Country music is hot. Country albums are taking over coveted spots on the pop charts, and recent ratings show country radio up at every time of day and among every type of listener. Even Hizzoner is a fan of country music, which probably goes a long way toward explaining why this weekend the city welcomes the first Chicago Country Music Festival.
The Country Music Festival is the latest addition to the city`s big summer music fests. It follows in the footsteps of gospel, blues, jazz and Latin music.
What makes the city`s music festivals distinctive is that the music featured is diverse and respectful of artistic and historical traditions, not just current commercial trends. Those are big boots to fill, but the first Country Music Festival comes out of the chute like a bucking bronco.
The lineup for this first fest boasts an impressive mix of local and national talent, a good selection of traditional and roots performers and some choice picks from among today`s hot new contemporary country players.
There will be two stages. The Homestead Stage will feature homegrown talent. You can also practice your fancy stepping there along with the American Pride Clogging Team, the MCASD Square Dancers and the two-stepping Chicagoland Country & Western Dancers; see the Chicago Stunt Men, who perform western-style stunts for fairs, festivals and movies; and ”Tape-a Tune,”
singing along to prerecorded music, and take home a cassette of your (stellar) performance.
The main Chicago Country Stage features national talent. Among the highlights Saturday is old-time mountain fiddler Ralph Blizard and his New Southern Ramblers. Blizard, who led a radio and touring string band in the
`30s and `40s, returned to music in the `80s, winning fiddle contests and becoming a favorite at folk and country fests around the country. His music harks back to the old-time string band and mountain music styles that are the ancient heart of country.
Rockabilly, which stands at the crossroads of country and rock, had its golden era in the `50s with Sun Records. The Sun Rhythm Section, which also appears Saturday, was part of it all. The best-known member is D.J. Fontana, who was Elvis Presley`s drummer and played on ”Hound Dog,” ”Heartbreak Hotel,” ”Jailhouse Rock” and other Presley hits (though not, it should be noted, on any of his Sun records). Guitarist and singer Sonny Burgess scored Sun hits with ”We Wanna Boogie” and ”Red Headed Woman” as leader of the Pacers. Pianist Smoochy Smith was a session player for Sun and an original member of the Stax soul band, the Mar-Keys. Bassist, staff musician and songwriter Stan Kesler played on Sun sessions with Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and wrote several songs for Presley, including ”I Forgot to Remember to Forget.” Rounding out the lineup are bassist Marcus Van Story, whose credits include work with Warren ”Ubangi Stomp” Smith and Charlie Feathers, and guitarist Paul Burlison, a founding member of the Johnny Burnette Rock and Roll Trio and one of the first players to use fuzztone guitar. (The Sun Rhythm Section also plays Saturday night at Biddy
Mulligan`s.)
Wrapping up the show on Saturday`s main stage are two of the finest representatives of sharp, rock-influenced modern country. Carlene Carter practically has country music running through her veins. (She is a descendant of the great Carter Family, whence springeth all modern country. Her father was country artist Carl Smith; her stepfather is country legend Johnny Cash;
and her mother is June Carter Cash.) Though her early albums were rock `n`
roll affairs, her last release, ”I Fell in Love,” was a back-to-the-roots effort and a personal and professional comeback triumph.
Headliner Rodney Crowell was long recognized by his peers as one of the most talented songwriters in contemporary country and many of them (including Emmylou Harris, who recruited Crowell for her Hot Band) struck gold with such compositions as ”I Ain`t Living Long Like This,” ”Leavin` Louisiana in the Broad Daylight,” ”Shame on the Moon” and ”Ain`t No Money.” It took the public a bit longer (about a decade) to catch on, but after the release of the breakthrough ”Diamonds & Dirt” album, Crowell finally took his rightful place in the upper echelons of country music.
Bluegrass, newgrass and folk-flavored country are the specialties of Laurie Lewis & Grant Street, who play Sunday on the main stage. Lewis is a sweet singer, intelligent songwriter and mean championship old-time fiddle player. She has recorded several albums on Chicago`s Flying Fish label.
Pam Tillis did almost everything she could to avoid following in the footsteps of her father, country star Mel Tillis. She did rock, disco, pop, jingles, even the role of Mary Magdalene in a Nashville production of ”Jesus Christ Superstar.” But finally she came back to country, and her return was one of this year`s success stories. Her first country single, ”Don`t Tell Me What to Do,” hit No. 1 on Billboard`s country chart, one of only four times a female country performer soared so high with a debut release.
The latest Tex-Mex success story is the Grammy-winning Texas Tornados. The band includes country veteran Freddy Fender; Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers, formerly in the pioneering Tex-Mex-rock band, the Sir Douglas Quintet; and Flaco Jimenez, king of the conjunto style of music popular near the border of Texas and Mexico. The group`s self-titled debut served up a smart and spicy mix of border music, rock, blues and roots country.
