aiplannerevanston events & things to do in february
Exciting events and experiences happening this month in Evanston.
Jon Muq
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For Jon Muq, a singer-songwriter born in Uganda and now living in Austin, Texas, music is part of a larger conversation hes having with the world and everybody in it. Drawing from African as well as western musical trends and traditions, he devises songs as small gifts, designed to settle into everyday life and provoke reflection and resilience. These days the world is sad, he explains, so I wanted to make happy songs. I wanted to write songs that connected with the listener in a very personal way. When someone listens to my music, its not just about me and what Im singing. Its about how they understand the songs individually. I think these songs can speak many languages, depending on what you want from them.Muqs experiences as a child in Uganda and as a man in America give him a unique perspective on the world hes addressing. I grew up in a very different life, where so many people pass through hard times just because they dont have much. Our biggest issue was food scarcity. Then I came to a different world, which gave me a picture of how to write a song that can find balance with everyone wherever they are, whether they have a lot or not much. With his May 31st debut album with producer Dan Auerbach and tours with Billy Joel, Norah Jones, Mavis Staples, Amythyst Kiah, Corinne Bailey Rae, and others, Muq is expanding the scope of his music to speak to more and more people.
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Blue Monday: Ivan Singh
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Ivan Singh is a Latino Blues Guitarist and Singer from Argentina, recently moved to Chicago with great acceptance in the Blues community and a growing FanBase of all ages and ethnicities. A Rising Blues Sensation in Chicago with his Unique Style LatinBlues developed from his Spanglish lyrics, Homemade 4 string Guitar Lata de Batata, and 6 Piece Band which includes a Horn Section.In addition to concerts around the States, Singh also tours in Different countries between America, Europe, and Asia, where in 2023, he performed in Mahindra Blues Fest India alongside Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, and Kingfish Ingram.
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Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas
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Williams started his professional music career at 21, just five years after high school, recording singles for his brothers El Sid label. Sid also opened a venue in Lafayette, El-Sid-Os, where Nathan became a staple performer on Friday nights.Williams big break came when Buckwheat Zydeco recommended him to Rounder Records, which was searching for an accordionist after Buckwheat left for Island Records. Nathan auditioned, secured a recording contract, and in 1985, he founded Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas, inspired by a Chenier instrumental. The band debuted at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1988.In November 1992, the Cha Chas played at the New Orleans Rock n Bowl for the first time, paving the way for regular zydeco nights there starting in spring 1993. Nathans 1997 live album, Im a Zydeco Hog: Live at the Rock N Bowl, New Orleans, captured the energy of these performances. They also celebrated the venues 30th anniversary in 2018.The New York Times once noted that Williams, at 25, was poised to become important in revitalizing zydeco. His music blends zydeco, jazz, blues, and Rs original songs penned by Williams.For over three decades, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas have toured extensively, performing everywhere from local Louisiana spots to international stages in countries like Austria, Spain, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, and even Poland, a first for a zydeco band.The band has always been a family affair, featuring Nathan on accordion and vocals, his brother Dennis Paul on guitar, cousin Mark Anthony Chukka Williams on rubboard, and Sid as manager. Other family members involved include his son Nathan Jr., cousin Allen, and nephew Djuan, alongside non-family members like bassists Paul Newman and Wayne Burns, and saxophonist Allen Cat Roy Broussard.In his 1995 album Creole Crossroads, Williams collaborated with Cajun fiddler Michael Doucet from BeauSoleil, highlighting a rare fusion of zydeco and Cajun styles with his brother Sid and Sids wife, working in their grocery store. During a period of illness recovery, Williams chose to devote himself to mastering the accordion, practicing secretly in the bathroom. He looked up to Buckwheat Zydeco, who was a key mentor, but it was Chenier who left a lasting impact on his music. Sid eventually bought Nathan his first accordion from Buckwheat Zydeco.
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The Headhunters
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Remarkably masterful, fresh-sounding, and creatively restlessFor over 50 years, The Headhunters have continually reinvented themselves. - ALL MUSICThe Headhunters, the legendary jazz-funk ensemble co-led by percussionist Bill Summers and drummer Mike Clark with NEA Jazz Master Donald Harrison on alto saxophone, celebrated the bands 50th anniversary in 2023, having formed around Herbie Hancocks classic recordings, Head Hunters, in 1973, Thrust in 1974 and Man-Child in 1975. The band continued without Mr. Hancock and has released 8 albums under the Headhunters name starting with Survival of the Fittest in 1975 and on Straight from the Gate in 1977 (featuring the smash hit God Make Me Funky sampled on over 350 hip hop and pop songs), and most recently Speakers In the House in 2022 and Live From Brooklyn Bowl in 2023. The bands new album The Stunt Man comes out October 11th, 2024 on Ropeadope recorded at the legendary Hyde Street Studios.Few bands can boast a history as fortuitous and storied as The Headhunters. What each member brings to the table forged a history that most bands can only dream of. Their blend of jazz with funk and rock would go on to sell over a million albums worldwide, while the bands legacy would inspire musicians of every genre for years to come, be sampled by hundreds of hip-hop artists throughout the 80s and 90s, and influence countless musicians playing today. The Headhunters impact remains a global phenomenon, and their time with Hancock proved to be a life changing experience.
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DUG
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Theres a natural magnetism to DUGs folk brew. The duo, made up of Conor (Lorkin) OReilly and Jonny Pickett, are gearing up for the release of their debut album, having formed in 2023but youd be forgiven for believing that theyve been writing together for a lifetime. Their music stems from roots in musical traditions spanning both sides of the pond. In one breath, echoing the great American folk troubadours, and in another, comfortably channelling the elder statesmen of Irish folk.
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Rabbi Joe Black & Friends
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Chris Cain
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Chris Cain was born in San Jose, California in 1955. His parents were huge music fans and shared their love of blues, jazz and popular songs with Chris. His African American father and Greek mother had a huge, shared record collection, which fascinated Chris from an early age. Chris was three years old when his father first took him to see B.B. King. His father gave him his first guitar at age eight and Chris learned lick after lick, song after song. Hed listen to his fathers records over and over until the music had seeped into his soul
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THE PETS
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Workshop Production It’s 2011 and an animal collector in Zanesville, Ohio has set every one of his 50 exotic pets free. St. Francis of Assisi shows up to help during this wild, dark roam around the countryside. It's Animal Farm meets The Wizard of Oz meets a road trip comedy with a late ‘90s soundtrack. This pastoral comedy is based on a true story. Written by Dizzy Turek and directed by Dan Washelesky+. Featuring performances by Kylie Anderson+, Alexander Attea, Haley Bolithon+, Rasheeda Denise+, Capri Gehred-O'Connell, Suzy Krueckeberg+, Ben F. Locke+, Johnard Washington+, and Alice Wu +Denotes Bramble ensemble member In an effort to make our performances financially accessible to those who might not otherwise be able to attend, we offer a limited number of $5 Access Tickets for each performance. Sunday, Feb 22 - Masked Performance. Masks will be required for attendees on this date. Friday, Feb 27 - Student Night. Free pizza, plus a post-show discussion with the artists. Please note that all late audience members will be seated at the house manager's discretion due to the actors using all entrances.
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Northwestern Wildcats Mens Basketball vs. Michigan Wolverines Mens Basketball
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Soft Opening
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Soft Opening features Nora OConnor, Liam Davis, Gerald Dowd, Alton Smith, and Mark Bransfield recreating the soft rock songs of the 70s. _______ Soft Opening tenderly recreates the soothing sounds of 1970s soft rock. Its five members not only take turns singing lead, each one is also required by blood oath to provide backup vocal harmony to fully recapture the beauty of these legendary songs. Featuring local darlings Nora OConnor (Neko Case, The Flat Five), Liam Davis (The Diff, Frisbie), Gerald Dowd (Robbie Fulks, Justin Roberts), Alton Smith (Steve Dawson & The Lucid Dreams, Bear Williams Band) and Mark Bransfield (The Bransfield Strait), these identically aged musician-vocalists have these classic tunes all but etched into their frigging DNA. It is thus their distinct pleasure to sing you these songs with all the dulcet majesty and love they command.
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Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel - Celestun Tour
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Having been friends and occasional touring partners for well over a decade, Asheville, NC-based singer-songwriter-guitarist Tyler Ramsey and My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel have at long last made their full-length recorded debut with Celestun out January 15. A marvel of interwoven musicianship and testament to the duos singular camaraderie, the album encapsulates the two veteran guitarist-songwriters mutual admiration and effortless compatibility as they swap and share nine new songs of dazzling dexterity and grace recorded almost entirely recorded on acoustic guitars. Though their initial objective had been all instrumental, the natural flow of the sessions led the duo to begin incorporating vocal tracks. Stark yet intricately arranged songs such as the cinematic title track, Flying Things (featuring additional vocals from GRAMMY Award-nominated singing siblings The Secret Sisters), and an incandescent version of Neil Youngs Sail Away are rich with dazzling dexterity and grace, Ramseys nimble fingerstyle picking and Broemels classically trained virtuosity aligning to create a predominantly instrumental song cycle of rustic beauty and atmospheric power. Music at its most elemental, Celestun sees Carl Broemel and Tyler Ramsey stripping away artifice to unlock and explore deeply personal themes of wanderlust and familial love, of fellowship and communal adventure.We dont step on each others toes, says Carl Broemel, we kind of fit together like puzzle pieces. Maybe that sounds grandiose, but thats how it feels to me when were playing. We dont even have to talk about it.We just mesh together in a way that I cant even really explain, says Tyler Ramsey. I feel like theres some magical connection between our two things, it just makes me smile and satisfies some itch as far as things that I would like to hear on the music that I write. I think he feels the same way about what I do. When I put a part to one of his songs, we both have this feeling like that what exactly what was missing.Previously, Louisville, KYs Carl Broemel has released a series of solo recordings over the past two decades, including 2019s Brokenhearted Jubilee EP in collaboration with drummer Eric Hopper, and recent collaborations with The Futurebirds. Meanwhile, Tyler Ramsey, has earned praise for his former role as songwriter and lead guitarist in Band of Horses as well as an evolving solo body of work that includes 2024s acclaimed New Lost Ages, hailed by Americana UK as a gentle indie-folk gem.
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THE PETS
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Workshop Production It’s 2011 and an animal collector in Zanesville, Ohio has set every one of his 50 exotic pets free. St. Francis of Assisi shows up to help during this wild, dark roam around the countryside. It's Animal Farm meets The Wizard of Oz meets a road trip comedy with a late ‘90s soundtrack. This pastoral comedy is based on a true story. Written by Dizzy Turek and directed by Dan Washelesky+. Featuring performances by Kylie Anderson+, Alexander Attea, Haley Bolithon+, Rasheeda Denise+, Capri Gehred-O'Connell, Suzy Krueckeberg+, Ben F. Locke+, Johnard Washington+, and Alice Wu +Denotes Bramble ensemble member In an effort to make our performances financially accessible to those who might not otherwise be able to attend, we offer a limited number of $5 Access Tickets for each performance. Sunday, Feb 22 - Masked Performance. Masks will be required for attendees on this date. Friday, Feb 27 - Student Night. Free pizza, plus a post-show discussion with the artists. Please note that all late audience members will be seated at the house manager's discretion due to the actors using all entrances.
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