Buddy Guy's Legends Bobby Rush & Buddy Guy/Photo: Lynn Orman Find ticket information HERE Buddy Guy & Special Guests Jan. 3 - 30 residency shows Shows are: Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday (some exceptions) Buddy Guy's Legends , 700 S. Wabash (at Balboa), Chicago Doors: 5:00 p.m Dinner Acoustic Set 5:30 p.m. Show times: 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Reserved seating: $142.14 /GA Standing only: $90.64 (includes fees) AGE RESTRICTIONS: All Buddy Shows are 21+. ABOUT THE ARTIST: George "B

By Marty Gunther Red Hot ’n Blues Reviews for January 2026   Kim Wilson – Slow Burn MC Records MC0096 www.mc-records.com Harp player Kim Wilson has a deep respect for his forebears and his former musical partners, too. He pays tribute to three of them -- pianist Barrelhouse Chuck, bassist Larry Taylor and drummer Richard Innes – with this disc of previously unreleased material captured in 2014 and 2020. It’s a welcome follow-up to his Grammy-nominated The Bigtone Sessions . I

The Venue (Aurora) Scott Tipping/ photo by: Bright Soul Scott Tipping will celebrate the release of his new album, The Fade , with special guest Phil Angotti at The Venue on Jan. 2, 2026. Tickets: The Venue About The Artist Scott Tipping will spend his birthday on stage in the New Year, which will be a big shift from how he spent January 2 a couple of years ago. Tipping, a musician from Wheaton, turned 50 from a hospital room after a severe car accident two days after Christ

What happens when you connect a Delta/Chicago bluesman with a soulful, jazzy organ-led band?

Release date: November 2025 ANTI- Records By Marty Gunther Mavis Staples at Chicago Blues Festival 2025/ photo: Dianne Bruce Dunklau The moment Mavis Staples opens her mouth to sing, peace comes over the world. Since emerging in 1969 from the Staple Singers – one of the most important groups in the Civil Rights movement – to record her first album, she’s consistently owned a voice capable of soothing even the most troubled soul. And at age 86, she remains at the top of her ga

FitzGerald's (Berwyn) Joel Paterson's Christmas Extravaganza When: December 17 (Friday) Show Time: 8 p.m. Where: FitzGerald's Address: 6615 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn, IL TICKETS Chicago guitar ace Joel Paterson  returns to FitzGerald’s for his annual Hi-Fi Christmas Guitar solo holiday extravaganza! Joel Paterson rings in the 2025 holiday season with a special solo show, celebrating the re-release of his popular instrumental Christmas album, Hi-Fi Christmas Guitar , and the rel

By Marty Gunther Red Hot ’n Blues Reviews for December 2025                     Sean McDonald – Have Mercy! Little Village Foundation www.littlevillagefoundation.com Augusta, Ga., native Sean “Mack” McDonald is an old-soul in a young man’s body. Only 22 years old and a recent college graduate, he’s a guitarist/vocalist who debuts here in the best way possible, blending classic and contemporary stylings into an attack all his own -- something certain to establish him as a gian

Review: Glenn Noble/ Photos: Jennifer Noble Mad Dogs & Englishmen: A tribute to Joe Cocker & Leon Russell at the North Shore Center in Skokie November 8, 2025 Review by: Glenn Noble. Photos by: Jennifer Noble   Music is a peculiar thing -- it lives, briefly and vibrantly, in the moment of performance; but it’s far from uncommon for this transitory experience to change lives and endure in the memory for a lifetime. Given the right alchemy of songwriting, performers and audienc

By Mark Plotnick Photos: Jim Summaria Jack Casady, Justin Guip (drums), Jorma Kaukonen Hot Tuna – North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL George Van Dusen Theatre November 5 th , 2025   By Mark Plotnick Photos: Jim Summaria   Fifty-six years ago, I first experienced the musicianship of Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady as members of the Jefferson Airplane. The place was Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom and the venue conditions were far from ideal. But none of that tro

Release date: September 2025 Delmark Records By Greg Easterling Mississippi Heat at the album release party at Buddy Guy's Legends, Sept. 2025/ photo: Jennifer Noble One of Chicago’s longest running blues band collectives has delivered one of their all-time finest efforts with the forward looking title of Don’t Look Back . Mississippi Heat features founder and harpist Pierre Lacocque  with his usual blend of regular members and guests, a number of whom once played in the band

