Featuring The Voice's De'Borah, Sami Grisafe, TJ Chernick, Windy City Gay Idol 2013 Maria Pahl and Idol finalists
CHICAGO —Top Chicago LGBTQ singers join forces for a benefit concert for the March on Springfield for Marriage Equality on Monday, Sept. 9 at City Winery, 7 p.m., 1200 W. Randolph. The concert is presented by Windy City Times and City Winery, and all proceeds will help pay for youth buses to Springfield for the Oct. 22 march and rally.
Windy City Gay Idol 2013 winner Maria Pahl will be joined by Idol finalists and special guests De'Borah (a Top 20 finalist on NBC's The Voice), Sami Grisafe (award-winning singer-songwriter and all-star World MVP quarterback), and TJ Chernick (Windy City Gay Idol 2011 and Chicago web TV host).
Kirk Williamson will produce and host the show, which will also feature fun raffle prizes and details about the March on Springfield. Tickets are just $10, $15 and $25.
This year's Windy City Gay Idol featured some of the top talent in Chicago's LGBTQ community. In addition to Maria Pahl, the 2013 Gay Idol, other finalists will also perform at the Sept. 9 City Winery Show: Julio Perez, Matthew Paynem, Jason Apollo, Nick Kruse, JD Stamper, Ryan Tang, James Gavin, Jennifer Baxley and Jonathan Smallwood.
For City Winery tickets see www.citywinery.com .
Direct link: www.citywinery.com/chicago/march-on-springfield-benefit-with-windy-city-gay-idol-and-special-guests-9-9.html .
For details on the March on Springfield, see www.MarchOnSpringfield.org .
About City Winery
City Winery Chicago, a fully operational winery, restaurant with outdoor patio, concert hall and private event space, is located in the heart of the West Loop at 1200 W. Randolph, in the historic urban Fulton Market district. The concert hall accommodates up to 300 guests, all seated at tables with complete beverage and dining service, ensuring a comfortable "listening room" experience enhanced by a state-of-the-art Meyer Sound system. Riedel is the official and exclusive provider of glass ware, showing City Winery's commitment to enjoying quality wine in a quality vessel. American Airlines is the Official Airline and Crowne Plaza is the Official Hotel of City Winery. For more information, please visit www.citywinery.com .
About the Windy City Times
Windy City Media Group (WCMG) produces Windy City Times, Nightspots, OUT! Resource Guide, and WindyCityQueercast.com . WCMG is the producer of these events: Windy City Gay Idol, 30 Under 30 and the Windy City Times Theater Series. To download all of our products visit www.windycitymediagroup.com . Send questions to publisher@windycitymediagroup.com or call (773) 871-7610.
About the March
The March on Springfield for Marriage Equality will take place on Oct. 22, 2013, the scheduled first day of the fall veto session of the Illinois state legislature. The "March on Springfield" is part of a broad grassroots strategy to secure final passage of Senate Bill 10, the "Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act," already approved by the Illinois Senate. Once adopted, Illinois will become the 14th state plus the District of Columbia, to treat all of its citizens equally under state marriage laws. Contributions may be made via Indiegogo. For more information, visit www.MarchOnSpringfield.org, or find the March at Facebook.com/MarchOnSpringfield or on Twitter @IllinoisMarches. To buy March merchandise, visit www.cafepress.com/marchonspringfield.
BIOGRAPHIES OF SINGERS
Maria Pahl: Originally from mid-Michigan, Maria migrated to Chicago three years ago. She's loved performance since her first stage role as a child street urchin in Oliver, and has enjoyed singing karaoke since college. A recent law school graduate, Maria just finished sitting for the bar exam. She hopes to set up Chicago as her home base for the foreseeable future and is excited to be her favorite city's Gay Idol.
Sami Grisafe is an out all-star athlete and singer-songwriter based in Chicago. Sami performed her signature version of the National Anthem with her ukulele prior to the start of the WFA World Championship game and winning the Gold Medal. Sami's current full-length studio album, ATLANTIS, is refreshingly diverse, receiving 6 Grammy pre-nominations and has a few Grammy Award winning collaborators associated with it such as blues artist Sugar Blue (Rolling Stones) and producer Ricciano Lumpkins (TLC, P.O.D., Mya).
De'Borah, a Top 20 finalist on NBC's The Voice, is the outspoken daughter of two pastors. She feels like her dream has come true—recording a song she wrote in her hometown. Her debut single "Coming Out Looking Good" showcases her visceral and sometimes raw vocal strength, which says a lot about her personality and her willingness to take risks. De'Borah describes her music and overall swagger as very eclectic.
TJ Chernick is the 2011 Windy City Gay Idol. An active member of the community he performs frequently around Chicago with other artists singing and playing the cello. Outside of singing he works as an anchor for Gay Chicago TV and works as a freelance writer.
Scott Duff is the host/producer of Chigaygo!, Laugh Factory's night of queer comedy. He is an Artistic Associate and founding member of About Face Theatre with whom he helped to create over a dozen original works including Eleven Rooms of Proust, Dream Boy, Fascination, Whitman, as well as his one man show, Alone, which premiered at Chicago's Museum of Modern Art and transferred to IO. Scott is also an award-winning theatre educator, food blogger ( www.theimprovisedkitchen.blogspot.com ), and part-time martini enthusiast.
