Not to frustrate anyone not living in the Chicago area, but I’d be remiss in not mentioning the great lineup at this year’s annual “Letters to Santa” benefit run by Second City. In addition to performances by resident cast members and famous alumni of the comedy troupe, guest performers announced for the 24-hour charity event so far include JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound, Jeff Tweedy, Robbie Fulks, Bill Callahan, The Blisters, Steve Albini, and Danielson Famile on December 14. Pretty amazing.
Notably, JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound have received a slew of raves from the blogosphere for their excellent funky cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” (Here’s hoping a Tweedy collab is in the works.) Also, the Blisters are a young rock band featuring Tweedy’s son, Spencer. More info on this event is here, and a video of JC Brooks and friends’ Wilco cover is below: