Swappin’ Boots
feat. Rachel Swain
Lessons at 8:30pm, dancing at 9:00pm
**Lessons start at 8:30pm, Dancing begins at 9pm!
Local Universe presents the two-step night that's taken the city by storm with Rachel Swain! Now lessons are included in the ticket price!
Pull out that vintage cowboy hat, shine up that bespoke bolo, and come pardner-up to dance with someone new and hang with fellow country-queers. There's a grand prize for the best dressed, and even a little something for the runner up! Channel Dolly and Orville and come dressed to impress.
If you need a bit of liquid courage, Judson & Moore's house distilled spirits and handmade cocktails will be available from the bar. If you don't know the steps, sign up for lessons before the night gets going from Billingsley & Earp. Think you have two left feet? The live band and the encouraging crowd will get you swaying in no time!
ABOUT THE LESSONS The Texas two-step is a fun partner dance that is easy to learn, even if you have two left boots. By the end of the group class with instructors Wild Earp & Michelle Billingsley, you'll be armed with the basics of leading/following, two-step footwork, and an easy turn or two; everything you need to feel comfortable two-steppin'. After the lesson, the dance floor will open with the house band!
![glow in the dark flowers, Madeline Aguilar [Dual Album Release]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65f47506b43b5a4f821675eb/1751907429924-0OZPMB7ZHMD4NJV8K76S/LU-GitDF-Madeline.jpg)
glow in the dark flowers, Madeline Aguilar [Dual Album Release]
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
glow in the dark flowers, southern Illinois’ premiere experimental punk duo, release new record, R.T.Z., following members’ two-year struggle with mental, physical health challenges
Southern Illinois-based artists Glow In the Dark Flowers (Jessee Rose Crane and Philip Jerome Lesicko) will release their sophomore album, R.T.Z. , on August 1st 2025 under their own label, Manic Static. Recorded at Electro Spiral Sound in New Douglas, IL, the record also features contributions from Bosco Nichols and David Vettraino.
Madeleine Aguilar we’re never not moving in space is a collection of songs spanning from 2015 to 2022. They are memories, both joyful and difficult, living under the same roof. They are small, ephemeral moments, memorialised. They are the experiences that make up the person we know as “Madeleine.” She has built us a time capsule, willingly sharing it with us rather than burying it in the backyard. Each track is its own meaningful object, thoughtfully selected and arranged with intention, one building upon the other, adding more information while leaving just enough room for your own memories to slide in. On each track, Aguilar uses repetition as if it were an instrument of its own, a tool, if you will, creating tangibility to what is inherently intangible, which is why it is no surprise that her first recorded record can stand upright, on its own two legs.
Last Call Honky Tonk feat. Teddy & The Rough Riders
feat. Teddy & The Rough Riders
Doors at 9pm, dancing at 9:30pm
Last Call Honky Tonk is Judson & Moore's late night two step party. Every month catch a rotating local band play and the bar serves a cheap beer & shot combo for the late night affair. Dance right up until you hear your bartenders yell last call!
Sparkle Carcass, Angela Perley
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Just as the marbled salamanders emerge from under damp logs and leaves, the mushrooms—smooth, pearlescent ones and spongy morels—turn on like night lights glowing in the dark, and the long-horned beetles and regal moths begin buzzing. The fiddlehead ferns and trout lilies curl inward, a copperhead slowly swerves, and a fox steps into the moonlight looking for prey. It is here, in that restless middle of the night, under cover of darkness, where Caleb Caudle’s sixth studio LP Sweet Critters is nestled.
Through sometimes shadowy arrangements that creep and lurk, Caudle continues to mine both the brightest and murkiest corners of his imagination, finding that purest of points where tenderness and grit collide, inspired by musical heroes like Buddy Miller and Guy Clark, and mentors like Elizabeth Cook and John Paul White. It was White who Caudle tapped to produce Sweet Critters, along with Ben Tanner, at the duo’s Florence, Alabama studio Sun Drop Sound. "I was very excited to work with Caleb on this record. Iʼve been a fan for years and count him as a friend,” White says of working with Caudle. “Heʼs a stellar songwriter, so I knew heʼd bring the goods. And he did.”
These songs are a showcase of Caudle’s singular command of language. He sees the world through a hyperreal lens wholly unique to him, one that renders dank humidity “horsefly heat,” a moody sky “cast iron skillet” dark, or a loved one’s “wind chime of a smile.” For Caudle, details are the last frontier in a world where thousands of new songs are created every day. As such, he weaves his intricate tales of redemption, sacrifice, forgiveness, and loss with the colorful threads of living, breathing characters and all the rich idiosyncrasies and ephemera that fill out their worlds.
JP Harris
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
In a musical landscape of period-correct reproduction, “outlaw” internet posturing, and flavor-of-the-month variants on country, JP Harris Is A Trash Fire burns as bright as a dumpster ablaze in a Walmart parking lot on a moonless night; some will fear it, some will gravitate to its acrid warmth, and most will have no idea what to make of the situation.
Even within the rapidly growing world of “underground” country music, Harris still considers himself an outsider, content to inhabit a gray area where punk rock ethos, folk art aesthetic, and the workingman’s ballad mingle. Check out any of his prior releases, his brilliant 2017 EP of duets Why Don’t We Duet In The Road featuring Nikki Lane, Kelsey Waldon and Leigh Nash or flip the page to yet another exceptional project Dreadful Wind and Rain – a string duo collaboration with Chance McCoy (Old Crow Medicine Show) that is an astute sampling of authentic old-time hillbilly mountain music.
Harris has been steadily elbowing the definitive boundaries of “country music” wider with every album, both sonically and lyrically, and his latest piece of self-described “Avant-Country” is no exception. Produced by longtime friend and collaborator JD McPherson, the highly anticipated next chapter JP Harris Is A Trash Fire comes out September 2024 on Bloodshot Records.
Shannon Lay, Meernaa, Fran
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Shannon Lay’s music is shored by radical empathy. After 15 years of writing, recording and performing her singularly gentle songs in venues around the world, the self-taught singer-songwriter is most concerned with how her music may help people in emotional and spiritual need. In a world of persistent change, Lay’s goal is to have concentrations of love and energy in her work that double as a helping hand or a voice whispering “everything is going to be ok.” The singer’s abiding belief is that immense change also means invaluable transformation and permanent relief. Intention is her North Star. Hailed by publications such as Pitchfork, The Guardian, SPIN and Uncut magazine, Lay’s solo albums, including “Geist,” “August”, “Living Water,” and “All this life goin’ down” are noted for their thoughtful and entirely tender reflections on life’s big questions. Her seraphic voice has drawn comparisons to British folk icons Anne Briggs, Sandy Denny and Vashti Bunyan. Though an old soul, Lay aims to meet her listeners in the present. For her, creating a song, a recording or a live performance that is relatable and communal is of the utmost importance for we are constantly in flux and those unknowns, met with compassion, can be beautiful.
Meernaa is the musical project of Carly Bond, a Bay Area native known for her introspective and genre-bending music. Her sound blends Americana, indie-pop, and classic R&B, often exploring themes of self-examination, addiction, and loss. Bond's emotive vocals and elastic melodies, paired with lush arrangements, create a distinctive sound that has been praised for its depth and accessibility.
The TROUGH
come dressed “adorkably” for $50 grand prize!
Doors at 8:00pm, show at 8:30pm
Derry Queen, Lily Reed, Dylan Bragassa and a rotating cast of performers are here to feed you down at THE TROUGH, a new comedy-drag experience that asks the question: what if a girl and 2 gay guys made a variety show?
Featuring:
Sonal Aggarwal, Courtney Tua, Brigid Broderick, Silchele, and Modern Nun
Matt Ulery, Sydnorigami, Angela James
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Matt Ulery with Katie Ernst, Matt Gold & Jim Tashjian Chicago based bassist/composer and bandleader, Matt Ulery, has produced and released 16 critically acclaimed albums of all original music under his name. In 2014, he performed with his quintet, Loom, on the NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series and was featured in Vanity Fair Magazine in a “rising jazz stars” feature article. Known for his sweeping lyricism, unconventional phrase structures, expressionistic emotionalism, Ulery’s music, from small, diverse chamber ensembles to full orchestras, is informed by the entire spectrum of jazz, classical, rock, pop, and folk– specifically American, South American, Balkan, and other European folk styles.
Sydnorigami w/ Matt Ulery & Jeremy Cunningham Curt Sydnor is a musician living in Richmond, VA. He has released six albums as a bandleader and toured/recorded with artists such as Mirah, Janka Nabay, Luke Temple, Cassandra Jenkins, and Peni Candra Rini, with whom he performed at 2025's Big Ears Festival. In 2022 he received a recording grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to complete his most recent album, Air Ride Equipped. With Deerhoof's Greg Saunier, Curt is currently preparing a series of canons by JS Bach arranged for synthesizers and drums
Angela James with Sarah Clausen Angela James' voice elicits comparisons to classic country artists Patsy Cline and Hazel Dickens, while her emotionally forthright songwriting and penchant for experimentation place her directly in the present. Over the span of 4 records and a 10 year career, her work speaks to horizons in progressive Americana in a way that feels both indebted to and freed from the strictures of time. Her music has been called “smoldering and gorgeous” by the Chicago Reader and featured in the Chicago Tribune, NPR, and Tiny Mix Tapes (RIP), among others. Her latest project is a cycle of conceptual songs imagining the lives of her matrilineal ancestors of the Eastern TN foothills.
Lavender Prairie Festival
Day 1: Music & Lavender Country Tribute
Day 2: All day party with workshops, pop-ups, and music
The Midwest’s premiere multi-day queer country festival continuing the legacy of a genre-defining pioneer Patrick Haggerty.
Friday night will kick off with queer country acts and a special tribute set & stories of Lavender Country.
Saturday will be an all-day party with workshops, pop-ups, and lots of music!
Jake McKelvie, Advance Base, Max Morton
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Jake McKelvie has traveled the DIY touring circuit in the US and UK for over a decade, carving out a niche for himself as a songwriter and performer. Known for his off-kilter and whimsical "stream of self-consciousness" lyricism and charming stage demeanor, he keeps audiences engaged both as a solo performer or with his newly minted backing band, “the New Old Band". He released his latest LP "A New Kind of Hat" in 2024 and has been touring in support of that since.
Advance Base is the melancholic soft rock recording project of Chicago, IL singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth (formerly of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone). Using a two-handed arsenal of electric piano, Omnichord, samplers, effect pedals & drum machines, Ashworth builds minimalist, heavy-hearted, & nostalgia-obsessed ballads around his conversational baritone. The warm, electronic sound of Advance Base has been described as "lo-fi," "depressed" & "weirdly uplifting."
She Returns From War, Reilly Downes, The Devil Said Jump
Doors at 8:00pm, Show at 9:00pm
Hailing from the historically rich city of Charleston, South Carolina, Americana music artist Hunter Park is defining what it means to not only live in the modern south, but to be a trans woman and artist within this landscape. Combining folk-infused vocal melodies and evocative lyrics that capture the unfiltered human experience, She Returns From War is taking her seat in the Americana music world with grace, strength, and passion. In 2023, the project shows no signs of slowing down. From opening for Bernie Sanders at his presidential rally in Charleston, to performing at national festivals like Stagecoach and High Water Festival and with artists such as Pat Benatar, Band of Horses, and Nikki Lane, She Returns From War is sharing with the world what the modern south should look and feel like: inclusive, compassionate, unfiltered, and loving.
Brokeback, Terry Gross
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
A sense of place has been essential to the music of Brokeback since guitarist/bassist Douglas McCombs first launched the project in 1995. Initially conceived as a solo outlet, the Chicago group has taken on new dimensions over the past two decades, morphing from the lean, pastoral ambience of the first album, Field Recordings from the Cook County Water Table, to the more muscular, taut arrangements and dynamic swells of the last release, Brokeback and the Black Rock, for which McCombs assembled a new quartet lineup. Each album develops with exacting detail, revealing McCombs’s gift for dialing in the essence of a mood, feeling, or distant locale with a handful of reverb-laden guitar tones, elegant and sustained, strategically placed and sparingly deployed. The instrumental landscapes he creates on Illinois River Valley Blues are utterly transportive, evoking familiar open-frontier soundtracks and charting out new sonic territory.
Ada Lea, Ava Brennan
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Ada Lea is the musical project of Montreal-based artist Alexandra Levy.
Tobacco City, Silver Synthetic (NOLA), Grace Rogers (KY)
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
On Horses, the highly anticipated follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut, Tobacco City, USA, the band takes listeners on a nostalgic journey through the haze of youth, where time feels suspended and plans are nonexistent. The album’s lyrics conjure vivid images of small-town life—smoking schwag behind the grocery store, drinking cream from a gas station with your first love—capturing that carefree, uncertain time when the future felt distant. The music channels the spirit of ’70s country with influences from legends like Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, bringing a timeless, uplifting energy to each track. At the same time, the lyrics intersect with modern-day themes, blending the beauty and innocence of youth with the harsh realities of life. Horses feels like a contemporary take on classic country, merging a nostalgic past with the complex world of today, all while remaining undeniably authentic and heartfelt. This follow-up to Tobacco City, USA—which received high praise from NPR and Rolling Stone—cements the band’s place at the forefront of a new wave of country-tinged Americana
In the midst of the thick New Orleans summer of 2017, Chris Lyons of garage punks Bottomfeeders found himself sitting on a small batch of songs that didn’t quite fit the fuzzed-out pileups of that band. The new songs were more chiming, driving but relaxed, full of little corners begging to be filled with classic pop harmonies and wayward country licks. He called in his trusted confidants: Bottomfeeders drummer and longtime musical partner Lucas Bogner—the two started playing music together at the tender age of 15—plus bassist Pete Campanelli, and Kunal Prakash (Jeff The Brotherhood) dug the songs and signed on, and the quartet started playing in earnest, hunkering down in the practice space. By the time the band played its first gig in late 2018 at the opening of Nola’s ManRay Records, the songs had multiplied and the members of the newly christened Silver Synthetic had become genuine rock & roll craftsmen.
Grace Rogers is a musician & writer based out of Louisville, Kentucky originally from Owingsville, Ky having just released her debut full length album Mad Dogs (Sophomore Lounge, 2025). With accompaniment from a band of Louisville friends (Ian Gordon, Fiona Palensky, Chris Cupp, & Scott Boice), the Grace Rogers outfit blends rock, country, and traditional influences into tunes that, in the words of Leigh Viner, "hum like hymns and drive like rain." Stereogum writes “Rogers has the kind of talent and irrepressible personality that makes a singer-songwriter stand out in a crowded field.”
Chris Acker, Pat Reedy
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
In a genre full of tall tales and marketable lies, Chris Acker crafts candid songs – weaving his wit and woes into a body of work that exposes the stale plight of the American Songster to the honest, and sometimes hilarious, light of day.
Since leaving his childhood home of Seattle, Washington, Chris Acker has called the haggard decadence of the New Orleans Americana world his purlieu. In the tradition of Guthrie and Prine, Chris lends a quavering voice to the half-rotten romance of the unremarkable and unrefined. Regardless if you’re sitting by a backyard fire on a muggy Louisiana night or standing stage-side in some far flung town, when you hear Chris Acker playing, you’re hearing the end result of countless hours of observing the masters of the craft…and the end result of repeating their mistakes.
Some hard-times don’t happen behind plows, they happen behind dish-pits and cash registers. Some ramblers don’t feel the hot breath of freedom, just the smell of car exhaust and a couch for a bed. From the folk revival through the golden age of country music, deafened by punk shows and brass bands alike, Chris’s songwriting is a nod to the absurd yet muted brilliance that inhabits the molded corners of the bars he patrons and cratered street he treads, paired with a pained honesty that merits a long second look.
Cameron Esposito: FEAT
Fri. 10/3 at 7:30pm
Sat. 10/4 at 3:00pm
Sat. 10/4 at 7:30pm
In FEAT—an all new comedic solo show debuting at Steppenwolf—Cameron Esposito (Dropout's Four Pills, Hulu's A Million Little Things) details the near death experience that reaffirmed their marriage to their wife, reignited a friendship with their ex-husband, and restored clarity around what it is to be a parent—setting in motion a course toward motherhood they never expected.
The Sidepieces
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
The Sidepieces is a country band with a rotating cast of Chicago singers and players revisiting a range of mostly sad songs, some recent/some old, some familiar/some hidden gems, some traditional/some unorthodox. Led by Jordan Martins on pedal steel, The Sidepieces plays these songs in order to listen to eachother, improvise, find the form, invite surprises, and stretch the sounds that inhabit the song. Current members include Angela James, Sam Cantor, Ryan Norris, Kelsey Wild, Raul Cotaquispe, Nolan Chin, Gus Martini, and Chris Salveter (Judson Claiborne) among others
Hannah Frances Ensemble presents: Nestled in Tangles
special Album Release event
Doors at 8:00pm, show at 8:30pm
Hannah Frances (b. 1997) is a vocalist, guitarist, composer, and poet that NPR’s Ann Powers calls “a stunning vocalist and songwriter, making monumental and mythic music,” and was awarded Pitchfork’s Best New Music for her critically acclaimed 2024 album Keeper of the Shepherd. Frances will release her forthcoming album Nested in Tangles on October 10 with Fire Talk Records. With this distinctive body of work, Frances solidifies herself as an artist of insurgent emotional clarity, committed to personal truth and self-actualization. On this album, she narrates complex stories of familial estrangement, emotional trauma, and a deepening of her own sense of trust, through a collection of intricate, dizzying, and large-scale compositions. Nested in Tangles spans the realms of progressive rock, avant-folk, and jazz, but remains anchored throughout with Frances’ signature vocal leaps and percussive, polyrhythmic fingerpicking. Whether performing as a solo act or with her full ensemble, her mythology spellbinds with an insistent gravity.
