CHICAGO — A concert featuring legends from the lesbian-feminist women's music scene will be held Friday, July 14, 2006, as a kick-off event for Gay Games VII in Chicago.

Holly Near, Teresa Trull, Barbara Higbie, Nedra Johnson and emcee Vickie Shaw will entertain 1,300 attendees at the Merle Reskin Theatre of DePaul University, 60 E. Balbo, in a concert produced by Windy City Media Group.

Many of the same legends will be featured the next day at the Gay Games Opening Ceremony at Soldier Field.

Holly Near is a unique combination of entertainer, teacher and activist. An immense vocal talent, Near's career of three decades and more than two dozen albums has been profoundly defined by an unwillingness to separate her passion for music from her passion for human dignity.

The reunion of festival favorites singer-songwriter Teresa Trull and multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Barbara Higbie is a long-awaited musical event. Their duo CD Playtime captures the excitement and versatility that has endeared them to audiences since their 1983 release Unexpected.

Mighty blues singer Nedra Johnson comes to us from New York City. She has become widely known for her weaving of blues- and R&B-style music with an uncompromising radical lesbian viewpoint. Her two CDs, Testify and the recent release Nedra, have made it onto several "Best of Women's Music" lists.

Comic Vickie Shaw, who calls herself a recovering S.O.B. ( Southern Baptist ) has performed in almost every state in the U.S. over the last five years and has headlined in various venues, including major women's music festivals, comedy clubs, cruises, and on TV.

The concert, which will feature special Chicago guests, is being coordinated by Chicago women's music promoters Toni Armstrong Jr., Tricia Alexander, Lee Dorothy, Sarah Wainright, Jean Albright and Tracy Baim. Sign language interpretation is being coordinated by Diana Thorpe.

Ticket prices range from $25 to $60. The show starts at 7 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Chicago Lesbian Archive Project.

See www.womensmusiclegends.com or www.windycitymediagroup.com . Tickets available online now, and also available June 1 at Women & Children First Bookstore, 5233 N. Clark. Call ( 773 ) 871-7610.