The California Honeydrops don’t just play their instruments on stage, they put on a party. Tonight’s party is at the Vic Theatre, the largest Chicago venue with them headlining to date. They have an old school sound that appeals to audience members of all ages. People young and old are swing dancing to their blues / retro soul / indie rock vibe.

Early on in their first set, they play a Wilson Pickett cover, “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You”. “It may be greener on the other side now baby, but right here in my arms is where you belong.” They make this song their own and turn it into a slow groove party starter. The audience can’t help but start swaying back and forth and singing along. It also matches a common theme in their songs about relationships. 

Later on, they play “Pumpkin Pie” with the drummer on a washboard. “If they ask you for a slice, well you can give them beans and rice!” It’s a very sweet tune to sing along and dance to. 

This is the last night of their tour. The lead singer comments on how tired he is, but he summons enough energy to sing the final song of the evening, “All Day, All Night” from their 2013 album, Like You Mean It. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 25.9 million streams. 

Cost of a ticket: $49

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It 

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Quinn Delaney

The Sheepdogs are from Saskatoon, Canada, but they sound like they are from the Southern United States. 

When the band takes the stage, they immediately jump into “Find the Truth”. They quickly follow this up with “Downtown” from their 2015 album, Future Nostalgia. Both of these songs rock and you can hear the influence of Creedance Clearwater Revival.

Two songs later, they play “Bad Lieutenant”. “I’m a bad, bad, man / Don’t you understand / I’m a bad, bad, man / Best you turn and ran.” This track has a great groove and it’s just so cool. 

Next up is “Southern Dreaming” from their 2010 album, Learn & Burn. It features a fantastic guitar riff that is incredibly catchy. 

Later on is “H.M.S. Buffalo” from their 2018 album, “Changing Colours”. In the middle of the song, they play a short bit of “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers. 

Towards the end of the night, they play “I Don’t Know” from their 2011 EP, Five Easy Pieces. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 11.8 million streams. 

They finish their set with “Nobody”. “Nobody is gonna bring me down / Nobody is gonna turn me ’round”. The influence of Lynyrd Skynyrd can be heard on this one. After the band leaves, the crowd chants “Sheep … Dogs”. 

Upon returning, they launch into “Roughrider ’89”. It features a fantastic solo on a slick keytar that has all black keys. 

They close the night out with “Feeling Good” from their self-titled 2012 album. The beginning of the song sounds like “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum. As the audience leaves the Metro, they are hoping to see The Sheepdogs live again soon. 

See a similar setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $32

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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Quinn Delaney

Kenneth lives in a suburb of Rochester, New York. He works at the local bookstore and goes to happy hour at the tiki bar, Wally’s. His only friend is Bert, whom nobody else can see. Ken is content with his life. One day, the bookstore owner tells him that he is closing the store in two weeks and moving to Arizona. This sets in motion many changes for Kenneth. 

This is a nice low-key play as the main character is very low-energy. It’s a slice of life story about a regular suburb dweller with some drama and some laughs. At 85 minutes, it would still be good to have an intermission. Join the Pro-Intermission movement here.

The highlight of this production is Christian Clark, who is hilarious as all the different waiters and bank customers. Fred Zimmerman (How to Succeed… at Porchlight) is so nice and friendly as Kenneth’s bosses. Charles Andrew Gardner (Boulevard of Bold Dreams) is great as Bert, Kenneth’s supportive best imaginary friend. Mike Przygoda is excellent as the onstage musician playing many instrumental covers of popular songs (i.e.. The Girl From Ipanema) along with instrumental music he composed with Brandon Reed. Lastly, Namir Smallwood’s (Bug, True West) performance is impressive as Ken, who is on stage the entire play dealing with everyday suburban issues. 

Cost of a ticket: $50 (Main Floor)

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Get tickets now for Primary Trust through November 3rd. 

Quinn Delaney

For the 2^nd song of the night, JD McPherson plays “Just Like Summer” from their brand-new album, Nite Owls. It has a great guitar sound that sounds at once fresh and classic. JD says their record label calls it surf noir. 

Two songs later, they play “Firebug” from their 2011 album, Signs & Signifiers. This is such a fun song that everyone in the audience can’t help but dance along. 

Later on, they play “LUCKY PENNY” from their 2017 album, UNDIVIDED HEART & SOUL. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 32 million streams. This one features a great groove which the crowd eats up. 

