Antone's 50th Presents: Chicago Bound (Vinyl or CD)

Set for release on August 28, 2026, Antones 50th Presents Chicago Bound: Honoring Muddy, Cliff & Blue (Blues Till 2 Recording Co. / Select-O-Hits) caps the club’s 50th anniversary celebration while pointing toward its future.

The album cover shows a lively, Chicago-bound tour bus packed with musicians racing to the next gig, illustrated by longtime club illustrator Diana Ray. Fittingly, album co-producer Zach Ernst conceived the project the night John Primer recorded a duo version of Jimmy Rogers’s classic “Chicago Bound.” As Ernst explains: “Beyond the song’s deeper meaning—the journey through music cities by African-American artists seeking a better life and better pay than they could find in the South at the time—a ‘road trip record’ or ‘truck stop cassette’ felt like a creative way for Antone’s to honor the great musicians who live on the road. It also traces a spiritual route from central Louisiana, home of Clifton Chenier’s music, through Houston, Austin, Memphis, and on to Chicago.

Track List:

1. Chicago Bound – John Primer
2. One Step at a Time – Ivan Neville & CC Adcock feat. Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood & Jimmie Vaughan
3. I Wouldn’t Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me) – Kam Franklin with Rodd Bland & the Dreamers
4. Give Me Back My Wig – Doyle Bramhall II
5. I’m Not Ashamed – Kim Wilson & the Fabulous Thunderbirds
6. Backstroke – Anson Funderburgh
7. The Blues Is So Big (Interlude) – Clifford Antone
8. Hangin’ on a Cliff -  Billy F Gibbons & the BFGs
9. Act Like You Love Me – Lurrie Bell
10. Baby What’s Wrong – Lavelle White
11. Got My Mojo Working – John Primer & Lil’ Ed Williams feat. Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith