The Chicago Hustle with Lawrence Peters

Hello from Chi-Town! Here’s what’s cookin’ in the cold, dark Windy City: The Chop Shop recently hosted a real cool bill with Sparkle Carcass, Cat Mullins and Them Boys, Tommy Goodroad and the Highway Birds, and Boy Howdy and the Electric Ranch Hands. It was an outstanding show, with sounds that stretched across the roots music spectrum.

I’d seen local greats Sparkle Carcass and Cat Mullins’ band before, but the other two acts were new to me.

Boy Howdy and his crew released their debut album the night of the show. The Wisconsin group is usually a six-piece, but they held their own that night playing a moody set as a guitar and steel duo.

Tommy Goodroad recently relocated to Chicago from Minnesota, presumably to live someplace warmer. His band, including his older brother Nick (who sang the heck out of those harmonies), hiked all the way from Minnesota to play the show.

My good buddy Wild Earp, chief cook and bottle washer with the Free for Alls, was also in attendance at the event, and he remarked that Goodroad was a youngster with songwriting skills well beyond his years. I completely agree.

The debut album, “Swimming in the Clay,” was released this August and can be heard on all of the usual streaming platforms, including Bandcamp. Give it a spin and drop some coin if you like it. A Chicagoland-based chain of bowling and bocce pubs called Pinstripes recently added live music to their list of diversions, and they’ve made the classy choice to include country and roots acts in their Wednesday and Thursday night rosters. Local faves The Hoyle Brothers, Hat Stretchers, Wandering Boys, and my band The Lawrence Peters Outfit are among the groups they’ve brought in. The shows are free, and they pay the bands well. Nice!

Speaking of ol’ Wild Earp & the Free for Alls, they made good on their threat to release a Christmas album, and they get major respect for dropping it the day after Thanksgiving, as is correct and proper for Xmas stuff. The record features 11 tracks, with a mix of originals and standards. I got the advance files for the record just as I was finishing this column, so I haven’t given it more than a cursory spin, but it sounds like it’ll be a fun one to dig into later. Give it a listen on their Bandcamp page, and consider paying them for their efforts, like a mensch.

Starting in January, Save More Lounge (4060 N. Lincoln Ave) will have a monthly country night. Woohoo! The details are still being sorted, but it looks like the series will hit on the fourth Sunday of every month, somewhere in the school-night-friendly range of 6-10 p.m. I’ll be curating the night with owner Jason Ward. I will keep you posted, for sure.

Lastly, as I write this, the ink is still pretty fresh on the report of Chicago stalwart Bloodshot Records sale to Exceleration Music. I hope that everyone involved with the altcountry titan lands on their feet.

I have more to say about the label and their 25-plus year’s contribution to Chicago’s music scene and the world beyond, but the news is too fresh for an objective take. Maybe I’ll give it a try next month, once the dust has settled.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Happy Holidays to you all; see ya in the New Year!

Thanks, Lawrence