2018 proved to be an exciting year for live music in the Chicago suburbs. Here are a few highlights from the year:
Singer Pete Jive and other musicians, including noted guitarist Pat Bergeson, perform Michael Heaton's song "The Good Times" Sept. 1, 2018, at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora as part of a benefit concert for Heaton, who is battling cancer.
Chicago blues musician Toronzo Cannon performs "John The Conquer Root" on June 16, 2018, at the Blues on the Fox festival at RiverEdge Park in Aurora.
Fiona Grey joins her father, Ralph Covert, and his band The Bad
Examples, on the song "Not Dead Yet" on Sept. 8, 2018, at the Glen Ellyn
Backyard BBQ.
Joe Louis Walker and his band performed Aug. 9, 2018, at College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center.
The band Chicago Samba performs on July 14, 2018, as part of Jazz Up Glen Ellyn in downtown Glen Ellyn.
The band HOSS performs the AC/DC song "Hells Bells" on Dec. 1, 2018, at
Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora as part of its annual Holiday Show and
Toy Drive to benefit Hesed House homeless shelter in Aurora.
There is a $5 cover charge and all proceeds will go to the Albany Park Food Pantry. I had the chance to talk to August Forte, of Novo Management & Publicity, about the show.
Q – I understand the Novo
Management & Publicity Holiday Showcase will benefit the Albany
Park Food Pantry, with the door proceeds from that night going to the
food pantry. How much are you looking for the event to raise for the
food pantry?
Montrose
Saloon charges $5 for shows on Friday and Saturday nights and the venue
holds about 100 people. With four artists performing from
9 p.m. to midnight, I hope that the room will be packed all evening and we
can raise $500.
That said, any amount will help the APFP, especially at
this time of year when so many folks find it difficult to put food on
the table.
Q – How did the lineup for the night come together? Do you think the bands complement each other? What should people expect?
I reached
out to all four performers (Mark Panick, who will be joined by his
Black Friars Social Club band members) along with Jared Rabin, Todd Kessler and
Donnie Biggins directly as I have had the pleasure of handling press
and marketing for all of them over the years.
While all four musicians
draw from different music wells (Panick’s writing is dark and poetic;
Rabin has a classical and jazz background but plays an accessible strain
of Americana; Kessler leans toward pop and folk and is a fantastic
story teller; Biggins is a true wordsmith in the tradition of Dylan and
Springsteen), they are all very talented singer-songwriters.
People
should expect to hear great original music and, possibly, some holiday
tunes.
Q – Does Novo Management & Publicity enjoy the times when music can not only entertain, but also raise money for a good cause?
Definitely! I
did some pro bono press and marketing for a benefit show at Metro
several years ago and my business partner’s group just played a benefit
(for the family of a former band mate who passed away) at Beat Kitchen.
Q _ I
see that Novo Management will hold another artist showcase in January.
Do you see your showcases as a way to introduce people to bands they
might not know?
Yes,
our showcase on January 19 at Montrose Saloon will expose three
emerging Chicago bands – Faux Co., She Rides Tigers and The Thin Cherries – to
a wider audience. All three bands have gotten some local airplay and
attention from Chicago press, but getting gigs can be difficult as we
live in a city with a very competitive music scene.
Montrose Saloon has
been very welcoming to up-and-coming bands and that is one of the
reasons that I promote shows there.
Pete Lindenmeyer and his band HOSS performed at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora on Dec. 1 as part of the band's annual Holiday Show and Toy Drive to benefit Hesed House homeless shelter in Aurora.
The band HOSS helped kick off the Christmas season with its annual Holiday Show and Toy Drive to benefit Hesed House homeless shelter in Aurora.
HOSS, with help from the Pawnshop Horns, performed the AC/DC album "Back in Black" as part of the show.
HOSS also performed many seasonal favorites as part of the benefit show on Dec. 1.