The Regular Sketch Show
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Comedic internet duo Taylor Graysen Owen and James Mitchell Neal are putting down the phone and picking up the mic for their new live show The Regular Sketch Show.
Based out of LA, the duo who is notorious for their parody sketches on popular television shows such as Succession, Yellowstone, The Bear, Love is Blind, and many other zeitgeist defining shows are taking their live sketch show on the road. The live show presents Taylor and James weaving through impressions, characters, sketches, and banter.
The Regular Sketch Show made its live debut as part of the 2024 New York Comedy Festival and will next embark on a full nationwide tour in Fall 2025.
Greta Titelman: Fresh, Hot, New!
Doors at 6:30pm, show at 7:00pm
Ever feel like your life’s a funhouse mirror? Like your “name-brand” SSRI is working wonders until you realize it’s generic? Or you proudly have been carrying a rare Chanel bag and then it turns out it’s…fake? Has a Gen Z tried to help you? Life is weird. Fresh! Hot! New! is here to analyze some of those moments.
ABOUT GRETA: Greta is a comedian, actress, and writer known for her breakout role as ‘Ambassador Gibbons’ on both seasons of HBO’s hit series LOS ESPOOKYS. Greta stars in season 5 of HBO Max’s SEARCH PARTY. Greta stars opposite Tilda Swinton in the feature film, PROBLEMISTA for A24 – directed by Julio Torres. Greta has memorable roles in the Hulu series SHRILL, S3 of AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM QUEENS, and the independent feature TOGETHER TOGETHER. She can next be seen as a recurring character in the Julio Torres HBO Series, FANTASMAS. She was named one of Comedy Central’s “Up Next” performers and was the host of the hit Headgum podcast, SENIOR SUPERLATIVES WITH GRETA TITELMAN. You can see Greta performing at clubs and theaters around Los Angeles, New York and London. Her hour-long show, EXQUISITE LIES, ran at Edinburgh Fringe Fest Summer 2023 which received 4 and 5 star reviews from The Skinny, The Comic’s Comic, The Wee Review, and Why Now.
Nicco Carney
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Nico Carney is a Brooklyn-based stand-up, writer, and actor. His standup covers his experiences as a trans man growing up in Savannah, Georgia and whatever else he finds silly and interesting. In 2024, Nico made his late night debut on LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS and was named a 2024 Comic You Should And Will Know by Vulture. He was selected as a JFL New Face in 2023 and was part of the inaugural Netflix & “Introducing...” Showcase at the 2022 Netflix Is a Joke festival. He and his comedy partner Conor Janda also co-host the podcast and live show, BOYS CLUB. Nico can be seen starring in indie film SHE’S THE HE, which premiered at SXSW this year.
Tuvergen Band
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
An emerging act at world music festivals across the U.S., Tuvergen Band (“galloping” in Mongolian) is a Chicago-based folk-fusion trio founded by Tamir Hargana (lead vocals, folk lutes, morin khuur), Naizal Hargana (morin khuur, vocals), and Brent Roman (percussion, didgeridoo, vocals) in 2020. Hailing from Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, Tamir and Naizal bring some of the country’s most distinctive sounds to Tuvergen Band, including the cello-like horsehead fiddle (morin khuur), various folk lutes (the Tuvan doshpuluur and West Mongolian tovshuur), and khoomii throat singing. An ethnomusicologist and Asian percussion specialist, Roman augments these sounds with a custom hybrid drum kit of twenty global percussion instruments and didgeridoo. The trio use this rich instrumental palette to perform what they call “modern nomadic music,” incorporating bluegrass, blues, rock, and more into its repertoire of Mongolian and Tuvan folk songs and originals.
Cosmic Country Showcase
featured guest Mallory Eagle
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Chicago’s cult-hit Cosmic Country Showcase has found a home for 2025 at Judson & Moore. Every other month find this psychedelic, americana revue featuring some of Chicago’s hottest country talent and an out-of-town headliner to close out the night. The Flying Objects back a slew of incredible singers and guests while hosts Andrew Sa & Mary Williamson guide us through two acts of this one-of-a-kind trip.
FEATURED GUEST: Hailing from the historically rich city of Charleston, South Carolina, Americana music artist Hunter Park is defining what it means to not only live in the modern south, but to be a trans woman and artist within this landscape. Combining folk-infused vocal melodies and evocative lyrics that capture the unfiltered human experience, She Returns From War is taking her seat in the Americana music world with grace, strength, and passion.
And her journey has been a wild one. Since founding the project in 2014, She Returns From War has released many singles, including her second full-length album, Mirrored Moon Dance Hall, in 2018. The 11-track release dives into the themes of love, loss, and self-exploration. Now, with a whole new collection of stories to share, she returns with her latest full-length record, co-produced by Joel Hamilton (Mechanical River) and Wolfgang Zimmerman (Band of Horses, SUSTO, Brave Baby). The album is a slow-burn, deceptively hitting the listener with vocal lines that are just as elegant as they are intensely emotional. Look beyond the surface and you just might see that the album is meant for healing the heart.
Now, in 2023, the project shows no signs of slowing down. From opening for Bernie Sanders at his presidential rally in Charleston to performing at national festivals like Stagecoach and High Water Festival and with artists such as Pat Benatar, Band of Horses, and Nikki Lane, She Returns From War is sharing with the world what the modern south should look and feel like: inclusive, compassionate, unfiltered, and loving.
