Acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier comes to City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph St., on Wed., Aug. 21, with Ray Wylie Hubbard also on the bill. Gauthier's set Live at Blue Rock spans her career with magnificent material like "Drag Queens in Limousines."
The lesbian artist seamlessly incorporates a harmonica into "Last of the Hobo Kings" and "I Drink" without making the effect too overbearing. Live at Blue Rock opens with a cover of Fred Eaglesmith's "Your Sister Cried," which has a great folk-driven rock sound. Although Gauthier is an award-winning songwriter, she tackles more Eaglesmith songs here, including "Rocket" and "Cigarette Machine," that faces her addictions. Gauthier provides fantastic insight behind her songs at www.marygauthier.com .
Lesbian songbird Garrison Starr has an impressive resume, having toured with greats like Melissa Etheridge and Shawn Colvin. Starr's self-released Amateur finds her in fine form. There are undeniable comparisons to Heather Nova, especially on "The Train That's Bound for Glory." The simple, yet effective folk guitar adds a wonderful backdrop to the vocals on "Empire State Building." "When You're Really Trying" is her best stab at a pop confection here and is ideal for licensing on primetime programming. Starr's strength is on the slower tracks that show off her songwriting, as heard on "The Needle and the Vein" and "Rednecks and Sailors."
Starr comes to Space, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston, with Adrienne Gonzalez on Saturday, Aug. 10, and Saturday, Aug. 17. Ticket price includes a download of the night's performance.
As a call for compassion throughout the world, Paul Luftenegger released "It's Only Love." Fans of Lana Del Rey or Mazzy Star can appreciate the soft arrangement matched with thought-provoking lyrics. The openly-gay Canadian looks to himself and history to show he understands where others are coming from as he sings, "When you claim your hate, I know you hurt… What you do to me, is already done to you." The video is vintage home video from a family vacation at the beach. Luftenegger's forthcoming album Diamond Light is due out in January and also contains the singles "Universal Love," "You're a Star" and "Mending."
The 32nd annual Northalsted Market Days brings an assortment of talented performers to the wow the masses on Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 10-11. While the card at June's PrideFest featured a returning cast of familiar dance divas, the line-up at Northalsted Market Days boasts promising newcomers, pop acts, rockers, LGBT acts and, of course, dance divas.
The largest two-day street fair in the Midwest will have actors who can sing like The Partridge Family's David Cassidy and Vampire Diaries' Kat Graham. Few know that Lynda Carter wanted to purse a singing career before she landed the iconic role of Wonder Woman. The ageless beauty has two albums of covers. At Last has American songbook standards and Crazy Little Things is more country-oriented.
One of the draws will be Internet sensation Steve Grand. The good-looking, out pop-country crooner caused much buzz earlier this summer when his video "All-American Boy" went viral and shot him to overnight fame, leading to an appearance on Good Morning America.
Wilson Phillips still can "Hold On" to the trio's hilarious scene-stealing cameo in the comedy Bridesmaids. Having landed multiple hits in the early '90s like "Release Me," "Impulsive" and "You're in Love," the lifelong friends continue to make music like Dedicated, a tribute to The Mamas and the Papas and The Beach Boys.
Headlining on Sunday, Aug. 11, is Erasure's Andy Bell. As one half of the British electronic group, Bell sang his way into our hearts with anthems like "Sometimes," "A Little Respect" and "Chains of Love." He has ventured into doing solo material and DJing in between Erasure projects. His second solo effort Non-Stop has the energetic title track, an ode to Debbie Harry "DHDQ" and a scorching hot collaboration with Porno for Pyros' Perry Farrell "Honey If You Love Him."Bell also did the duet with Cyndi Lauper "Early Bird" and a cover of the disco classic "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" with kd lang.
Having taken to the stage at Northalsted Market Days previously, dance favorite Kristine W. returns to promote her collection New and Number One Club Mixes Part One. Expect a video and remixes to "So Close to Me." The statuesque vocal powerhouse has seen 16 of her hits rise to the top of Billboard's club chart, including "One More Try," "Land of the Living" and "Some Lovin."
Estonian dance-pop artist Kerli will keep the energy of the crowd at a peak with "Can't Control the Kids" and "The Lucky Ones." Kerli made a splash with the edgy, goth-pop album Love Is Dead. Her songs appeared on the Tim Burton soundtracks for Alice in Wonderland and Frankenweenie.
Also on the card is the original "Cherry Bomb," Cherie Currie. The blonde rocker chronicled her days in The Runaways in the autobiography Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, which was the basis for the Kristen Stewart film. Currie is working on new material with Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver and Guns N' Roses. An A-list of guests is slated to contribute to Currie's new album, including Slash, Billy Corgan, Juliette Lewis and Duff McKagan.
For additional information and a complete schedule on Northalsted Market Days, please visit www.chicagoevents.com .
