American Music Festival Highlights
June 27, 2012 6:18PM
Elephant Revival | PHOTO BY ANNE STAVELY
Article Extras
Updated: June 28, 2012 7:47PM
Elephant Revival, (8:30-9:45 p.m. June 29 in the tent): This acoustic quintet from Nederland, Colo., combine a progressive mixture of folk, country, gypsy and rock.
Garland Jeffreys, (9-10:30 p.m. June 29 in the club): Brooklyn-born veteran Garland Jeffreys landed the standout single “Wild in the Streets” in 1973 and continued as a troubadour of soul-rock songs.
Robbie Fulks, (11:15-close June 29 in the club): The country music songwriter will be joined by singer Steve Frisbie for a tribute to the Everly Brothers.
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones, (10:15-midnight, June 29 in the tent and 9-10:30 p.m. July 1 in the club): A barn-burning guitarist and singer, he founded the L.A. band the Blasters and served his time in X before shaping a songbook of solo roots music classics.
The Deadstring Brothers, (2:15-3:30 p.m. June 30 in the club): This Detroit band captures the rough-hewn rock of the Rolling Stones.
Kenny Neal, (8:30-10 p.m. June 30 in the tent): A Louisiana guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who plays classic soul and swamp blues, as originated from his native Baton Rouge.
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, (10:30-midnight June 30 in the tent): This recent R&B collective is one of the shooting stars of Chicago’s current music scene thanks in large part to charismatic frontman JC Brooks.
Otis Taylor, (6:30-8 p.m. July 1 in the tent): A folk blues guitarist and singer from Denver, Taylor’s expansive musical vision incorporates traditional instruments and the use of entrancing rhythms, scales and textures.
Honey Island Swamp Band, (11 p.m.-midnight July 1 in the club and 8:30-9:45 p.m. July 3 in the tent): An up-and-coming quartet from New Orleans is a jukebox of country, rock, blues and Cajun.
Chuck Prophet, (9:30-11 p.m. July 3 in the club): If time machines existed, Chuck Prophet should be the sixth Traveling Wilbury — his classic rock songwriting and winking humor continues to make each of his albums as deeply satisfying as the last.
The Waco Brothers & Friends, (11:30 p.m.-close July 3 in the club): Besides playing songs from a new album that borrow the great Chicago fire of 1871 as a theme, the Chicago country punk band will be joined by songwriter Paul Burch and Prophet for a mini-tribute to the late Levon Helm.
— Mark Guarino
