Music notes: Dan Vapid & the Cheats play Brauer House
Punk veteran
Dan “Vapid” Schafer is a longtime fixture of the Chicago punk scene who has played with such notable bands as Screeching Weasel (from the Northwest suburbs!). He is now leading a new music project called Dan Vapid & the Cheats. The band, which has released two full-length albums, will bring its tuneful punk to Lombard this weekend. 9 p.m. Friday, June 27, at Brauer House, 1000 N. Rohlwing Road, Lombard. $10. Go to brauerhouse.com.
Classic rock revisited
Rich Robinson rose to fame as the co-founder and guitarist of the Black Crowes, a band that hit it big in the early 1990s with a guitar-heavy sound that recalled classic Southern rock. (Rich's brother, Chris, was the Crowes' lead singer.) Robinson has ventured out on his own since, and he will perform in the suburbs this weekend, along with the current iteration of the Yardbirds, the classic British guitar band that launched the careers of Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. (The band includes original member Jim McCarty.) 8 p.m. Friday, June 27, at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles. Tickets start at $39. Go to oshows.com.
American music
It doesn't get as much hype as the big rock fests, but the annual American Music Festival at Fitzgerald's Nightclub is nonetheless a key part of the summer music season in the Chicago area. The four-day event will bring more than 40 Americana and roots-rock bands to the suburban club, including Robbie Fulks, Alejandro Escovedo, the Bottle Rockets, the Iguanas and much more. The American Music Festival runs July 2-5 at Fitzgerald's Nightclub, 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn. Tickets cost $30 per day, $5 for kids 12 and younger. Go to fitzgeraldsnightclub.com.