The Claudettes with Iguana vs Bunny

The Venue is pleased to present The Claudettes with Iguana vs Bunny on Saturday, October 5 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Advance Admission: Premium Reserved Seating - $25 | General Admission - $20

+ $5 at the Door

THE CLAUDETTES

⭐ Grounded in roots music yet pushing the boundaries of indie pop and rock, the Claudettes are writing the most riveting chapter of their story right now. Pianist/songwriter Johnny Iguana formed the Claudettes with drummer Michael Caskey, dazzling with the barrelhouse bravura of their 2013 debut Infernal Piano Plot…HATCHED! Another Yellow Dog Records release followed in 2015 featuring Nigerian-American singer Yana: No Hotel. Vocalist Berit Ulseth joined the band for Pull Closer to Me: Live in the Piano Room (2017) and Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium (2018, helmed by Grammy-winning Black Keys producer Mark Neill).

A new Claudettes era began when the band moved to Forty Below Records and released the acclaimed 2020 album High Times in the Dark (produced Grammy winner Ted Hutt) and 2022's The Claudettes Go Out!, another collaboration with Hutt, with mixing by renowned producer Kevin Killen (U2, Elvis Costello, David Bowie). Now, the Claudettes introduce Rachel Williams, a six-foot Texan with a mohawk, a big voice and powerful stage presence. New music and videos are coming...

Outside the Claudettes, Johnny Iguana has earned a Blues Music Award nomination and Living Blues Award nomination for piano player of the year. Johnny co-founded indie-rock cult favorites Oh My God, toured as pianist for blues stars Junior Wells and Otis Rush, played piano on three Grammy-nominated albums and played on albums featuring Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Derek Trucks, Gary Clark Jr., Shemekia Copeland, Keb' Mo', Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and more. Johnny is also co-composer of the score for the hit FX/Hulu series "The Bear."

“Chicago's original recipe band…The Claudettes' sonic playing field is the blues and everything after, all tastefully and artfully blended together….Perhaps the band’s greatest super power: songwriting.”—NPR Music

“A skewed cabaret band of blues, jazz and rockabilly…a sensibility that feels equal parts James Dean and David Lynch.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Holy Mackerel…I hear so many levels of what I consider amazing creativity…I hear touches of Jerry Lee Lewis at his most manic…of cinema…of multiple genres wrapping around one another…These guys are the B-movies of the music world—maybe not understood now, but in the future, the kings and queens of the universe!”— Frank Gutch Jr., No Depression

"The Claudettes Go Out! shows the band’s mastery of every era of American music, from the roots of the blues to today’s modern pop….the Claudettes pen standards for a new generation."—J. Poet, Rock & Roll Globe

IGUANA VS BUNNY

⭐ Before expanding into a four-piece band with vocals and acclaimed original songs, the Claudettes were simply, and powerfully, Johnny Iguana on piano and Michael Caskey on drums. This greatly entertaining, highly skilled instrumental duo mix Chicago blues with the spunk of rockabilly and punk, vintage echoes of vaudeville and burlesque, the sound and spirit of '60s soul-jazz and the whimsy of vintage cartoon music.

Johnny, who earned a prestigious Blues Music Award nomination for Piano Player of the Year in 2021 and a Living Blues Award nomination in 2022, has played on three Grammy-nominated albums. In addition to touring with Junior Wells and Otis Rush, Johnny has performed on albums featuring Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Keb' Mo', Gary Clark Jr., Derek Trucks, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Johnny Winter and more (Johnny also played organ and wrote songs for Chicago cult-favorite rock band Oh My God, and is co-composer of the original score for smash Emmy-winning TV series "The Bear"). Michael, a greatly in-demand drummer in Detroit before becoming a greatly in-demand drummer in Chicago, has played with Koko Taylor, Chuck Mangione and Grammy winners the Heritage Blues Orchestra and a wide array of artists ranging from rock, pop and singer-songwriter to Balkan folk-jazz.

Johnny and Michael have performed with dozens of famous artists. Together they bring a unique, electrifying freshness and vitality to the stage and studio. Get ready to see them play their own adventurous compositions and put their own stamps on everything from Otis Spann and Jay McShann to Neil Young to Grand Master Flash!

"Hits listeners upside the head with a mash-up of Otis Spann blues, Albert Ammons boogie-woogie, Ray Charles soul and “Fess” Longhair New Orleans R&B. Catch them in a chaotic ballroom!"—Downbeat

The Venue is brought to you by Fox Valley Music Foundation, dedicated to local music awareness, education, and preservation. themusicvenue.org

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