There’s something haunting about the way Justin Townes Earle still lingers in the DNA of American roots music—like a half-finished lyric scribbled on a bar napkin in a dimly lit Chicago dive. On April 16, that spirit returns to center stage at the Old Town School of Folk Music, where musicians, writers, and fans will gather for a night that feels less like a tribute and more like a séance.

This isn’t your typical memorial. It’s a resurrection through story and song.

At the heart of the evening is a conversation between Jonathan Bernstein—the Rolling Stone writer behind What To Do When You’re Lonesome—and Rob Miller, the co-founder of Bloodshot Records, the scrappy Chicago label that helped define Earle’s sound. Together, they’ll trace Earle’s complicated relationship with the city—his artistic refuge, his proving ground, his battleground.

Chicago wasn’t just a stop on Earle’s map—it was part of his mythology.

Then the music kicks in.

Sammy Brue takes the stage with The Journals, a raw, almost eerie collection of songs built from Earle’s unfinished lyrics—fragments and ghosts handed down by Earle’s widow and reimagined into something breathing. It’s not imitation; it’s collaboration across time. Joined by October Crifasi, an Old Town alum and former bandmate during Earle’s Chicago years, the performance promises to blur the line between past and present.

Some tracks are reconstructed from lyric sheets. Others are stitched together from scattered ideas Earle left behind. One, “For Justin,” belongs entirely to Brue—a love letter written in the shadow of a mentor.

It’s messy. It’s reverent. It’s exactly what Earle would’ve wanted.

For fans of Americana, alt-country, and the kind of songwriting that cuts straight to the bone, “Celebrating Justin Townes Earle” isn’t just another event—it’s a reminder that great music doesn’t disappear. It echoes.

And in Chicago, those echoes tend to stick around.

There’s something gloriously unpolished about Easy Honey—and that’s exactly the point.

In a scene oversaturated with algorithm-chasing sameness, the Charleston-bred indie rock band is carving out a lane that feels lived-in, sunburnt, and just a little reckless. In this interview, frontman Selby Austin pulls back the curtain on a band that thrives on spontaneity, from DIY antics—including a rogue traffic jam sign stunt—to recording sessions that feel more like controlled chaos than calculated production.

Born out of late-night college energy at Sewanee—sparked, quite literally, over a cooler of freshman punch—Easy Honey has evolved into a band defined by chemistry. Austin, alongside Darby McGlone, Charlie Holt, and Webster Austin, leans into a creative dynamic that crackles both onstage and in the studio.

That chemistry hits a new high on their upcoming EP Plaid, a five-track burst of indie rock immediacy recorded in just three days at a remote, snow-covered cabin in Marble, Colorado. It’s the kind of setting that forces honesty—and maybe a little madness—into the process. The result? A record that feels urgent, unfiltered, and alive.

Polished by legendary producer Tony Hoffer (whose résumé includes Beck, Phoenix, and M83), Plaid balances grit with gloss. It expands the band’s breezy indie-pop DNA into something more textured—layered with jangly hooks, wistful lyricism, and the kind of melodies that linger long after the last chord fades.

Easy Honey’s sound is a collision of eras and influences: the ghost of classic rock vinyl spinning in a parent’s living room, the off-kilter charm of ’90s alt, and the modern indie instinct for experimentation. Think sun-faded surf rock colliding with road-worn storytelling.

But it’s onstage where the band fully ignites.

Built on relentless touring and a grassroots following of dreamers, drifters, and night owls, Easy Honey delivers a live show that trades perfection for presence. It’s raucous, sentimental, and deeply human—more about connection than polish.

As they roll into Chicago’s Schubas ahead of Plaid’s release, Easy Honey isn’t just playing a show—they’re inviting you into their world. A world of beach bonfires, late-night drives, and the kind of music that feels like a memory you haven’t lived yet.

Chicago’s fall lineup just got a whole lot louder, prouder, and unapologetically extra. The Emmy-winning World of Wonder is bringing its first-ever immersive fan activation, Drag Race: The Experience, to the city—transforming a stretch of Logan Square into a living, breathing episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Opening this November, the limited-run attraction invites fans to step through the looking glass and into the high-glam, high-drama universe built by RuPaul. This isn’t just a photo-op factory—it’s a full-bodied dive into the franchise’s mythology, where charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent aren’t just catchphrases, they’re the price of admission.

Set inside a pop-up space at 2367 W Logan Blvd, the experience recreates the show’s most iconic environments with obsessive detail. Think the Werk Room buzzing with anticipation, the chaotic brilliance of Snatch Game, and the Main Stage runway where dreams are made—or read to filth. There’s a Confessional Room for your inner monologue, a real-life All Stars Hall of Fame, and interactive challenges designed to test whether you can actually back up your lip-sync-in-the-mirror fantasies.

And yes, there’s a twist of tech-fueled camp: the “Dragrulator,” a transformation experience that lets guests leave with a stylized portrait of their most fabulous alter ego.

“We’re untucking and taking you behind the one-way mirror,” said World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, leaning into the show’s signature wink. Translation: you’re not just watching the illusion—you’re part of it.

Tickets drop in two tiers, including a VIP option that offers flexible entry, a meet-and-greet with a featured Drag Race queen inside the Untucked Lounge, and a discount on exclusive merch that will undoubtedly sell out before you can say “shantay, you stay.” The activation will run weekends only, adding a sense of urgency to what’s already shaping up to be one of the season’s most buzzed-about pop culture events.

Beyond the walkthrough, the space doubles as a hub for screenings, premiere parties, and one-off events tied to the ever-expanding global Drag Race universe. It’s part fan service, part nightlife experiment, and part cultural flex—another reminder that drag isn’t just performance, it’s economy, identity, and community.

For Chicago—a city that’s long nurtured its own fiercely independent drag scene—this glossy, franchise-backed spectacle lands somewhere between validation and disruption. But one thing’s certain: come November, Logan Boulevard won’t just be a street. It’ll be a runway.