Margo Price And Lola Kirke Thrill As ‘Strays’ Tour Hits Chicago

“This is a song by one of my favorite songwriters from Illinois,” remarked Margo Price on stage at the Vic Theatre in Chicago. “One of my favorite songwriters!” she clarified, setting up a cover of John Prine’s “Sweet Revenge.”

Prine was born in the western Chicago suburb of Maywood, famously working as a mailman before breaking out of the Windy City’s folk revival scene in the late 60s, while Price was born further west, a native of Aledo, Illinois, a small town along the Iowa border.

The cover was apropos as Price made her return to Illinois, Prine’s influence a significant one as Price continues to blaze a unique trail, putting her own spin upon country music delivered entirely on her own terms – and with a bit of a rock edge in the live setting.

Tuesday night’s concert featured a smattering of tracks from her fourth album Strays, a brand new collection of ten songs released last month by Loma Vista Recordings.

While it’s early, Strays stands as one of the best albums of 2023. The better news? The new tracks sound even better live.

“I know it’s only Wednesday but it feels like a Friday!” mused Price on stage in an attempt to compliment the packed crowd’s enthusiasm. “It’s Tuesday!” came the humorous response to the singer’s Spinal Tap-like moment on stage. “Every day on the road feels the same,” replied Price with an exasperated laugh. “At least I know where we are: Chicago, Illinois!” said the singer, following up her own “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” with a medley of Merle Haggard’s “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” and Willie Nelson’s “Whiskey River” late on Fat Tuesday.

Armed with an arsenal of instrumentation ranging anywhere from a tambourine to a telephone, Price moved deftly between guitar and drums, working in a costume change while backed by a ridiculously tight six piece band.

“Been to the Mountain” opens Strays and acted as a can opener Tuesday in Chicago, driven on stage by a four guitar onslaught. Price set down her guitar, moving to the foot of the stage to interact with fans, putting forth both tambourine and cowbell upon return.

Settling in on acoustic guitar, Price launched “Letting Me Down” next, Jeremy Ivey adding a backing vocal, one of four voices on the song.

“Alright! Feels good to be back in the city,” said Price. “This one is from the new record,” she continued, keys sparkling over the top during verses before a sped up, slide guitar-fueled ending to “Hell in the Heartland.”

“We started doing this next one in San Francisco. We liked it so much, we’re keeping it in the set,” said Price, incense burning on stage as the band conjured up an eerie psychedelic vibe during a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” She stalked left, crouching down as the song reached its climax, the band meandering toward “Change of Heart.”

Price moved to drums for “Change of Heart,” dueling percussion now driving the new cut’s almost bluesy stomp, the group hitting a groove as they moved deftly into “County Road,” delivering the pair of songs back to back as they appear on Strays. Price picked up shakers as she worked an improvised nod to Chicago in alongside a lyrical reference to Warren Zevon, the new fare acting as an early highpoint.

Price dug deep in her catalog, heading back to her 2016 debut for “Tennessee Song” and shook the setlist up a bit in Chicago as Tuesday’s performance moved toward encore.

“We’ve got this Elvis Costello song we think is a real beauty. Sing it if you know it!” she demanded, heading back to the drum kit, Steve Nieve-like keyboards high in the mix during a raucous take on “Pump It Up.”

“This is a Wings song,” said the singer nonchalantly, the band delivering the gnarly trademark guitar riff to Paul McCartney’s “Let me Roll It” in all hands fashion, the on stage ensemble swelling to 10 as opening act Lola Kirke and her bandmates returned to the stage for the closing number.

“Give it up for Lola Kirke and her band!” said Price on stage in Chicago.

Starring as oboist Hailey Rutledge over four seasons of the Prime comedy-drama Mozart in the Jungle, Kirke made the case for her sophomore LP Lady For Sale on stage in Chicago, offering up vocals and guitar over the course of 40 minutes.

Kirke started opening cut “The Crime” solo, name checking 90s lo-fi heroes Pavement as band mates Alex Wong (drums) and Ellen Angelico (guitar) joined in.

Exploring the space, Kirke danced around early during the new record’s title track, “Lady For Sale” settling in as a rocker thanks to a fiery, country-infused solo by Angelico.

“Alright, Chicago! How y’all doing tonight?” asked Kirke of the crowd rhetorically. “Ellen’s whole family is here,” she explained, setting the stage for the guitarist’s homecoming. “You know what? It is a happy Chicago day.”

Angelico, taped the words “Thank U Lin” across the front of her guitar, memorializing beloved Chicago DJ Lin Brehmer (WXRT), who passed away last month following a battle with prostate cancer. Later, Angelico embellished “Broken Families” with lilting pedal steel notes, Kirke slowing things down for a moment.

“Thank you guys so much! I hope you’re having as much fun as I am,” said Kirke. “It’s amazing to be part of this tour with one of my heroes,” she said, setting the stage for Price before closing the set with an updated spin on Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

“Better Than any Drug” took on a poppier feel as the trio headed for home, Kirke setting down her guitar, lurking about the stage as Angelico moved back to pedal steel.

“I think I’m in love with the White Sox or the Cubs – or is it all of Chicago?” joked Kirke, updating the new song’s lyrics in the opening set’s closing moments. “I hope that was as good for you as it was for me” said the singer with a sultry smirk, crawling across the stage as the Chicago crowd roared in approval.