Ivy Wolk Presents: The Barred Out Tour
Doors at 6:30pm, show at 7:00pm
IVY WOLK can next be seen in Jonah Hill’s OUTCOME in scenes opposite Keanu Reeves, in Sean Baker's multiple Oscar winning film ANORA distributed by NEON, in Eugene Kotlyarenko's film THE CODE, in Mary Bronstein's IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU, and in Andrew De Young's film FRIENDSHIP for Fifth Season, opposite Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson. Ivy starred as PRINCESS KLEPTO, the lead role in an Amazon pilot last year. Ivy recurs on Brian Jordan Alvarez’s comedy ENGLISH TEACHER for FX and was just listed as one of System Magazine’s ‘Ones to Watch.’ Ivy was also a cameo in the Judd Apatow movie THE BUBBLE and is best known for her strong recurring role in EVERYTHINGS GONNA BE OK for FREEFORM. Ivy does stand-up comedy and can be seen in shows throughout New York City.
Elly Kace, Ruben Jai, Krissy Bergmark
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Elly Kace (she/her/they) is a queer sound healing mystic and indie artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Her baroque-pop portals incorporate earthy vocals, sparkling sound worlds and sound medicine to conjure a new paradigm of radical self love. As a lyric soprano, she has sung around the world at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center - but lately you can find her channeling sound meditation performances of her pop songs to sold out audiences in NYC and beyond.
Jim Lauderdale & The Game Changers
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
The tenured music professional with 36 full-length records, Jim Lauderdale has been described as "stylistically restless". He's been at the cutting edge of where Americana has been headed since the 90s jumping from rock and country straight into a bluegrass album with thee Dr. Ralph Stanley and writing hits for the likes of George Strait, Patty Loveless, and George Jones. He'll be in town with his Nashville all-star band the Game Changers tonight.
We don't expect anything less than wild stories, wild antics, and a good time from one of our favorites, Jim Lauderdale.
Episode 1 Live!
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
E1 Live! is a live recording of the podcast Episode 1. Each episode is the first episode of a different failed podcast. The podcast is bird brained, is dumb, and can give you a nosebleed.
Plathemis Trio, Black Diamond Duo
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
A new Ambient trio featuring Sarah Clausen, Jordan Martins, and Zander Raymond.
Cake Friends
Cake Friends welcomes Chicago's micro cake bakers to a genial showcase of nothing but cake! Come on a Saturday afternoon and enjoy a few slices with some familiar faces.
Cakes frome helloclown, 1-800-Cakes, medium sweet, html.food, & riosantosss
Hiver, You Are The Garden Plays “In C”
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
You Are The Garden embodies the importance and beauty of compassion, listening, and intentionality through their combined voice. Andy Danstrom leads the group with his unconventional scores and notation, but beyond his composing, the band’s music becomes the product of all the members. Together, they create music that’s like observing plants grow and looking inward. Simple ideas interlock and kaleidoscope together to grow blankets and landscapes of sound that slip away after the show, but spread pollen around to invoke self-love, inspiration, and contentedness. It’s holy music, it’s lovely, it’s magical. It’s the sound of caring. -Izzy Yellen
Hiver (like "driver") is a rock band from Chicago, the songwriting project of upstate NY native Miles Allen. Debut EP "Making There" was released summer 2024. Full-length follow-up "Offers", an improvisation-based collaboration with producer Jason Koth, was released winter 2025. Miles Allen - songwriter | Kevin Krull - octave mandolin | Sam Pratt - bass | Jeremiah Hawk - drumset
![Parker Callahan: SODA POP! [Work in Progress]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65f47506b43b5a4f821675eb/1749481713097-CVS3REIYTVYBNVV7CGHV/SODA++POP_work+in+progress.png)
Parker Callahan: SODA POP! [Work in Progress]
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Parker Callahan is a comedian whose blend of humor and music has culminated in his solo show, Soda Pop. He premiered the show in January as part of the TNK Festival, and now SODA POP IS HEADING TO THE EDINBURGH FRINGE 2025!
Join us for one final performance before Parker heads overseas — Wednesday, July 23rd at Color Club. Don’t miss this last chance to catch the show stateside!
Parker was recognized as a 2023 Just For Laughs Festival New Face of Comedy, has toured the world with The Second City, and his stupid little videos have gone viral online despite their gay overtones. As Paul F. Tompkins says, "Parker Callahan has a cheerfully demented energy that instantly draws you in and keeps you there and you like it. You like that this is happening to you." He recently performed at the New York Comedy Festival alongside collaborator Maggie Winters (aka Chicago's Comedy Queen).
Lefty Parker, Adelaide, Morgan Powers
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Dave Bixby describes Lefty Parker as “a troubadour and a poet.” Inspired by his hero, Townes Van Zandt, Parker began performing at Cactus Cafe in 2018. He self-released his debut album, Love On The Guadalupe, in 2019, followed by Off San Gabriel in 2021, recorded by Mat Davidson of Twain. In 2024, he released 13, recorded live at Zona Park. Lefty currently lives in New York.
Lizzie No
with special guest
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Lizzie No is a folk rock band, a singer-songwriter, and a revolutionary artist in the Black Womanist tradition. Their acclaimed genre-defying third studio album, Halfsies, was released in 2024. Rolling Stone named Lizzie one of their "Future 25" artists of the year, and country ballad "The Heartbreak Store" was nominated for International Song of the Year at the Americana UK awards. The 'Halfsies' tour made stops all across the United States and Europe, including shows with Iron & Wine and Dispatch. In January 2025 they released the electrifying live album Commie Country. As cohost of the Basic Folk podcast and contributing writer at the Bluegrass Situation, Lizzie has interviewed luminaries from across the roots music universe, including Ben Harper, Molly Tuttle, Swamp Dogg, and Billy Bragg. Lizzie was born in the Bronx, raised in New Jersey, and now resides in North Nashville when off the road. They are funding their artistic pursuits via OnlyFans under the username handsomelizzie. No is a graduate of Stanford University, a dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Berlin's mom. Berlin is a dog and a wizard.
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves
with special guest
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves create a sound that is adventurous, masterful, and original, as they expand on the eccentricities of old songs, while never losing sight of what makes them endure.
