It’s election night in America. Instead of watching the results come in on TV, the crowd here is ready to rock with JJ Wilde, who is from Kitchener, Ontario. 

Her debut album, Ruthless, won Rock Album of the Year at the 2021 Juno Awards. She was the first woman to win the award since Alanis Morissette won in 1996. It features “The Rush”, which is her most popular song on Spotify with over 16.9 million streams. 

Midway into the set, JJ talks about going on a road trip after a breakup to Arizona that really inspired her to write this album. “Arizona” is the first song and it is absolutely excellent. It has the potential to be the new AZ state anthem played at sporting events across the state. “I found something I won’t give back / And yeah I feel lost but i’m right on track / I know it’s out there where nobody knows ya / You call it freedom and I call it Arizona”!

The only issue with the song is the ending. It feels incomplete like it wants to go bigger. I’d suggest a key change, perhaps from D# up to F. Also, perhaps add an extra verse filled with the names of Arizona’s places: Tucson, Phoenix, Superstition Mountain, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Saguro National Park, Meteor Crater, Flagstaff, Sunset Crater National Monument, and Horseshoe Bend.

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $27

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

Leroy is walking in the woods when he meets Lucy, who is playing a guitar. They talk, flirt, and play music with each other as they slowly reveal their true identities. The story is based on the legend of Robert Johnson, the blues guitarist. 

As is common for the in-the-round theatre, the set is extremely minimal, but with a few neat features. As a result of this setup, sometimes the actors are facing directly away from you, and their facial expressions are hidden. 

Brittany Bradford is great as the slick and mysterious Lucy. Jon Michael Hill (Purpose, True West, Pass Over) is excellent as Leroy, the well raised southern gentleman. They have superb chemistry together. 

At 90 minutes, it would still be nice to have an intermission. Join the Pro-Intermission movement here.

Cost of a ticket: $68 (Outer Seats)

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Get tickets now for Leroy and Lucy through December 15th. 

Quinn Delaney

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats are from Denver, Colorado. Tonight, they are playing their brand of contemporary rock and roll in Chicago on their South of Here tour.

Early in the set, they play “You Worry Me” from their 2018 album, Tearing At The Seams. “I’m gonna leave it all out there to dry up / I’m gonna leave it all out there.” This is simply a great song. 

Soon afterwards, he brings out Mavis Staples to sing a song about friendship. He calls Mavis a national treasure and he asks for the audience to cheer for her numerous times. “And she lives in your city!” Nathaniel was clearly overjoyed to sing with her and it was great to see him act as a superfan. Mavis was also a surprise guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert when she appeared to sing with Jeffy Tweedy at the Auditorium Theatre. 

Later on they play “Heartless” from thier brand new album, South of Here. It’s a great new song that fits in perfectly with their catalog.

Midway in the set, they play “Hey Mama”. This is such a beautiful song that features great guitar and saxaphone playing. “You picked the bad time / You picked the bad time to listen to me!” 

Nathaniel says he was talking recently with a bartender who showed him a picture from 10 years ago of him on stage at Schuba’s, which has a capacity of just 165. Last year, they played outdoors at the Salt Shed, which holds 5,000 people. And now they are playing at the United Center, which is the largest arena in the United States with a concert capacity of 23,500 people.  

Later in the night, they cover “Dancing In the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen. It was a fantastic celebration of music and this great song. “Can’t start a fire without a spark!” Everyone was dancing and singing along. 

To start the encore, the keyboard plays what sounds like “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project, which is the Chicago Bulls Intro theme song, as the band returns to the stage. It leads directly into “S.O.B.” from their self-titled 2015 album. This song has a great driving beat that you just can’t help but dance along to. “Son of a bitch, give me a drink / One more night, this can’t be me / Son of a bitch, if I can’t get clean / I’m gonna drink my life away.” This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 186 million streams. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $95 (100 level)

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Quinn Delaney

After great sets by Moody Joody and joan, Misterwives take the stage to a grand applause. 

Midway into their set, they play “Coloring Outside The Lines” from their 2017 album, Connect The Dots. Mandy Lee, the lead singer, blanks on the first verse. So, she holds out the mic and the fans sing it for her. Ironically, the lyrics are “Turn to you after we play the first song / To ask you if I fucked it up and sang wrong”. Afterwards, she says this has never happened before and she thanks the crowd for singing. 

They follow this up with “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn. This is a fantastic cover and perfectly fits into their set. The audience eats it up as they dance and sing along. “I’m in the corner / Watchin’ you kiss her, oh / I’m right over here / Why can’t you see me? Oh / I’m giving it my all / But I’m not the girl you’re takin’ home, ooh”. 

They follow this up with the title track from their 2020 album, SUPERBLOOM. “I deserve congratulations / ‘Cause I came out the other side”. This is such a joyful song and it creates a fantastic vibe across Thalia Hall. 

Shortly afterwards, they play “Reflections” from their 2015 album, Our Own House. The expert guitar playing and the exceptional singing perfectly complement each other resulting in a fantastic track. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 157 million streams. Afterwards, the audience erupts in a long and thunderous applause. 

