Martyrs' Venue Calendar

Honky Tonk Sundays! Join us for an afternoon with The Hoyle Brothers. They play every Sunday at 3pm. read more read less

No Bother is composed of Roan Quinn (Bass & Throat), Brennan Quinn (Guitars & Throat), Liam Cahill (Guitars & Throat). They play only their favorite Ragtime, Country & Western, & Trad Irish tunes. Every Third Sunday Of The Month, and NO COVER! read more read less

The duo is Ary Paloma Jeebie (also front lady for The Amazing Heeby Jeebies) and Ellis Clark (also a founding member of Epicycle, Social Act and formerly of The Chamber Strings). Taking you to 60s-70s psychedelic country with a twist and a shake! “Songs are just places you keep your stories” lead singer and songwriter of Black Friars Social Club, explains of his life of loss and redemption.Black Friars Social Club formed out of a residency in a gritty Chicago Irish pub they distilled songs down to their melodic skin and rhythmic bones. illustrating twisted tales from the alley shadows while tugging at your heart. After re-releasing their landmark 1972 album Anomaly on vinyl in 2024 (pressed by Smashed Plastic and overseen by musician and engineer Ellis Clark), Chicago's McLuhan inked a deal with Think Like A Key Music, a boutique record label committed to the CD revival, to officially release Anomaly on compact disc for the first time. The CD was released on Friday, July 25, and contains exclusive photos, expansive liner notes, and more. Named after media theorist and philosopher Marshall McLuhan, Chicago-based progressive rock band McLuhan began its musical journey as a mixed-media group and was the brainchild of David Wright, who composed most of the music and wrote the lyrics on their lone album Anomaly, which was released by the iconic label Brunswick Records in 1972. McLuhan formed after meeting as students at the University of Illinois-Chicago in the late 1960s and their early gigs, including a residency at The Wise Fools Pub, incorporated mixed-media footage to complement the band's use of offbeat instrumentation, sound effects, and free jazz/fusion/orchestral arrangements. McLuhan's initial line-up included Paul Cohn on flute, clarinet, and tenor sax, Neal Rosner on bass and vocals, both Michael Linn and John Mahoney on percussion, Dennis Phillips on guitar and vocals, Tom Laney on keyboards, and Wright on trumpet and vocals. Based on the their growing local popularity and the strength of their live performances at Wise Fools, McLuhan caught the attention of producer and A&R man Carl Davis, who signed the band to Brunswick, then known mostly as an R&B and Soul label, in an attempt to court white listeners with a "crossover" act with some mainstream appeal. McLuhan's aptly titled album for Brunswick, Anomaly, certainly stood out from the label's other signings at the time but failed to generate much in the way of sales as the band was unable to tour or play larger hometown venues to promote the release. Now coveted by record collectors and fringe music enthusiasts, Anomaly has gained a cult following and the band has since been featured in the Chicago Reader, Prog Archives, It's Psychedelic Baby, and a slew of underground music blogs. Current McLuhan band leader Neal Rosner, who also has a flourishing solo career, enlisted the help of another noted Chicagoan, musician and producer Ellis Clark, to reissue Anomaly on vinyl for the fist time in over 50 years and the pair worked closely with vinyl manufacturer Smashed Plastic for the fall 2024 release. A revamped version of McLuhan featuring original members Cohn, Laney (now using his given surname Tojza), and Rosner with longstanding collaborators Luke Meyer, Mitch Marcus, Barb Rosner and new recruit Bart Coyle, have been building a new generation of followers by performing regularly at venues in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. read more read less

Hailing from the singularly vibrant musical hotbed known as Chicago, CHEER-ACCIDENT has been a creative, vital force in rock music for over 20 years. They constantly strive to surprise their audiences and themselves through relentless reinvention. From dreamy pop to angular art-rock, CHEER-ACCIDENT strikes a powerful balance between personalized and unique studio wizardry and the visceral excitement of a well-honed, explosive live rock band. The band is currently an octet, featuringJeff Libersher- guitar, trumpetAlex Perkolup- bassThymme Jones- drums, vocals, trumpet, keysDrone Layer- guitar, keyboards, vocalsLaura Boton- vocals and keyboardsMike Hagedorn- low and high brassCory Bengtsen- bari sax, e-sax, keys, laptopRoss Feller- soprano sax, tenor sax read more read less

Honky Tonk Sundays! Join us for an afternoon with The Hoyle Brothers. They play every Sunday at 3pm. read more read less

40,000 HEADMEN celebrates the hits and deep-cuts of the legendary British jamband, TRAFFIC! You may also hear tunes from Blind Faith, Spencer Davis Group, Dave Mason, Steve Winwood. Featuring: Wavy Dave Burlingame - bass, vocal, Packy Lundholm - piano, organ, guitars, vocal, Scott Tipping - guitars, organ, vocal, Jonny Reed - drums, Marty Gierczyk - saxophone, vocal, Ray Quinn - flute, guitars, vocal, Drew Littel - percussion. read more read less

The Rolling Cloneswere born on the corner of Armitage and Halsted at Nick’s in the early1990’s. A well-known financial analyst named Art McQueen used to frequent Nick’s on Fridayafternoons after battling the financial markets all week.This analyst would come into Nick’slooking for a few pints, a few laughs, and lots of Rolling Stones songs on the jukebox. Theproblem was that this particular analyst faced a major nemesis in the bartender who had verylittle tolerance for Rolling Stones songs on the jukebox. Hence, the formation of this StonesTribute Band: The Rolling Clones.Along with Art as Mick, this band’s personnel are stellar local professional musicians andinclude John Blaha on Drums, Bruce Krippner on Bass, Randy Farr on percussion, John Meadas Keef and Steve Doyle as Woody, rounded out by Lisa McQueen on keys and Cash Michaelson Sax. John Mead is a bandleader, guitarist, singer, and songwriter who has been performing at Martyrs regularly for over a decade. Besides his work on cover and tribute shows with the True Believers, Breckenridge and Company, and others (including running the first several Great Moments in Vinyl shows), Mead has been performing his original songs for over twenty years, with the legendary Mystery Train as well as Coyotes, Angelus, and Conspiracy Theories. This is his first full-length set of originals since Lockdown. read more read less