![Lone Rock Bride[MN], Toadvine, Calvatia](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65f47506b43b5a4f821675eb/1750698445850-SKJTAXJZ6TV17C4TOU3M/LRB_Tour_Chicago.jpg)
Lone Rock Bride[MN], Toadvine, Calvatia
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Toadvine is an alt-country band out of Chicago, Illinois. Their sound is equal parts 60s-influenced garage-y indie rock and equal parts roadhouse bar country; essentially they sound kind of like if Elephant 6 held a jamboree at the Grand Ole Opry.
Lone Rock Bride is an alt-country band based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. They write songs about poets, pioneers, drifters and dreamers.
Sam Prekop, James Elkington
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Sam Prekop’s boundless imagination is guided by his strong sense of melody. For more than 25 years, as a solo artist or as part of The Sea and Cake, Prekop creates a singular sound inventive and warm. His distinctive vocals, guitar playing and work on modular analog synthesizers are inventive, delicate, and always bear his signature sense of melody.
British-born, Chicago-based guitarist and vocalist James Elkington writes introspective, harmonically nuanced songs heavily informed by traditional and progressive folk of the 1960s and '70s. After establishing himself as a staple sideman of Chicago's indie scene, he worked as a collaborator with artists like Jeff Tweedy and Louisville guitarist Nathan Salsburg. He made his own debut with 2017's Wintres Woma and its 2020 follow-up, Ever-Roving Eye, and then produced critically acclaimed albums by Joan Shelley and Jake Xerxes Fussell. Elkington returned to solo work with 2023's all-instrumental double album Me Neither. It was followed a year later by All Gist, his third collection of guitar duets with Salsburg. More intricate guitar instrumentals marked 2025's Pastel de Nada.
![Dilly’s World LIVE! [Late Show]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65f47506b43b5a4f821675eb/1744818061733-BLTDBQJ0XZE3LPM9RP7V/Copy+of+Untitled+Design.jpeg)
Dilly’s World LIVE! [Late Show]
Doors at 7:00pm, show at 8:00pm
Dilly and her not so ordinary friends confront and solve social emotional issues in her big whimsical world.
Join us for the first public showing of Dilly's World (with a live show element of course)! A whacky, wondrous world of puppets, color, design, hilarity and emotion. Dilly, a fun-willed and charming lead will do her best to ask her friends for help (puppet and animation alike) as she tries to find her spark. She lost it and how will she ever finish this painting for the gallery so Dillytown doesn't get demolished? We will welcome you in with live music from an extremely talented band of Horns, guitars and bass, singing live with puppets. It's a night you won't want to miss. We are showing the world our pilot and doing a live show, to give you an idea of what to expect from the season! This event is for kids, adults, and creatives. We will be doing a raffle to raise money for the season and will be doing a Q and A after the performance. We will also have merchandise, surprises, laughs and words to share, so come and be entertained and bring the whole family! Shown in the auditorium of Color Club!
Dilly’s World LIVE! [Early Show]
Doors at 3:00pm, show at 4:00pm
Dilly and her not so ordinary friends confront and solve social emotional issues in her big whimsical world.
Join us for the first public showing of Dilly's World (with a live show element of course)! A whacky, wondrous world of puppets, color, design, hilarity and emotion. Dilly, a fun-willed and charming lead will do her best to ask her friends for help (puppet and animation alike) as she tries to find her spark. She lost it and how will she ever finish this painting for the gallery so Dillytown doesn't get demolished? We will welcome you in with live music from an extremely talented band of Horns, guitars and bass, singing live with puppets. It's a night you won't want to miss. We are showing the world our pilot and doing a live show, to give you an idea of what to expect from the season! This event is for kids, adults, and creatives. We will be doing a raffle to raise money for the season and will be doing a Q and A after the performance. We will also have merchandise, surprises, laughs and words to share, so come and be entertained and bring the whole family! Shown in the auditorium of Color Club!
Lia Kohl & Zander Raymond 'In Transit' Release Show
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Celebrate the release of the duo's new album In Transit coming out on Un je-ne-sais-quoi aka UJNSQ on June 20th, 2025.
Lia Kohl is a cellist, composer, and sound artist based in Chicago. Her wide-ranging practice includes composition and performance, installation, improvisation, and collaboration. She tours nationally and internationally, working in theater, jazz, rock, and experimental contexts. Her work centers curiosity and patience, an exploration of the mundane and profound possibilities of sound.
Zander Raymond is an interdisciplinary artist and musician working in Chicago. His music is rooted in improvisation, utilizing modular synthesizers and open-source sound computers to sample, warp, and build sonic images that embrace non-linear approaches to composition. He’s released music on Moon Glyph, Sound as Language, Florabelle, Cached.media, among others.
Mute Duo, KVL
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Cathartic, invigorating, tight, open, assiduous, unpretentious: these are emblematic of Mute Duo’s music, which features Sam Wagster on pedal steel and Skyler Rowe on percussion. Migrant Flocks, their second LP with American Dreams, synthesizes their wide-ranging influences and techniques into a striking document of singular music. It’s sharp, dynamic, understated, inventive, and their first album to bring the power of their concerts onto record.
At its core, Mute Duo’s music is fundamentally expansive, blowing past preconceived notions of “genre” while staying rooted in the qualities that bring it to bear. “In terms of human movement,” Wagster says, “the different motives for migration came to mind: people fleeing an increasingly hostile climate or hostile political circumstances; people leaving home for a chance at a better economic situation; or—as is the case for both of us—a cultural migration, where one is drawn away from where they grew up by creative sounds, ideas and the opportunity to participate in a progressive artistic community.” Dualities like these underpin Migrant Flocks, which both revels in the focused experimentation characteristic of Chicago musicians and looks outward. Listen as a unique band soars to new heights.
KVL, is the improvising trio of Quin Kirchner (drums, sampler, electronics), Daniel Van Duerm (keyboards, electronics) & Matthew Lux (bass, electronics). Their brand of call-it-whatever-you-want jazz has many of the same meditative and ambient qualities. You'll find Van Duerm's repetitive and winding organ lines against Kirchner's steady & insistent beats with Lux's steady & subtle bass lines throughout.
