January Winnetka Living Article
A Mini Music Note
Dear Winnetka,
Our new chapel concert series was created for you.
There are many rights of passage in a music industry career. Embarrassing ones where you bring friends to a show at 8pm only to discover that there are 4 openers and your act doesn’t come on until 11:30pm. The maddening ones where you linger longer at dinner to skip the opening act only to find out there was no opener and you missed the show completely. Or the frustrating-frightening ones where you secure the perfect spot in the venue to listen to your favorite artist, right behind 3 drunk belligerent loudmouths who talk through the whole show and would pound you if you shushed them.
But one of the biggest clusters for a first-timer is what you experience at SXSW (South by Southwest), the renowned annual film/interactive/music industry convention (it’s anything but conventional) held in Austin TX every March. It’s a virtual feeding ground for discovering the industry’s newest artists before they land on radio or a Mrs. Maizel episode. This great music city’s motto “Keep Austin Weird” is an understatement as the event showcases much more than top emerging artists over the 7 day span. If you’ve heard about South By (its hip nickname) it’s everything you’ve heard plus more. All you have to do is listen. And that’s the challenge. There’s live music playing in every building, bar, hotel, coffee shop, street corner & balcony in town that you CAN’T get to.
I attended SX in 2015 and was ecstatic to be going, a bucket list item for me. I had my VIP creds ready, my band lists made, and a rental house to share with our good friends, indie rock band The Accidentals who were booked for a solid week of SX Showcases which was huge for them. I know how to attack these big industry gigs; I attend many in order to scout the newest talent in the industry. But I was warned about two things from industry veterans: 1) it’s a zoo and it gets worse the closer you get to the weekend – and it’s Texas – they have guns and fist fights; 2) come with zero expectations – leave your lists and schedules behind, they won’t work. Surely that didn’t apply to me, so I tucked my notes in my tote and headed out to Day 1. In just a three block walk I was literally consumed by a living breathing blitzkrieg of human beings, music, beats, BBQ smells, signage, mud puddles, traffic jams and directionless maps – a cluster like I’ve never navigated. It made Lollapalooza seem tame.
I can tolerate the crowds, heat, noise, lines, smells and chaos. I’m fine almost getting run over by a car, my hair splattered with beer from a rooftop, and thinking about my mom friends who were probably on the golf course or at lunch somewhere. But what I CAN’T tolerate is not being able to get to the bands that I came for. Every artist on the schedule was hard to get to, oversold, and it was crystal clear that this frontier doesn’t do fancy – VIP lanyards can’t cut through the chaos. But this was a business trip for me with one goal: to come home with a handful of new artists that I (and you) can’t live without. By Day 3 of this hell I was beside myself. I craved something civilized. Then I heard something…
A rumor was starting that Brandi Carlile was doing an unplugged concert at midnight that night in the gorgeous Central Presbyterian Church downtown, first come first served. She called it part of her Pin Drop Concert Series. And anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with quiet listening shows. I had to get into this one. My phone was dead, I needed a shower, we had dinner plans w industry people. So I did what any grown up player in this crazy industry would do, I started walking. I had to get to the church on time. It was hours too early, I had separated from my posse, I was alone with a plan. And I didn’t care. Brandi Carlile was a longtime favorite artist of mine. I first saw her at SPACE Evanston years earlier in a suit, suspenders and fedora, as she crowded around one mic w her band retro style, and I thought what’s this? Who’s this? Then she opened her mouth to sing. I was so moved by this authentic songstress, I couldn’t move. If you don’t know her, she now has 6 studio albums, 7 Grammy Nominations (she was the most nominated woman last year) for Best Album, Best Song, Best Record of the Year and won three. In 2019 she formed an all woman quartet called The Highwomen whose self-titled debut album is getting huge attention. You need to know Brandi. She’s now everywhere. But back then, in the quiet midnight church concert she was there for ME. That’s what quiet concerts bring you, the gift of give and take between artist and fan; a relationship. A bond.
The church was packed that night in Austin with an audience who left the street scene and entered into a sacred silence with lights dimly lit, packed pews, candles and a sparse altar stage, ready for something beautiful. Brandi’s bandmates, identical twins Bill and Tim Hanseroth walked out to the edge of the stage. The room hushed. Then Brandi walked out. You could hear a pin drop, an extreme juxtaposition to the outside. With an indoor voice she said thank you, welcomed us, told us this was her dream come true to do a completely unplugged set, no mics, no amps, a show so intimate and engaged. She opened with a first song, then a second. On the third, a lone songbird somewhere in the rafters started to sing with her. She stopped singing for a moment and we all listened – she looked up and with a catch in her voice she welcomed the bird into her set. The duo sang the rest of the night. Two hours and no one moved. The closest experience we have to this here in Chicago is indie rock violinist Andrew Bird’s sold-out Gezelligheid Holiday Concerts at Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue. They happen in mid-December and sell out 5 night runs. At these intimate, visceral concerts we receive art + song, and we give something back in return, our attention. There’s a saying I use to describe shows like this: “the room goes away” and it’s the highest compliment I can give an artist. The effect feels like it’s just you and the artist alone together.
I want to bring that same experience to you. Quiet listening venues are so rare in America. We’ve become talkative, distracted and rowdy at live music. The artists tell me it’s different in Europe, they listen more. My husband Mark and I started a house concert series in our Winnetka living room six years ago. We cram the house for an intimate seated show. That has grown to our new Winnetka Chapel Concert Series. Shows are one hour, free, and all we ask is that you listen and fill the tip jar for the artists. If you’d like to join us for one – or many – please sign up for our mailing list below. And check the Winnetka Chapel website for upcoming shows. The artists we bring, love Winnetka because of you in the audience. The chapel concerts are a bridge during the fall – winter – spring months between the summer Winnetka Music Fest dates. Help us keep the music coming – spread the word.
More Info & Concert Invites: http://valslist.com | http://winnetkachapel.com
WINNETKA MUSIC FESTIVAL UPDATE:
4th Annual Winnetka Music Festival (Father’s Day Weekend) Fri & Sat June 19-20, 2020 (No Sunday) - ONE WEEK LEFT TO BUY DISCOUNT TIX! 40% off General Admission tickets for Winnetka Residents Only! (Ticket required for 21 and older. Under 21 free.) Limited Quantity. Offer expires Jan 15, 2020. After Jan 15 tickets will go on sale to the public at regular early bird rates.
Purchase Festival Tickets: winnetkamusicfestival.com
Valslist Concert Picks
Looking for a great night out? These shows are a sure thing:
Girls Night Out
Jan 14
YOLA –Thalia Hall (Pilsen)
Take your guy
Jan 25
Black Pumas – House of Blues (loop)
Get tix for your teens
Jan 28
Whitney – SPACE (Evanston)
Take your ‘tweens
Feb 1
Amber Liu – House of Blues
Grab friends and go (new band to know)
Feb 5
Illiterate Light – Schubas (Southport corridor)
Concert night w friends
Feb 7
Grace Potter & Devon Gilfillian – Riviera (uptown)