Plain White T's takes over Chicago Sound Check for livestream concert Friday

Like many Chicago-area musicians, the Plain White T's are on something of a performance break. The band's U.K. tour was canceled, along with all the spring shows, so Tom Higgenson is focusing on the music right now.

“We can't do much of anything else,” he said, “so I've just been trying to kind of chip away at some song ideas.”

Higgenson and Plain White T's bandmate Tim Lopez will be taking over Chicago Sound Check's Instagram Live account at 7 p.m. Friday, May 15, as part of our weekly concert and interview series.

The show, sponsored by the Daily Herald, Mike's Hard Lemonade and White Claw, will follow a different format from the last two weeks, which were more interview-based with songs sprinkled in. This week's streaming concert will start with a chat with Higgenson before letting the musicians fly on a set of songs, answering fan questions along the way.

On tap are some fan favorites, but Higgenson said they're leaving space in the set for a request or two as well.

Started in 1997 in DuPage County as a punk-leaning rock band, the Plain White T's rose to fame in 2006 when the song “Hey There Delilah” hit the top of the Billboard charts. The band went on to receive two Grammy nominations, and the album “Every Second Counts” went gold.

The Plain White T's recently appeared on the pre-quarantine premiere of “The Bachelor” spinoff “Listen To Your Heart,” which allowed the band a nice trip to Los Angeles before the country went into lockdown.

The band also recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of the release of “All That We Needed,” with an expanded digital reissue of the album, including five acoustic sessions from 2005. But during quarantine, Higgenson said, he's looking ahead at some new music for the band.

As one of the songwriters for the T's, as well as his own side project Million Miler and Darren Vorel-fronted TLB, Higgenson is keeping busy with the pen at his Elmhurst home. According to Higgenson, all three projects are getting new music ready for upcoming releases. With three albums in the works as well as managing his Humans Were Here record label, he has his hands full.

“I've been doing that, and I've been trying to catch up on my movies,” he said. “I had a goal to watch 30 movies in April, and I think I got to like nine.”