They'll span the "free jazz" genre expertly, their most recent album Volume 2 really gets into the expanse of their expertise with the tune "Interconnectivity Suite," a stunning 10 minute journey through fields of experimental electronics, dub groove rhythm section interludes that are so tight you could wind your clock to them, ruminative electric piano and eventually ending back into a world of lush tranquility.
Last Call Honky Tonk
feat. Wild Earp & The Free For Alls
Doors at 9pm, dancing at 9:30pm
Last Call Honky Tonk is Judson & Moore's late night two step party. Every month catch a rotating local band play and the bar serves a cheap beer & shot combo for the late night affair. Dance right up until you hear your bartenders yell last call!
Fritz and Sons, Brandon Good
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Hailing from Kansas City, Fritz and Sons bring a rhythm-forward take on country music blending influences from Bakersfield honky tonk, Ozark old-time, the gritty funk of Levon Helm and the cosmic tenderness of Micheal Hurley
The Spine Stealers, Creekbed Carter Hogan, Growing Boys
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
The Spine Stealers are a two-gal duo making “spooky folk” influenced by the north-wood Wisconsin pines, 24/7 truck stop diners, heartbreak and dark lakes. Kate and Emma started learning guitar together around bonfires in their shared hometown during the height of the pandemic, soon writing songs inspired by lonesome winters, the heartaches of nostalgia and broken ideas of love. The duo started frequenting open mics in July of 2022, which led them to a whirlwind first year as performers. It began with opening for Dead Horses at Madison’s Majestic Theater for Folk Fest 2023, then winning the 2023 Blue Ox Music Festival Virtual Band Competition, and releasing their first ever EP, “River Teeth Tapes” in July, 2023. 2024 brought the release of several singles, a feature in DAYBREAK magazine, and most proudly, the recording of their debut album “If the Sky Falls, Beyond the Sidewalks”, released in October, 2024. The duo is making a name in the Midwestern folk scene, and anxiously await the introduction of their sound to new corners of the country during upcoming tours.
![The Great Dying [solo], Gold Dust](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65f47506b43b5a4f821675eb/1747332022657-KCQJH9WSMGLGBYFMQ9LX/_MG_3238.jpg)
The Great Dying [solo], Gold Dust
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Will Griffith, aka The Great Dying: Mississippi Delta-born, songwriter. Will doesn’t see his dark country musings as directly blues influenced. "I want people to celebrate sad music because of its beauty. Sad songs help you laugh at your own sadness.” Punk rock felt like Will’s blues and was devoid of the phoniness and commercialism that drove tourism in his hometown of Cleveland, MS.
Parker Callahan: SODA POP!
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Parker Callahan is a comedian whose blend of humor and music has culminated in his solo show, Soda Pop. He premiered this show in January as part of the TNK Festival, and now SODA POP IS HEADING TO THE EDINBURGH FRINGE 2025! These Color Club shows (May 28th and June 11th) will be work in progress shows (meaning you will be the first to see new fun material) as he refines this show for an international audience. He was recognized at 2023 Just For Laughs Festival New Face of comedy, has toured the world as a Second City touring player, and his stupid little videos have gone viral online despite their gay overtones. As Paul F. Tompkins says, "Parker Callahan has a cheerfully demented energy that instantly draws you in and keeps you there and you like it. You like that this is happening to you." He recently performed at the New York Comedy Festival alongside collaborator Maggie Winters (aka Chicago's Comedy Queen.) You can follow him on all platforms at @parkthelark
Valley Maker
with Special Guest
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
For Austin Crane—the ruminative songwriter, riveting guitarist, and singular voice performing and collaborating as Valley Maker— these last few years have represented a period of profound transition. Early in 2019, Crane and his wife, Megan, decided it was time to leave Seattle. South Carolina natives, they’d been in Seattle for nearly seven years while he pursued a doctorate in human geography at the University of Washington, and she worked as a midwife. As Summer 2019 ended, they prepared to head east to Columbia, SC, rejoining a deep community of friends and moving into a century-old home in need of big love. Still, major questions loomed: Would they, just then past 30, like it enough to stay, to start a new life? And what did it mean to go home? This flux is the anchor for Crane’s fourth and best album as Valley Maker, the gorgeous and felicitous When the Day Leaves.
Cosmic Country Showcase [Night 2]
featured guest She Returns From War
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Chicago’s cult-hit Cosmic Country Showcase has found a home for 2025 at Judson & Moore. Every other month find this psychedelic, americana revue featuring some of Chicago’s hottest country talent and an out-of-town headliner to close out the night. The Flying Objects back a slew of incredible singers and guests while hosts Andrew Sa & Mary Williamson guide us through two acts of this one-of-a-kind trip.
FEATURED GUEST: Hailing from the historically rich city of Charleston, South Carolina, Americana music artist Hunter Park is defining what it means to not only live in the modern south, but to be a trans woman and artist within this landscape. Combining folk-infused vocal melodies and evocative lyrics that capture the unfiltered human experience, She Returns From War is taking her seat in the Americana music world with grace, strength, and passion.
And her journey has been a wild one. Since founding the project in 2014, She Returns From War has released many singles, including her second full-length album, Mirrored Moon Dance Hall, in 2018. The 11-track release dives into the themes of love, loss, and self-exploration. Now, with a whole new collection of stories to share, she returns with her latest full-length record, co-produced by Joel Hamilton (Mechanical River) and Wolfgang Zimmerman (Band of Horses, SUSTO, Brave Baby). The album is a slow-burn, deceptively hitting the listener with vocal lines that are just as elegant as they are intensely emotional. Look beyond the surface and you just might see that the album is meant for healing the heart.
