radio personalities, especially for those of us who met him in person. It’s great to see this benefit taking place again.

A hearty welcome to Mike Campbell And The Dirty Knobs as they take the stage tonight at the Vic Theatre in Chicago. The band will likely perform songs from their recently released album Mission Of Mercy. Guitarist-vocalist Campbell played an essential role with Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers.

U2 has released a video of a new single titled “Street Of Dreams” that’s now available for viewing on the Rock Cellar website. The song has a classic U2 arrangement along with an inspirational message about following your dreams. It’s an enticing preview of a full album the band promises will be released in the near future.

Single day tickets are now available for the Evanston Folk Festival taking place September 12 and 13 on the lakefront at Dawes Park in Evanston, IL. The performers include Trampled By Turtles; Indigo Girls; Josh Ritter; James McMurtry; Kathleen Edwards; Lucy Wainwright; and a Roses For The Roches tribute featuring Nora O’Connor, Sima Cunningham, and Kelly Hogan. There will be a Fest Kickoff with Punch Brothers on September 11 at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston.

The Rolling Stones’ long-awaited new album Foreign Tongues will drop tomorrow. The hard-edged first single “In The Stars,” which was released a while back, suggests Mick and the lads are still at the top of their game. Other notable albums coming tomorrow include Frozen Charlotte by Jack White and Loveland by Suki Waterhouse. 

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.

Taste Of Chicago continues tonight in Grant Park with headline act Original Koffee. The Fest will run through Sunday, with performances by Common, Babyface; and Julieta Venegas.

Ivy has added November dates to its Traces Of You Tour, with concerts now scheduled for Berkeley, CA; Seattle, WA; Brooklyn, NY; Boston MA; and Philadelphia, PA. The Ivy - Traces Of You - 2026 Tour is named after a 2025 album of previously unreleased Ivy songs recorded by band members Adam Schlesinger, Andy Chase, and Dominique Durand between 1995 and 2012. Sadly, we lost Adam Schlesinger to COVID-19 in 2020.