FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
J. O’Reilly Productions
Jamie O’Reilly
jamie@jamieoreilly.com
PH/Txt (773) 203-7661
jamieoreilly.com
https://www.jamieoreilly.com/events/jamie-oreilly-legacy-album-release-concert/
Aug 10, 2023
CHICAGO VOCALIST AND ARTS PRODUCER JAMIE O’REILLY CELEBRATES
120 YEAR FAMILY LEGACY WITH RELEASE OF 2 ALBUMS
AND A MUSICAL EVENT AT CHIEF O’NEILL’S PUB, THURSDAY, SEPT 21, 2023.
Jamie O’Reilly will celebrate the release of two new companion CD albums: Legacy and In Old Chicago: Stories and Songs of a Beloved City with a special event at Chief O’Neill’s Pub 3471 N Elston Ave, Chicago, Il PH: (773) 583-3066, on Thursday, Sept 21 at 7 PM. Music starts at 8 PM. $30 admission. The event will feature a dinner-theater style concert with Jamie accompanied by John Erickson on piano and musical guests, the screening of several short videos and a community bake-sale and raffle. Street Parking. Handicapped accessible. Food and drink separate cost from the admission. Reservations for the event are taken on Jamie’s website.
Joining Jamie on stage and singing harmonies will be her daughters Meg Broz and Nia O’Reilly-Amandes (Midnight Moxie) with whom she appeared at a standing-room only event recently at Tre Kronor Swedish Bistro, where Jamie hosts the bi-monthly Roots Salon.
Purchase tickets on the event page. https://www.jamieoreilly.com/events/jamie-oreilly-legacy-album-release-conce
A highlight of the evening will be the Heritage Bake Sale & Raffle, featuring baked goods from home cooks created from treasured family recipes gathered from the community. The Great American Baking Show finalist Sarah Chang (@onweekendswebake on Insta) and esteemed food writer, cook and photographer Monica Rogers (https://www.mkrogersfoodbeauty.com/) will contribute premium bakes to a Raffle. Other prizes include restaurant gift certificates, gift baskets and handmade heirloom-style quilt.
MORE
The songs, stories and videos presented September 21 will be a sampling from O’Reilly’s ambitious year-long cultural project: Voices of Old Chicago Legacy Project, which explores the rich aural history of her Irish-American family who have been a vital part of the cultural scene in Chicago for over 120 years, and traces the roots of the distinctive singing style for which the singer is known. The Legacy concert will feature Jamie performing familiar songs of by-gone eras and original numbers written for her by the late singer/songwriter Michael P. Smith and others. The two CD albums: Legacy, a songs only collection, and In Old Chicago, an audio play with music, were recorded at WFMT Studios.
They will be available for purchase online and in-person at the concert. Listen https://www.jamieoreilly.com/voices-of-old-chicago-recordings/
In Old Chicago was featured recently at Stage Left Cafe at the Woodstock Opera House in July, and on radio in May on WFMT 98.7 FM Midnight Special 70th Anniversary show. An April showcase of In Old Chicago at Rare Nest Gallery, hosted by historian and gallery owner Keith Bringe, drew a full house. Jamie presented two stirring videos with vintage photos gathered from the community and her family. Part family memoir, part concert, the In Old Chicago program captures an explosive time in Chicago history, as a great city comes of age. John Erickson accompanies on piano. Judi Cogan Heikes, Christopher O’Reilly and Victor Holstein provide narration.
Listen to Jamie’s radio interview with WGN’s Rick Kogan.
In Old Chicago, researched, written and performed by Jamie with ensemble, celebrates the culture of Chicago during the Arts Revival of pre-WWI Chicago and into the 20s, highlighting family history, local lore of Chicago neighborhoods and the role of the immigrant worker in the early 1900s. Integral to the piece is a bit of lore about her friend aural historian and folk hero Studs Terkel.
SONGS
Jamie’s expansive voice, (she was classically trained at DePaul University School of Music) navigates a wide range of musical genres and styles. She is accompanied by pianist John Erickson. In Old Chicago embodies the vocal tradition of Jamie’s ancestry in lush interpretation of songs; from the front parlor to chamber concert repertoire; from vaudeville and music hall stages. Songs showcase Jamie’s signature soprano in songbird-style ballads, romantic standards, sultry ballads, parlor songs, Americana ballads, and Irish songs. There are also songs written for her by late musical partner, esteemed songwriter Michael P. Smith. Listen here to Annie Laurie.
CHARACTERS IN IN OLD CHICAGO
Jamie’s ancestors were feisty activists, writers and artists. Published memoirs, and poetry from Edward (Tex) O’Reilly, Irwin St. John (Friar Tuck) Tucker, Ellen Dorothy (Nell) O’Reilly Tucker, Mame O’Reilly and Dorothy O’Reilly (see the video here) provide a substantial part of the text in the program. They all wrote for newspapers — from the Inter-Ocean to the Chicago Tribune — for over 100 years. The O’Reilly family is also known for its work in theatre and music. Listen to Irwin St. John Tucker and Studs Terkel here. https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/interviewing-socialist-priest-and-poet-friar-tuck-irwin-st-john-tucker
ABOUT JAMIE O’REILLY
Singer, Speaker, Salonnière, Writer, Producer
“The incomparable Jamie O’Reilly took us on a musical journey…
she continues to powerfully charm each audience
with her love of singing and music performance.”(Eve Moran, Cliff Dwellers Journal)
A contributor to Chicago’s cultural landscape for over 40 years, Jamie O’Reilly has forged a vibrant artistic path integrating music, history, literature and community. Many titles in the arts nomenclature can be assigned to Jamie. It is her love of singing, an expansive creative spirit, and a fiercely held belief in the value of the artist in community that fuel her active and vibrant world. With her distinctive lilting voice and broad vocal range, and classical training, (she’s a graduate of DePaul University School of Music), Jamie approaches folk music with the passion of a theater artist and the attention of an art song interpreter. Her programs include songs reminiscent of by-gone eras, traditional, and original work in the singer/songwriter genre. Vocal selections range from romantic standards from the 1920s – 40s, to sultry ballads and Celtic folksongs, to parlor songs and Americana ballads. She is accompanied by the finest musicians on guitars, piano and more.
As a theater and music producer, Jamie is known for the powerful productions she brought to the stage with partner Michael Smith, including the award-winning Hello Dali: From the Sublime to the Surreal, a box office hit during the 2001 Victory Gardens Theater’s Tony Award-winning season. She brought their projects to the recording studio as well. Jamie has recorded over a dozen CD albums, among them are: several Irish song collections, Pasiones: Songs of the Spanish Civil War, Songs of a Catholic Childhood, Songs of the Kerry Madwoman, and The Gift of the Magi, (which was performed with WGN Radio Host Rick Kogan and was heard on WFMT’s Folkstage.)
Since the passing of her musical partner Michael Smith in 2020, Jamie continues to create vibrant, transformational programs, embracing community in intimate Chicago area venues with the Roots in the Gardens Series, Tough Broads and Tender Lasses and In Old Chicago. And keeps busy writing the monthly SongNotes Blog and Enewsletter.
Voices of Old Chicago Legacy Project
Making history make a difference.
CONTACT
Jamie O’Reilly
A Voice for the Soul of the City
PH/Text 773.203.7661; jamie@jamieoreilly.com
Website: Jamieoreilly.com