Next up is the title track from their 2015 album Let The Good Times Roll. This song is a pure fun rock and roll song that puts a smile on everyone’s face and is a perfect ending to their set. 

To close out the encore, JD plays “North Side Gal”. He says they regularly play this one at Wrigley Field during Cubs games, which is just a block away from the Metro. It’s a truly catchy song that ends the night with an energetic fun vibe.

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $39

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

Frances Luke Accord is not the three names of the members of the band. The “Accord” in their name refers to the harmonies between Nicholas (“Luke” is his middle name) and Brian (“Frances” is the name of the street he lived on when the band formed). The third member tonight is Katie on violin, who drove into town today from Cleveland. 

While playing “Over Your Roof” from their 2014 album, Queen for Me, the audience is transfixed. It is expertly written, with a tapped out rhythmic backbone and dancing melody. It’s a beautiful love song.

On July 5^th of this year, they released their Cicadian Rhythm LP, which features the sounds of the double brood of cicadas that emerged this summer in Illinois. They believe it’s the most cicada filled album ever recorded. This all instrumental album features Brian and Nicholas on piano, guitar, and other instruments. Brian says that it isn’t on any streaming services, because it doesn’t qualify as music according to their rules. It clearly is music, which you can hear by listening to album on bandcamp here.

Brian tells a quick story about his wife being unable to sleep one night. She gets up and goes to the website to download the album. After listening for 10 minutes, she was able to fall asleep. Nicholas says “Your wife had to download the album?!” Brian responds, “I hate to admit it, but yes.” This back and forth is a great example of the friendly banter that always takes place during their live shows. They also say that the Frances Luke Accord promise is that after attending one of their shows, you’ll get a great nine hours of sleep. The author of this piece confirms this promise held true.

Later on, they sing “Nowhere To Be Found” from their 2016 album, “Fluke”. It features some fantastic guitar playing. If you’d like to learn to play it, the chords are available here.

They play a few songs from their 2023 album, Safe in Sound. One of these is “Maria”. It features beautiful harmonies and great guitar playing.

Lastly, FLA is like a cross between Simon and Garfunkel and Trevor Hall and they are just as musically talented.

Cost of a ticket: $31

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

Yasmin Williams plays solo instrumental guitar folk rock.  She opens with “Juvenescence” from her 2021 album, Urban Driftwood. It is her most popular song on Spotify with over 2.7 million streams.

For one song, she attaches a kalimba (aka a thumb piano), to the bottom of her guitar. It’s impressive to watch her play both at the same time. Often, she flips the guitar on it’s side and plays it in the style of a lap steel guitar. She is also wearing tap shoes which allow her to add percussion to the songs. After each song, the audience responds with a grand applause.

She ends the set with “Restless Heart” from her 2018 album, Unwind. Her guitar playing sounds similar to John Butler Trio at times. Afterwards, the crowd sends her off with an enthusiastic standing ovation.

See a recent setlist here.

Quinn Delaney

P.S. Yasmin returned to the stage during Brittany Howard’s set to play a song with her in a great collaboration!

What happens when a band loses its lead singer? Can they continue to tour? More bands these days are saying yes. AC/DC famously pulled this off. 10,000 Maniacs, Stone Temple Pilots, and Sublime are doing it now. The Fray are giving it a go after Isaac Slade decided to leave the band in 2022 to pursue other interests. Their rhythm guitarist is now taking over lead vocals. This strongly changes the dynamic of the band instead of having the lead being the piano player.

They open with “Angeleno Moon” from their new album, The Fray is Back. It seems like a brand new band. The songs sound a lot different with a new voice and the piano a bit further back in the mix. It’s more like a background keyboard than a lead instrument.

They follow this up with “Over My Head (Cable Car)” from their debut 2005 album, “How to Save A Life”. Everyone sings along “And everyone knows I’m in / Over my head, over my head / Eight seconds left in overtime / She’s on your mind, she’s on your mind.” Again, this old song sounds a lot different with the new configuration.

They close the show with “How to Save A Life”, which many people remember as the unofficial theme song for Grey’s Anatomy. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 1.2 billion streams. “Where did I go wrong? / I lost a friend / Somewhere along in the bitterness / And I would have stayed up with you all night / Had I known how to save a life”.

In conclusion, bands can continue without their former lead singer. Their results will vary, with most bands not reaching the same heights that they did before.

Cost of a ticket: $65

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted

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See the full setlist here. 

