Andy Argyrakis, Author at Chicago Concert Reviews

Well worth the 29-year wait, Tim Butler talks The Psychedelic Furs’ “Made Of Rain”

From the alternative underground, to characterizing the John Hughes’ coming of age classic “Pretty In Pink,” plus additional new wave smashes “Love My Way,” “The [More…]

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Hackett goes inside the pages of “A Genesis In My Bed”

Classic-era Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett isn’t just an integral shaper of the group’s experimental seasons throughout the 1970s (when Peter Gabriel sang in outrageous [More…]

CJO, “Blue Lou” Marini “putting the band back together” for “The Blues Brothers” at 40

Actual concerts haven’t exactly been easy to come by since the world shut down, but that hasn’t stopped the Chicago Jazz Orchestra from “putting the band back [More…]

Guitar hero Phil X “Right On The Money” with The Drills and Bon Jovi

Fans of Phil X fronting The Drills or playing guitar for Bon Jovi are all in luck because there’s loads of new music coming from both camps. For starters, this session [More…]

Legendary jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis turns 85, starts “Saturday Salon” performance series

Prior to the pandemic, legendary pianist Ramsey Lewis already retired from the rigors of the road and was exploring the idea of performing from home right here in Chicago. [More…]

A bountiful Paul Carrack concert box, tempting tidbits on Squeeze, Mechanics, Clapton

The golden voice of Paul Carrack may be better known than his name thanks to taking leads on Mike + The Mechanics’ chart-topping “The Living Years,” Squeeze’s smash [More…]

ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons expands coffee table-worthy tale “Rock + Roll Gearhead”

Besides members’ trademark beards, ZZ Top is visually linked to vintage cars and custom guitars, so much so that they’ve all become equally engrained within the essence [More…]

“#Family,” faith, tide Grammy and Dove nominee Ayiesha Woods over until “Full Circle”

New York-born/Bermuda-raised artist Ayiesha Woods first made a national splash when she signed to TobyMac’s Gotee Records, releasing a trio of projects throughout the 2000s [More…]

“Say Somethin’” with the soulful David Clayton-Thomas, plus a bit of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Woodstock

In his five decades fronting horn rockers Blood, Sweat & Tears, David Clayton-Thomas belted out the classic likes of “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” “And When I [More…]

Illinois’ own David Hawkins flies higher in Hawk with R.E.M., Hoople, Costello collaborators

Garage rock/power pop players Hawk have flown in one format or another across several celebrated long players, but it wasn’t until the brand new album, “Fly,” when the [More…]

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Articles by Andy Argyrakis