Whitney + Lionlimb + Joe Bordenaro
August 25, Empty Bottle
Former Smith Westerns guitarist Max Kakacek teams up with ex-Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Julien Ehrlich in Whitney, a new project that dovetails with Chicago's current crop of rock revivalists. A debut EP is in the works, but a single entitled "No Matter Where We Go" showcases the group's propensity for mellow R&B melodies and '70s-inspired production. Nashville psych outfit Lionlimb and young suburban shredder Joe Bordenaro round out the bill. ($5, 21+)
Tinariwen
August 26, Old Town School of Folk Music
Saharan desert blues collective Tinariwen are immediately recognizable, typically performing in traditional robes, singing mostly in French and Tamashek while using electric guitars to play mesmeric and intoxicating melodies. The band's Grammy award-winning Tassili sparked a renewed interest in music from Northern Africa, featuring contributions from Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone. Tinariwen was forced to record its latest album in Joshua Tree National Park to escape political unrest in Mali, resulting in the group's most vital collection of songs to date. ($38, all ages)
Circuit de Yeux + Marisa Anderson + Slow Planes
August 28, Hideout
When Chicago singer-songwriter Haley Fohr struck out on tour in 2013, she trekked across the US and Europe in total solitude—an experience which informed the intensely personal tracks that inhabit her latest Circuit des Yeux record, In Plain Speech. Joined for the first time by a backing band (made up of members of Bitchin Bajas and Verma), Fohr's noisy folk songs tackle themes like friendship, sisterhood and social anxiety with a haunting directness. ($12, 21+)