Now, in 2023, the project shows no signs of slowing down. From opening for Bernie Sanders at his presidential rally in Charleston to performing at national festivals like Stagecoach and High Water Festival and with artists such as Pat Benatar, Band of Horses, and Nikki Lane, She Returns From War is sharing with the world what the modern south should look and feel like: inclusive, compassionate, unfiltered, and loving.
Cosmic Country Showcase [Night 1]
featured guest She Returns From War
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Chicago’s cult-hit Cosmic Country Showcase has found a home for 2025 at Judson & Moore. Every other month find this psychedelic, americana revue featuring some of Chicago’s hottest country talent and an out-of-town headliner to close out the night. The Flying Objects back a slew of incredible singers and guests while hosts Andrew Sa & Mary Williamson guide us through two acts of this one-of-a-kind trip.
FEATURED GUEST: Hailing from the historically rich city of Charleston, South Carolina, Americana music artist Hunter Park is defining what it means to not only live in the modern south, but to be a trans woman and artist within this landscape. Combining folk-infused vocal melodies and evocative lyrics that capture the unfiltered human experience, She Returns From War is taking her seat in the Americana music world with grace, strength, and passion.
And her journey has been a wild one. Since founding the project in 2014, She Returns From War has released many singles, including her second full-length album, Mirrored Moon Dance Hall, in 2018. The 11-track release dives into the themes of love, loss, and self-exploration. Now, with a whole new collection of stories to share, she returns with her latest full-length record, co-produced by Joel Hamilton (Mechanical River) and Wolfgang Zimmerman (Band of Horses, SUSTO, Brave Baby). The album is a slow-burn, deceptively hitting the listener with vocal lines that are just as elegant as they are intensely emotional. Look beyond the surface and you just might see that the album is meant for healing the heart.
Now, in 2023, the project shows no signs of slowing down. From opening for Bernie Sanders at his presidential rally in Charleston to performing at national festivals like Stagecoach and High Water Festival and with artists such as Pat Benatar, Band of Horses, and Nikki Lane, She Returns From War is sharing with the world what the modern south should look and feel like: inclusive, compassionate, unfiltered, and loving.
BCMC
with Special Guest
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
BCMC is Bill MacKay & Cooper Crain. Their newest album on Foreign Smokes on Drag City Records is a abstracted blend of genres having equal parts east Africa, deep space, rock’s dreamy lyrical interior, soloed multi-track, remix, raga, new age fugue state, field recording, blues and beyond. It's gossamer-light avant-garde noir flowing into fire-and-icy jams, collecting bright shades and warm stretches of infinity drawn through the buzzy overdrive of this side of life’s strange and sunny days.
Eli Winter ‘A Trick of the Light’ Release Show
with special guests Feller, and Zander Raymond
Doors at 8:00pm, show at 8:30pm
Eli Winter’s new album, A Trick of the Light, is an elegantly crafted and vibrant collection that finds the composer and bandleader at the height of his powers. The album opens with a dazzlingly intense arrangement of Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell’s “Arabian Nightingale” – a statement of intent that whips up a sonic storm. From there, Winter showcases his own compositions, from the muscular “Cracking the Jaw” to the dreamy expanse of the title track. Elsewhere, an abstract and concentrated rendering of Carla Bley’s masterpiece “Ida Lupino” forms the literal and emotional centrepiece of the record.
Winter remains a natural collaborator, and A Trick of the Light welcomes star turns from David Grubbs, Mike Watt, Kiran Leonard (on a left-handed cittern, no less), among others. It’s testament to his restless curiosity and omnivorous musical sensibilities. In his own words, it’s a record that has “nothing to do with genre or idiom or homage or pastiche. It has everything to do with learning what the music wants, how it feels, and trusting when it wants something or doesn’t want it.”
The record is a marked departure from her previous full-length, 2022's celebrated On the Ranch. Whereas that effort saw Nenni uproot herself to lend a hand — and write — while assisting at a ranch in southern Colorado, Drive & Cry drops the listener smack in the middle of her boisterous and bustling Nashville world. The album kicks off with "Get to Know Ya," a honky-tonk rave-up that celebrates the end of the work day and the beginning of a music-filled, come-what-may night. Nenni busts out her biggest hoops, jumps into the jeans she can "really only stand up in," and heads to the local bar. "Play 'til the sun'll come / when the daylight's done," she sings as the instrumental accompaniment races in step behind her.
Doom Flower, Michael Columbia
Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
"While Chicago indie supergroup Doom Flower were getting to work on their new second album, Limestone Ritual (Record Label), they hit a speedbump that would’ve killed a lesser band’s momentum. As Tribune critic Britt Julious reported in a November profile, drummer Areif Sless-Kitain couldn’t make it to the recording sessions, and because he’s such a cool, intuitive, in-the-pocket player (with a list of credits that includes the Eternals and Brokeback), he’s difficult if not impossible to replace. Front woman Jess Price (of Campdogzz) and bassist Bobby Burg (Love of Everything, Joan of Arc) made the best of the situation by lifting drum tracks from a breakbeat record, which gives Limestone Ritual a distinct trip-hop effervescence. Matt Lemke (Wedding Dress) embellishes the spartan sampled percussion with svelte synths that give the songs a futuristic lounge mystique. Limestone Ritual doesn’t have a single focal point—the interplay between Price’s tendrils of guitar and Burg’s resonant, minimal bass is as engrossing as Price’s half-mumbled singing. The sublime, easygoing guitar melody of “Break Cycle” exudes a sleepy optimism, which is exactly the tone I’d like to see for the music of 2023." - Chicago Reader
Michael Columbia isn't a person but an experimental rock band consisting of three people: Dave McDonnell, Dylan Ryan, and Chris Kalis. The band is part of the Shape Shoppe loft space and shares members with bands like Herculaneum, Chandeliers, Drasii, Man Man, Cursive and Songs for Gods. The band fashions a unique blend of psychedelic synths, layered vocals, and innovative drumming that combines electronics, rhythm, and melody into mind-melting, yet accessible tunes. The high-energy live show takes the audience under the influence of their sonic intoxication.