Quinn Delaney

This is an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, & John Tiffany. It is much better than trying to convert one of the books into a play. It first premiered on the West End in June 2016 and won the Olivier for Best New Play. It premiered on Broadway in April 2018 and won the Tony for Best Play. And now, in September 2024, it opens in Chicago at the Nederlander Theatre.

Harry Potter sends his son, Albus, to Hogwarts. Albus decides to use the time turner to go back in time to save Cedric. The consequences of this attempt are much more than he expected.

This is truly a high level production. The story is fast paced and action packed which keeps the audience paying close attention. It is full of great magic enabled by high class special effects and pyrotechnics. The cast does an excellent job bringing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to life.

John Skelley plays Harry Potter and Trish Lindstrom is Ginny Potter with Emmet Smith as their son Albus Potter. Matt Mueller plays Ron Weasley with Ebony Blake as Hermione Granger and Naiya Vanessa McCalla as their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley. Playing Draco Malfoy is Ben Thys with Aidan Close as his son Scorpius Malfoy. Julia Nightingale plays Delphi Diggory and Larry Yando (Champion, A Christmas Carol, Bernhardt / Hamlet) plays Severus Snape. The rest of the supporting cast is solid.

Cost of a ticket: $99 (Orchestra Sides)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Get tickets now for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child through February 1^st!

Quinn Delaney

It’s the night before opening day and the cast is not ready. They’re forgetting their lines, which objects they are supposed to be carrying, and their cues. The director is getting very upset as he watches his cast fumble around. Then, the set starts malfunctioning with doors being unable to be opened and other others not staying closed. In addition, the secrets of who is sleeping with whom start to be revealed and everything truly goes nuts.

This is a very British style play in the same slapstick style as Faulty Towers,  The Doppelganger, and The Play That Goes Wrong. Usually, The Benny Hill song playing during the mayhem would fit right in during this roller coast ride of comedy. However, this production has failed to capture the frenetic energy and the high stakes required to make it funny.

This is a co-production with Geffen Playhouse, and the cast reflects this. Vaneh Assadourian is the assistant stage manager trying to hold everything together. Ora Jones (Familiar, The Roommate) is the bumbling maid Francis Guinan (True West, Downstate) is the drunken veteran of the stage. James Vincent Meredith (Describe the Night) with his pants around his ankles just may be the funniest sight of the night. Andrew Leeds (Barry) as Garry always wanting to just say one more thing during the rehearsal always draws laughter from the crowd. Max Stewart is great as the stage manager trying to fill in for actors last minute. Audrey Francis’ (The Thanksgiving Play) character is trying to making everyone happy, which is a very difficult task. Amanda Fink (Peerless, Plano) is the actress clearly hired for reasons having nothing to do with her acting ability. Lastly, Rick Holmes is the director trying to put this show together.

Get tickets now for Noises Off at Steppenwolf through November 3rd.

Cost of a ticket: $84
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Quinn Delaney

Inherit the Wind is based on the Scopes “Monkey” trial which took place in 1925. The play first premiered in Dallas in 1955. The first film version was released in 1960 starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly. Another film version was released in 1999 starring Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, and Lane Smith. It was nominated for Best Revival of a Play in 2007 for it’s Broadway production. And now, in September of 2024, it opens at the Goodman Theatre.

A school teacher is giving a lesson about evolution to his young students. This is against the law in this small town, so he is put on trial. Henry Drummond, a high profile lawyer from Chicago, comes into town to defend him in this science vs. religion trial.

This production is outstanding. It’s funny and fully intellectually engaging. The two hours plus an intermission fly right by.

The cast is a venerable who’s who of Chicago actors. Harry Lennix (Purpose) is outstanding as Hammond, clearly and charismatically fighting for the right to think. Alexander Gemignani is excellent as the prosecutor, clinging to his long held beliefs and refusing to hear any other ideas. Christopher Llewyn Ramirez is great as the school teacher in his fight against this unjust law and trial against him. Tyler Meredith (The Penelopiad, Campaigns, Inc., Spinning) is splendid as a fellow teacher who shows the emotional toll that this trial is taking on the town. Thomas Murphy Molony is impressive as the young boy who is asked to testify about his teacher in the trial. Mi Kang (The Chinese Lady) is superb as the sassy journalist covering the story. The rest of the large supporting cast is solid as well.  

Cost of a ticket: $45 (Back of the Main Floor)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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Get tickets now for Inherit the Wind through October 20^th!

Quinn Delaney