Hell No! invites Chicagoans to a night of protest songs

Back in February, Jenny Magnus, cofounder of stalwart Chicago fringe theater company Curious Theatre Branch and cabaret band the Crooked Mouth, put out a call on Facebook to bring together artists and activists to discuss ideas for creative resistance. The folks who gathered at Labyrinth Arts ended up calling the informal group the WELP Collective, and as one of their first public acts, they’re presenting “Hell No!,” an evening of protest songs at the Hideout. (I was part of the initial gathering, but I’ve had no involvement with the show.) The concert will support two nonprofits—the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois—and fittingly enough, it’s happening on May Day. 

The Crooked Mouth grew out of the ashes of Maestro Subgum & the Whole, a cabaret rock band begun by Magnus’s Curious cofounder Beau O’Reilly in the late 70s. (It lasted through the early aughts, and Magnus joined in the 80s.) They released their self-titled debut album on Madison label Uvulittle in 2011 (the title of opener “Assume the Worst” now feels eerily prescient), following it with 2013’s Yes Face and 2016’s LoveloveloveloveSTOPlovelovelove. In addition to Magnus (who drums and sings) and O’Reilly (who sings and banters), the Crooked Mouth’s lineup includes longtime musical and theater collaborators Troy “T-Roy” Martin on banjo, guitar, ukulele, and trombone; former Neo-Futurist Heather Riordan on accordion; and Curious Theatre ensemble member Vicki Walden on bass. The group’s songs recall Maestro in their echoes of Brechtian cabaret, but they incorporate more of an alt-country and bluegrass feel, which the musicians leaven with whatever else grabs their fertile imaginations.

For the Hell No! show, the Crooked Mouth have invited several local artists to help turn up the protest heat. Escargatoire, formerly Snail Band, includes core members Emmy Bean (who presented “Her Only Light,” a celebration of Connie Converse’s 100th birthday, at Constellation last year), Ronnie Kuller (who collaborated on the Converse project), Julie Pomerleau, and Joey Spilberg. Kyra Leigh, a busy musical theater composer, performer, and music director with credits at Prop Thtr, Music Theater Works, and Kokandy Productions, has also served as the musical director for Trans Voices Cabaret Chicago. And the Luna Blues Machine, founded in 2001 by sisters Belinda and Maritza Cervantes, combine acoustic hip-hop, Latin music, and folk-soul. Their 2020 single “I Can Do It” starts with a slow chant of the title phrase, as if in self-affirmation, before bursting forth with an anthemic fist-in-the-air call to action—a perfect metaphor for growing collective power.

 Hell No! Songs of Protest and Resistance Luna Blues Machine headline; the Crooked Mouth, Kyra Leigh, and Escargatoire open. Thu 5/1, 8:30 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $10–$20, 21+