Ne-Hi alum Mikey Wells drops a mellow, summery new album with Flamingo Rodeo

Chicago postpunks Ne-Hi split in May 2019, and since then guitarist-singer Mikey Wells has expanded his palette of delightful pop hooks in two standout projects: Spun Out, which is indie dance oriented, and Flamingo Rodeo, which plays choogle rock a la 1970s AM radio. On Flamingo Rodeo’s new album, Pontoon (due this month on Shuga Records), Wells is joined by a cast that includes guitarists Jake Gold and Timothy Gurnig, bassist Matt Ciar-leglio, and drummer (and fellow Ne-Hi alum) Alex Otake. On the strummy, summery single “Tooth and Nail,” Colin Croom of Twin Peaks adds buttery riffs on Wurlitzer organ. On Thursday, June 30, Flamingo Rodeo celebrates Pontoon at the Empty Bottle with a listening party.

^{The lead single from the forthcoming Flamingo Rodeo album}

This weekend, Edgewater arts nonprofit 6018North combines two long-running series, Water Music on the Beach and Boulevard Dreamers. Boulevard Dreamers is a traveling community-based variety show that includes studio portraits of the performers and a stage that’s also an art installation; it’s happening on Saturday, June 25, on Lane Beach as this year’s Water Music concert. The program begins at 3 PM with an exhibit of performer portraits at 6018 N. Kenmore. At 3:45 the crowd will walk to the shore, where musicians and artists will assemble on a stage that frames Lake Michigan’s splendor. The three-hour lineup is by nature flexible—Boulevard Dreamers plays with the distinction between professional and amateur—but it will include Loud Bodies Dance, Michael Zerang with Janet Bean and Tyler Damon, the band Lifeguard, Honestly Same members Sam Scranton and Zach Moore, and dozens more.

Queer Black Chicago musicians Sarai Bernice and Khalyle Hagood started releasing arty synth-pop under the name Gilt Drip a couple years back. Last Friday, they released Earthly Concepts, their stunning debut EP—this wolf is especially fond of the replenishing “Water Walking.”

^{Sarai Bernice of Gilt Drip created the album art for Earthly Concepts.}