7:30 - Doors Open
8:00 - Ifdakar
9:30 - Hot Like Mars

$15 - Advance / $20 - Day off

Hot Like Mars

Hot Like Mars are Chicago’s funkiest, most soulful rock band – a jam-funk quintet built on airtight grooves, fearless improvisation, and songs that stay with you long after the house lights come up. Fronted by vocalist/keyboardist A.P. (Anthony Perry) alongside guitarists Pat Walsh and Frankie “Lightning” Minella, bassist Lamontè Norwood, and drummer Wes Julien, the band has carved out a fast-rising lane of their own, blending classic soul and R&B textures with modern jam-band firepower and a deeply collaborative vocal sound.

Since launching in late 2023, Hot Like Mars have evolved from a buzzy hometown secret into a national touring act, pairing online virality with a surging ticket footprint. Early Chicago milestones – a packed residency that moved more than 1,000 tickets, and supporting sold-out headlines at The Metro and Park West for Andy Frasco and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – laid the foundation for an ambitious run of touring across the Midwest, Rockies, and East Coast. Their 2025 campaign included a breakout set at Northlands Music & Arts Festival, a multi-date Colorado swing, and a first-ever East Coast run capped by a sold-out night at Charleston’s Pour House, underscoring their reputation as one of the most exciting young live bands in the jam and funk worlds.

On record, Hot Like Mars balances studio precision with the live electricity that first turned heads. Their 2025 studio album One Way Ticket Up threads warm analog color, deep-in-the-pocket rhythm section work, and hook-rich standouts like “Good Vibrations,” “My Angels,” and “My Broken Pride,” further expanding the band’s songwriting palette. Standalone single “Sadie” leans into sun-drenched soul and sing-along refrains, while a dance-lifted remix of “Situationship” by Chalk Dinosaur has extended the band’s reach from the stage to late-night playlists. In parallel, the fourteen-track live album The Red Tapes captures the elastic jams, call-and-response energy, and road-seasoned chemistry that defined their 2025 tour, recorded in rooms from Harrisburg, PA and Charleston, SC to Denver, CO.

Onstage, the quintet move as “groove architects,” stretching songs into full-band conversations that weave soul, funk, rock, and psychedelia without ever losing the dance floor. Their live catalog – including early releases and The Red Tapes – has found a home on platforms like nugs.net, while multiple singles have landed on Spotify’s “Modern Jam Band” editorial playlist, bringing new listeners into the fold with every tour leg. As their audience grows, Hot Like Mars continues to center a core ethos: using music to break down racial barriers, create inclusive spaces, and remind people that joy, movement, and community belong to everyone.

Heading into 2026, Hot Like Mars are poised for their most ambitious chapter yet. Fresh off a year of festival breakthroughs, coast-to-coast touring, and new music on both sides of the studio glass, the band has joined the renowned roster at Universal Attractions Agency – a key step as they expand their touring footprint and return to markets across the country. With new songs in the works, upcoming plays from hometown stages like Garcia’s in Chicago to Denver’s Cervantes’ Other Side, and a rapidly growing national fanbase, Hot Like Mars are firmly locked on their namesake trajectory: all systems go, one way up.

Ifdakar

2026 marks Ifdakar’s 19 th year together as an undeniable force in the Midwestern original music scene. Known for their high energy live shows and massive catalog of unique and engaging material, the Appleton based rock group has cemented their legacy as original music trailblazers with nearly two decades worth of boundary pushing sonic exploration under their belt.

At its core, Ifdakar is a rock and roll band, through and through. But it’s their ability to shift stylistic gears in the blink of an eye that keeps fans coming back for more. One moment they’re soaring through an intense peak, and the next they’re navigating a delicate, soulful introspection, or bouncing along to a driving techno beat. All the while, the spirit of rock and roll hums just below the surface, awaiting its
moment to burst through and take center stage.

Ifdakar’s resume is filled with noteworthy accomplishments and career achievements. To name a few, their 2020 album was produced by Jake Cinninger of Umphrey’s McGee and Willie Waldman from Death Row Records. “Lion’s Share”, the band’s third studio album, was recorded at Cinninger’s studio in Southern Michigan, and Cinninger and Waldman both perform on the album as well. Ifdakar is a regular at the Midwest mega-fest Summer Camp, returning in 2022 for their 8 th straight year. In 2010, the band started their own promotion and production company called WIJAM, which has since become synonymous with original music in their home state of Wisconsin and beyond. The band also spearheads their own large multi-genre campout, the Moon Dance Music Festival. Ifdakar has shared the stage with some of the biggest industry heavyweights including Spafford, Sunsquabi, Here Come The Mummies, Particle, EOTO, Primus, Wookiefoot, Conspirator, The Werks, Aqueous, and countless more national, regional, and local artists.

Ifdakar is heading into yet another milestone year with a renewed hunger to spread their music further and wider than they ever have before. And as the catalog of original music continues to swell, and the band continues to explore new and exciting soundscapes, there’s no telling where the music will take them.