The Claudettes

×

Expand

Timothy Hiatt

The band The Claudettes.

The Claudettes

(2023 Isthmus pick) This Chicagoland outfit plays rootsy rock ‘n roll, mixing in various other styles as called for by the muse of pianist-songwriter Johnny Iguana. (Iguana’s skills have also been kept busy in other avenues of late, as a co-writer of the score of the FX hit The Bear.) This year the quartet welcomed a powerful new lead singer, Rachel Williams, and has been introducing new material into their sets, so if you haven’t caught up for a while don’t sleep on this one.

media release: Six albums into their lauded career (a new one is on the way in 2025), the Claudettes (of Chicago) continue to put a fascinating new spin on American roots music. Blues and R&B are laced with punk spirit and film-noir moods to create the band’s singular “garage cabaret” sound. The Claudettes have earned worldwide acclaim with their recordings and concerts that are equal parts heart, musicianship and theatrical flair. Force-of-nature vocalist Rachel Williams (who dominates the stage like a glam-rock rebirth of Annie Lennox and renowned pianist/songwriter Johnny Iguana join the positively heroic rhythm section of Zach Verdoorn (bass, guitar, vocals) and Michael Caskey (drums). Outside the Claudettes, Iguana has toured with Junior Wells and Otis Rush, played on many Grammy-nominated albums and recorded with Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Derek Trucks, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Johnny Winter and more. Johnny is also composer of the score for the Emmy-winning smash FX/Hulu series “The Bear.”

“Chicago’s original recipe band…The Claudettes’ sonic playing field is the blues and everything after, all tastefully and artfully blended together….Perhaps the band’s greatest super power: songwriting.”—NPR Music

“A skewed cabaret band of blues, jazz and rockabilly…a sensibility that feels equal parts James Dean and David Lynch.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Holy Mackerel…I hear so many levels of what I consider amazing creativity…I hear touches of Jerry Lee Lewis at his most manic…of cinema…of multiple genres wrapping around one another…These guys are the B-movies of the music world—maybe not understood now, but in the future, the kings and queens of the universe!”—Frank Gutch Jr., No Depression

“The Claudettes Go Out! shows the band’s mastery of every era of American music, from the roots of the blues to today’s modern pop….the Claudettes pen standards for a new generation.”—J. Poet, Rock & Roll Globe