Chicago, IL. (Top 40 Charts/ Stax Records) - Documentary "Chasin' Gus' Ghost," a film about jug band music and luminary Gus Cannon, will screen in
Chicago on January 27, 2008 as part of the Will
Shade Gravestone Benefit, curated by the Old Town School of Folk Music's Arlo Leach. It will be the feature-length film's first
Chicago showing.
Many credit Gus Cannon with popularizing jug band music in the 1920s and 1930s. His music has also been a main source of inspiration for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Bob Weir (Grateful Dead) and John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful), two musicians emblematic of the 1960s who are featured in the film. Despite his pioneering spirit and writing credit on "Walk Right In," which became a No 1 hit in 1963 for The Rooftop Singers, Gus Cannon died bitter and penniless at the age of 91.
Will Shade unfortunately shared a similar fate, though songs like penned with the Memphis Jug Band like "Stealin' Stealin'" have since been covered by Taj Mahal, Janis Joplin, Pete Seeger, and many others including the Dead and Sebastian. The Will Shade Benefit is raising funds to purchase a marker for Shade's gravesite. The benefit is an appropriate setting for a "Chasin' Gus' Ghost" screening, as Will Shade recorded an album with Cannon for the Stax label and was a friend of Chicago bluesman Charlie Musselwhite, who is featured in the film.
The Old Town School, in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood, will host the Will Shade Benefit on January 27th. The day includes a screening of "Chasin' Gus' Ghost," a jug band jam session, and a concert featuring Charlie Musselwhite and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose singer Rhiannon Giddens gives a stirring performance in the documentary that brought down the sold-out house at the 2007 Woodstock Film Festival. Devil in a Woodpile, Joe Filisko, Hump Night Thumpers, Northside Southpaws and the Jake Leg Stompers are also on the bill. Tickets go on sale Wednesday 11/28 at the Old Town School's box office and website.
When: January 27, 2008
2PM - SCREENING OF CHASIN' GUS' GHOST (FREE)
4-6PM - Jug Band Jam Session (FREE)
7PM - Benefit Concert featuring Charlie Musselwhite and Carolina Chocolate Drops
$20, $18 for Old Town School Members, $16 for seniors and kids
Where: Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL
https://www.oldtownschool.org/concerts/event.lasso?id=P6531
