Jesse James DeConto and Claire Wellin

Leading up to Independence Day, The Pinkerton Raid’s songwriter Jesse James DeConto will release “The Fight for Freedom was in VOGUE,” about Lee Miller, Solange D’Ayen and the Parisian artists who stood up to the Nazi occupation in the ways they knew how. “VOGUE” is among a series of narrative-driven protest singles from his upcoming full-length album, IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY, TELL THEM, singing his story as a dad trying to hold onto hope and imagine a future for his kids in the face of American fascism and climate catastrophe. Back home in Durham, NC, with partners like Indivisible, Jesse often leads singalongs of classic protest songs from Bob Dylan, NENA, Neil Young, 4 Non-Blondes, Crowded House and others. “The sane response to tyrants is to sing,” Jesse says on “VOGUE,” inspired by a famous quote by revolutionary painter Pablo Picasso. On July 9 at Uncommon Ground in Chicago, he’ll trade sets with Midwestern-born, NYC-based multi-instrumentalist Claire Wellin (San Fermin, Youth in a Roman Field), who will be playing music from her new record, The Sun and Fun Capital of the Midwest, which she made with support from the New York State Council on the Arts and is comprised of songs written about her family history. Claire is active with the Kairos Center’s Songs in the Key of Resistance and is a proud member of SURJ NYC. Buy Tickets