They end the set with the title track from their their 2023 album, Nosebleeds. “I’m up in the nosebleeds / I’m watching the show / I’m feeling some déjà vu / An old episode.” It’s an excellent addition to their repertoire and proves they are still making music after 10 years as a band. 

They close out their encore with “Our Own House”. “We built our own house, own house / With the hands over our hearts / And we swore on that day / That it will never fall apart”. They play with this song with the same fireball energy they had for the entire night which was matched by the crowd. 

Mandy says that after this tour, they will be taking a break. But it’s not a goodbye, they will be back. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $45

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

Early on, Sixpence None the Richer plays “Don’t Dream It’s Over” from their 2002 album, Divine Discontent, which is a song originally released by Crowded House. It sounds just as good as the recording.  

They just released their cover of “I Believe in Father Christmas” today. They play it for the first time ever live. 

To continue the Christmas theme, they play “River” by Joni Mitchell. They really capture the beauty of this song. 

Without any introduction, they launch into “There She Goes”, which was first released by The La’s in 1990. “Racing through my brain / And I just can’t contain / This feelin’ that remains”. 

They immediately follow this up with “Kiss Me” from their 1997. self-titled album.  This is by far their most popular song on Spotify with over 913 million streams. It was featured in the movie She’s All That starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. They seem to rush past these two songs as if they feel obligated to play them, but they don’t want to. 

They close out the set with “We Are Love” from their brand-new EP, “Rosemary Hill”. It’s a beautiful new track that you can tell they are very proud of it.

They end the night with “Breathe Your Name”.  “But you’re in my heart, I can feel your beat / And you move my mind from behind the wheel / When I loose control / I can only breathe your name”. The finale leaves the audience leaves with big smiles on their faces. 

Leigh Nash, the lead singer, says that is definitely not a farewell tour. It’s the start of a return for the band and they’ll definitely be back! 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $60

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

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Quinn Delaney

BabyJake is from Fort Myers, Florida. He last performed in Chicago at the Taste of Randolph in June. Unfortunately, his set was cut short due to lightening in the area. He plans to make up for it tonight by playing for 90 minutes. 

Early on, he plays “Confidant” from his 2020 album, Don’t give me problems, give me wine. “Don’t hit my phone late at night / Don’t call me up more than twice / I’m not your friend, not your only confidant.” This is a great song about trying to move on after a breakup.  

Later on, he sings “Beast of Burden”, which was released by The Rolling Stones in 1978. It’s quite likely that most of the young audience tonight are not familiar with this song. He also covers “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles (1970). 

Soon afterwards, the guitar player plays the introduction to “Stairway to Heaven” (1971) by Led Zeppelin. BabyJake asks him to play it again, and then launches into “Cigarettes On Patios”. It’s an odd transition as the songs are so different. “Let’s slide to the next damn party in the neighborhood / The night’s now over, I ain’t make it home”. This is his most popular song on Spotify with over 158 million streams. 

Towards the end of the set, he plays “Head In The Clouds”. “I was never good at talking ’bout my day / I’m always late, I don’t know what to say”. This song has a great groove, and the audience happily dances and sings along which matches the great energy displayed by BabyJake. 

Cost of a ticket: $28

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

The film version of Some Like It Hot was released in 1959 starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. The musical version was originally scheduled to first open in Chicago, but this was canceled due to covid. It ended up opening on Broadway in November 2022. It is now opening in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace in October of 2024. 

Two guys witness a triple homicide, so they go on the run. They quickly decide to dress as women and become Daphne and Josephine to join an all-female band taking the train from Chicago to San Diego. 

This production features lots of big tap dance numbers. It also features a new ending for Daphne that is a very satisfying modern twist. However, they also sanitized the plot which makes it less exciting.

Edward Juvier has the standout performance as Osgood, the rich man who is obsessed with Daphne. He is so energetically funny. 

Cost of a ticket: $100 (Orchestra)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

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Get tickets now for Some Like It Hot through November 3rd.

Quinn Delaney

Delicate Steve is the stage name of musician Steve Marion. Tonight, he opens with “Baby” from his latest album, 2024’s Delicate Steve Sings. This song is fresh and keeps the audience fully entranced. No words are needed. Like classical music, the emotion is in the notes.

His musical talent matches that of Joe Satriani, another instrumental rock guitarist. See our review of Satriani’s 2022 performance at the Chicago theatre here.

Throughout the show, Steve doesn’t say much beyond “Hi Chicago”. He lets the music do the talking.

Midway into the set, he plays his cover of “Yesterday” by The Beatles. It sounds absolutely magnificent and definitely fits within his style. 

Later on he plays “Wally Wilder” from his 2012 album, Positive Force. This track sounds amazing. His guitar playing goes along so well with the great electric tones he has created. 

He closes his set with “Butterfly” from his 2011 debut album, Wondervisions. The audience is ecstatic to hear this one.   

In the middle of the last song, he transitions into a cover of “Benny and The Jets” by Elton John. Since he doesn’t sing, the audience sings the words! The crowd was very exuberant all night long and he surely made some new fans on this evening.

Cost of a ticket: $30

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

See the full setlist here.