Logan Center (Chicago) Billy Branch/ photo: Roman Sobus Billy Branch & Sons of the Blues w/ special guests When: November 21 (Friday) Show Times: 7:30 Where: Logan Center Address: 915 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL TICKETS: Free with RSVP (suggested donation $10) The Blues is My Biography: Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues Record Release Concert with special guests including The Chicago Fire Horns  and Howard Sandifer’s Chicago West Community Music Youth Choir “Willie Dixon ta

Review & Photos: Jim Summaria Albert Cummings at SPACE in Evanston, IL, Sept. 21, 2025 Review & Photos: By Jim Summaria Massachusetts born and raised bluesman Albert Cummings had the most unlikely path to becoming a respected professional musician. He earned an associate's degree in construction science and his family trade was building homes. His father also dabbled as a musician. His guitar and fiddle playing impressed the young Cummings.     When he was twelve, his dad gav

Release date: October 10, 2025 Blues House Productions Records By Glenn Noble Photo: Jennifer Noble There’s a lovely bluesy selection of tracks on this cracking debut by Robbin Kapsalis for John and Lisa Primer ’s independent label, Blues House Productions. Robbin was born into the blues sounds of South Side Chicago. Later, after spending some time in Atlanta, Georgia, Robbin found musical success, fronting Washington DC-based soul blues band “Vintage #18” for several years.

Hey Nonny (Arlington Hts.) photo: Jennifer Noble Dave Weld & the Imperial Flames will celebrate the release of their new Delmark Records CD, Bluesin' Through The Years , at Hey Nonny on Nov. 8, 2025. Tickets: Hey Nonny Dave Weld and The Imperial Flames, are an authentic, real deal blues band, bursting with high energy, versatile talent, variety, and a cohesive show that includes original driving houserockin’ blues, boogie and soul. The originals are classic in nature, the

Delta/Chicago blues veteran joins with Chicago jazz giants to come Full Circle and revisit his early hits Story and Photos: Peter M. Hurley Photo: Peter Hurley   Jimmy Burns Comes Full Circle By Peter Hurley Veteran Bluesman Jimmy Burns slipped into the booth at the Italian restaurant chain, the one with the free breadsticks, where he had arranged to meet for lunch. His beard was fuller and snowier than when last seen, his almond shaped eyes alive and dark with amber-tinged w

By Marty Gunther Red Hot ‘n Blues Reviews for November 2025   Mud Morganfield – Deep Mud Nola Blue Records NB047 www.nola-blue.com The physical embodiment of his dad, Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield has faithfully kept his father’s memory alive through the years by frequently dipping into his forebear’s catalog on several previous albums. But he steps out of Muddy’s shadow in a big way here, delivering 13 originals in a 14-song set guaranteed to represent the family well in the

Review & Photos: Jim Summaria Tiernii & Tikyra Southern Avenue at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg, IL, Saturday, October 18, 2025   Review & Photos: By Jim Summaria Every once in a while you come across a group that just "wows" you. This was the case for me when I recently experienced the group Southern Avenue. They blend blues, soul, rock and gospel into a beautiful package of inspiring lyrics and spirited music.   This traveling family band from Mem

FitzGerald's Rosa's Lounge photo: Jennifer Noble John Primer & The Real Deal Blues Band: Rosa's Lounge , 3420 W. Armitage, Chicago November 1, 2025 Friday Shows: 9:30 p.m. & 11 p.m. Doors: 8 p.m. General Admission - $20- $25 Find ticket information   HERE FitzGerald's , 6615 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn November 4, 2025 - Bluesday Tuesday Show: 7 p.m. General Admission - $10 advance/ $15 door Stefan Hillesheim in the Sidebar at 8:30 pm Find ticket information   HERE ABOUT THE ARTIST

Release date: Oct. 17, 2025 SWMAF/VizzTone Records By Robin Zimmerman Bob Corritore & Little Milton Bluesman Bob Corritore is back with another tour de force release. His latest, “From the Vaults” project is titled Early Blues Sessions, and it features a long list of musical heavyweights from days gone by. Besides being a harmonica ace, Rhythm Room club owner and KJZZ radio host, Corritore has also assumed the unofficial title of blues historian and tireless promoter of the g

Release date: October 10, 2025 Alligator Records By Mark Thompson photo by: Michael Sparks Keegan It took five years but one of the...