How do you like your folk singers—angry, sad or wistful? Personally, I’m patiently waiting for someone to pen “The World is Doing Alright” or “I”ve Got a Girlfriend!” to Dylanesque melodies, but until that day, I’ll settle with Alabama’s own A.A. Bondy (whose happiest song is about the “sweetness” of whisky, cocaine and heroin). Bondy put out a stellar record a year and a half ago, the lo-fi “American Hearts,” an album filled with killer harmonica solos, Christian imagery and a bunch of tracks destined to end up on a Cameron Crowe soundtrack. Bondy has the presence to be an exclusively acoustic-and-harmonica guy, but an occasional full band never hurts, and his backing band’s heavily reverberated and distantly placed piano and electric guitar parts help liven his sometimes overly mellow music. Instead of aiming lyrics at every target he can of think of, Bondy restrains himself, letting his soulful, gorgeous melodies and his sparse arrangements define his brand of folk. (Andy Seifert)
March 7 at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, (773)525-2508, at 10pm. $10-$12.
For “Want” of a Change: A Preview of Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia Park Rufus Wainwright isn’t the first singer-songwriter to reinterpret earlier work through an orchestral lens. And much of Wainwright’s third and fourth albums, “Want One” and “Want Two”—whose twentieth anniversaries are the prompt for this new tour—is fully scored. But when Wainwright hits the Pavilion stage at Ravinia tonight, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be behind him.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
Can’t-Miss Music Events (Fall Arts Preview 2023) This fall we get new albums and tours from iconic acts like Wilco and Kurt Elling, plus a Corrine Bailey Rae project inspired by Theaster Gates' Stony Island Arts Bank.
