Sound check: Windy City Smokeout early-bird tickets, lineup with Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker
Windy City Smokeout tickets (on the cheap)
Get your mouth watering and your dancing shoes warmed up! The Windy City Smokeout, Chicago's celebration of country music, barbecue and craft beer, has announced this year's lineup for the July 10-12 music festival. The second outing at its new location just outside the United Center, the fest is bringing more spaces, more food and drink options, an expanded VIP section and headliners the likes of Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker and Jon Pardi. The three-day affair will also feature artists Cody Johnson, Morgan Evans, Hailey Whitters, Cody Canada and the Departed, Randy Rogers Band, Lainey Wilson and many more. Early-bird tickets are on sale now for a discounted price through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, with the promo code BLUE2020 at windycitysmokeout.com. Windy City Smokeout is Friday through Sunday, July 10-12, at the United Center Parking Lot C, 1901 W. Madison St., Chicago. Three-day general admission passes are $95 with early-bird pricing, $125 after Feb. 4. Early-bird single-day passes are $40 for Friday and Saturday, $30 for Sunday; regular price general admission passes are $49 for Friday or Saturday and $35 for Sunday. Get all the details at windycitysmokeout.com.
BrauerHouse jams
BrauerHouse is gonna be jammed to the gills with jam-infused rock Friday night. On the bar stage, the ever-evolving Joe Marcinek Band from Indiana takes the stage with Chicago-area favorites Alabaster and Captain Coopersmith. On the other side of the building, BrauerHouse Live will be awash in the sounds of Pink Floyd tribute act Think Floyd and the gritty jam-rock stylings of Rotten Mouth, recently seen heating up the stage as part of a big showcase at Chicago's House of Blues.
• Joe Marcinek Band, Alabaster, Captain Coopersmith: 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at BrauerHouse, 1000 N. Rohlwing Road, Lombard. $10-$15. (630) 495-2141 or brauerhouse.com.
• Think Floyd, Rotten Mouth: 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at BrauerHouse Live, 1000 N. Rohlwing Road, Lombard. Tickets start at $12; VIP packages also available. (630) 495-2141 or brauerhouse.com.
Releaser unleashed
Chicago rock band Releaser has a big weekend ahead. Kicking things off with their first headlining bill, band members take the Beat Kitchen stage Saturday along with a few other hot rising stars on the tri-state alternative scene — The Burst and Bloom, Dreamhouse and Park & Main (that's Oceans Over Airplanes for you longtime fans). The band follows that up Sunday with Saving Abel and Slowburn on the revered RocHaus stage in West Dundee. If you haven't already checked out these rockers and their heavy-edged alternative, this weekend is your chance. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. $15. (773) 281-4444 or beatkitchen.com. And 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at RocHaus, 96 W. Main St., West Dundee. $20-$33. (815) 482-2870 or rochaus.com.
EP release soiree
If you've been hungry for more Capital Soiree, how do six new songs sound to you? The indie-rock champions of flowing melodies and reserved intensity — James Kourafas, Steven Rejdukowski, Max Romero and Dean Sinclair — are dropping the new EP at a release show Saturday, along with special guests Ex Okays, Dearly Somber and Candace at Hungry City, a DIY music venue/collective near Humboldt Park. 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Hungry City, 2631 W. Division St. # 1, Chicago. $5 donation. (773) 983-1497 or facebook.com.
• Brian Shamie is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor and local music junkie. Find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter (@thatshamieguy) or Instagram (@chicagosoundcheck). Brian also keeps tabs on the Chicago-area music scene at chicagosoundcheck.com.