Billy Childers Band: Doors open at 7 p.m., concert at 9 p.
m. March 17. There is a $7 cover charge.
Lonnie Brooks: Doors open at 1 p.m. March 18.
There is a $6 cover charge.
Where: Sundance Saloon, 300 Lakehurst Road, Waukegan.
Details: (847) 887-0858.
Indeed it is, and any confusion does perform a public service of sorts, underscoring that the Sundance has been in its Waukegan digs for a year now -- and the club will celebrate its first anniversary this weekend with the Billy Childers Band and Lonnie Brooks on Saturday and Sunday night, respectively.
On St. Patrick's night, the official anniversary date, North Carolina native and current Chicagoland resident Billy Childers will lead his six-piece country-rock group onto the Sundance stage at 9 p.
m. Doors open at 7 p.m.
and there is a $7 cover charge.
Along with past appearances at the Sundance, the band's stops on the regional circuit include the Cubby Bear North in Lincolnshire, the Cadillac Ranch in Bartlett and the Horseshoe Lounge in Chicago. The Billy Childers Band was also featured last summer in Grant Park at both the Chicago Country Music Festival and Taste of Chicago.
Lonnie Brooks needs no introduction to fans of Chicago blues, being a fixture at the annual Chicago Blues Festival and Buddy Guy's Legends. But deep trivia reveals that Brooks -- who was born Lee Baker, Jr. in 1933 -- introduced himself to the entertainment world as Guitar Junior in the 1950s.
Under that original stage name, Brooks performed as a sideman in and around his native Louisiana before coming to Chicago in 1960. Once there, Brooks reportedly learned that there already was a Guitar Junior on the blues circuit, requiring him to conjure up a new professional moniker.
Though he would still release his first album, "Broke and Hungry," in 1969 as Guitar Junior, he adopted the name Lonnie Brooks and worked steadily in Chicago blues clubs throughout the 1970s.
Brooks eventually became known for a distinctive style he has dubbed "voodoo blues," described as a mix of Chicago blues, rock 'n' roll, R B, Cajun boogie and country. He has performed live with Eric Clapton, made an appearance as himself in "Blues Brothers 2000" (singing "Cheaper to Keep Her" with Dan Aykroyd and Junior Wells) and now has eight albums to his credit.
The current lineup for Brooks' band features his sons Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks, who are both recording artists and frontmen for their own blues bands.
The three have toured as "The Brooks Family" and, in the blues tradition, often sit in and perform with their respective bands.
During his now 50-year career as a performer, Brooks had made a number of appearances in and around Lake County, including stops at Lindenfest in Lindenhurst, the Vernon Hills Summer Celebration, the Round Lake Festival, Shades blues club in Deerfield and the Brat Stop in Kenosha.
At the Sundance on Sunday, doors open at 1 p.
m., and there is a $6 cover. For more information, call (847) 887-0858.
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