Bringing things to a close Sunday is Chris Hillman and the Desert Rose Band. Hillman began his career playing country and bluegrass (including with Vern Gosdin) before going on to co-found the Byrds, the seminal rock band that helped launch country-rock with the ”Sweetheart of the Rodeo” album, and the early country-rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers. The Desert Rose Band includes Herb Pederson (who has worked with Linda Ronstadt and Kenny Rogers), John Jorgenson (Benny Goodman, Rose Maddox), Bill Bryson (Country Gazette, Bluegrass Cardinals), Steve Duncan (Ricky Nelson, T Bone Burnett) and the pedal-steel star of the ”Sweetheart” album, Jay Dee Maness (Buck Owens, Ronnie Milsap). The group plays crisp, clean, traditionally rooted country with a hint of Byrds-like energy and harmonies.
The Chicago Country Music Festival runs from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 8:45 p.m. Sunday in the 900 block of West Weed Street, one block southwest of North and Clybourn. Public transportation is strongly advised, as parking will be at a premium in the area.
Other shows of note
Steel Pulse, Special Beat, Daddy Freddy and Shelly Thunder, Friday at the Riviera: The ”Ram Slam Dub Jam Tour” showcases the modern face of reggae. British band Steel Pulse has moved from the rootsy sound of early albums to more pop- and rock-influenced music but continues to craft some of the most political lyrics in reggae. Special Beat, led by English Beat and General Public`s Ranking Roger, features members of `80s British ska bands the Specials, General Public and Fun Boy Three. The hot new sound of dancehall/rap reggae is represented by Shelly Thunder, one of the leading female deejays on the scene, and Daddy Freddy, whose claims to fame are being the world`s fastest rapper (according to the 1991 Guinness Book of World Records) and being completely shameless about stealing riffs from anyone and everyone
(including Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin) for his
”songs.” Tickets purchased for the World Music Theatre will be honored here.
9th Anniversary Gala, Friday through Sunday at Cabaret Metro: The Metro celebrates nine years as Chicago`s hip hangout for cutting-edge collegians, angry intellectuals, night-owl nihilists and assorted outcasts with a taste for unconventional rock. Local thrash-and-burn heroes Naked Raygun make a rare club appearance Friday night. Saturday sees performances by Urge Overkill and hot new British prospects Ned`s Atomic Dustbin and New Fast Automatic Daffodils. The heir to Husker Du, Soul Asylum, does the only electric date of its own anniversary tour here on Sunday night, joined by a nifty little Byrds- like Twin Cities band called the Jayhawks.
Operation Rock & Roll, Saturday at the World Music Theatre: The Columbia and Epic labels` combined assault on the pocketbooks of young heavy-metal America features British hard-rock vets Judas Priest; the king of shock rock
(back in ancient and more innocent times), Alice Cooper; wicked and witty British metal pioneers Motorhead; Texas boogie-metal band Dangerous Toys; and Seattle speed yowlers Metal Church.
Sheffield Garden Walk, Saturday and Sunday at Sheffield and Webster: If listening to the willows weeping and the dragons snapping isn`t your cup of tea, forgo the garden part of this event and head over to the stage. In one of the more impressive lineups for a neighborhood fest, Saturday the walk hosts local zydeco-rockers the Remainders; the Skeletons (with ex-members of Missouri`s roots-rock Morells); and topflight Louisiana traditionalists the Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band. Sunday opens, appropriately, with Angela Spivey Watkins & the Corinthian Voices of Victory gospel group and includes blues guitarist John Mooney, who these days plays a hot and greasy blend of Delta blues and syncopated Crescent City roots R&B, and Louisiana roots-zydeco group Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band. (The latter group also plays Friday and Saturday at B.L.U.E.S. etcetera.)
David Lee Roth, Cinderella and Extreme, Saturday at Alpine Valley and Sunday at the World Music Theatre: One-time Van Halen frontman Roth is nothing if not a showman. He`ll have to be to breathe life back into his career after the crash-and-burn number his last album, ”A Little Ain`t Enough,”
performed. The evil stepmother must have named the band, but Cinderella proves those old Rolling Stones blues-rock rags can still be classy and fun. Extreme jokes that its debut album went ”formica,” but the band`s second release,
”Pornograffitti,” was a gold seller that had the band laughing all the way to the bank. Though the Boston group can usually bake beans with the power coming out of its amps, it was an acoustic ballad, ”More Than Words,” that got it cooking on the charts.
Difford and Tilbrook, Sunday at the Park West: Only a handful of pop teams has ever been even jokingly compared to Lennon and McCartney. Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, the songwriting masterminds behind Squeeze, are among the closest.
Peter Himmelman, Monday through Thursday at Schubas: Himmelman hasn`t quite made it even to the rank of cult artist, but this smart postmodern singer-songwriter has emerged over several years and four major-label solo releases (the latest and Epic debut, ”From Strength to Strength”) as Minnesota`s answer to John Hiatt, Joe Ely and the like. Back when he led the pop band Sussman Lawrence, Himmelman seemed closest artistically to Elvis Costello. These days he sits somewhere between Costello and Dylan and the combination is strong and compelling.
Yes, Thursday at the World Music Theatre and July 26 at Alpine Valley:
Art-rock behemoth Yes is reborn as an eight-headed monster with Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White. Despite a successful first single (”Lift Me Up”) and a promising start for a new one (”Saving My Heart”), Yes` new ”Union” album seems to be slipping down on the charts. Still the tour (which is making a second visit to these parts) has been one of the more successful outings in this soft summer concert season.
