Countryside Church fundraiser features the band Crazyheart

Countryside Church and Partners for Our Communities presents John Ballantyne's Crazyheart, one of the foremost honky-tonk bands in Chicago, for a unique evening of storytelling and music Friday, May 26, at the church, 1025 N. Smith Road in Palatine. Doors open at 6 p.m.; the concert begins at 7 p.m.

This concert will feature the music of John Prine, Steve Goodman and Kris Kristofferson.

In the summer of 1971, Kris Kristofferson played three nights at the Quiet Night in Chicago. His opening act, Steve Goodman, played songs that knocked his socks off. Generously, Goodman encouraged Kristofferson and his friends (Paul Anka and Angela Lansbury) to head up to the Earle of Old Town to hear his best pal John Prine's songs. Then songwriting history was made.

With imagery from the time projected in support, Ballantyne and his crew will bring you this Chicago story and some of the best Prine/Goodman/Kristofferson tunes.

"This is a Chicago story. In 1871, Chicago was devastated by a great fire and the world was never the same. Exactly 100 years later, not far from where the 1871 fire started, a different kind of fire was lit," said Ballantyne.

"But this time the flames didn't destroy. This fire burned inside three incredible songwriters. This fire burned with friendship, kindness, and some truly great songs. And the world was never the same again. I want to tell that story."

The show is a fundraiser for Countryside Church, a welcoming Unitarian Universalist church dedicated to promoting human dignity through worship, study and service, and Partners for Our Communities, a nonprofit that empowers underserved people to develop self-sufficiency and become leaders in their communities.

Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door and can be purchased at bit.ly/CCUUgive.