Although the “30 Year Class Reunion,” marking the opening of the original True Tunes store in 1989, will include several other events throughout the rest of the year, the “hometown” kickoff gathering is in the books. On July 6th friends, artists, fans, and several original staff members gathered to reminisce, to hear some amazing music,  have some excellent conversations, and to look forward to what the future may hold for the new True Tunes.

The day started with a detour to Wheaton and a couple of quick stops at the first physical locations of the True Tunes store and, later, music venue. The original house at 108 W Willow is now an antique store and was closed. The longer-running location, and home of both the store, magazine, and Upstairs at True Tunes venue, 210 W. Front Street, is now a music instrument and lessons store called Suburban Music. The owner very quickly knew all about True Tunes and said that just the day before our arrival a music producer from Los Angeles had brought his kids over to see “where it all started” for him. He said he had been in a band that played Upstairs and that the store and magazine had supported. We wish we knew who that was! The original home of True Tunes, Wheaton Religious Gifts, was closed for the weekend. None of this would have happened without the Taschetta family and Wheaton Religious, that’s for sure.

In Aurora, at The Warehouse Church (the site of many True Tunes events over the years, including concerts with Jennifer Knapp, Vigilantes of Love, The 77s, Guardian, Barry McGuire and Terry Talbot, The Waiting, and too many more to list,) the evening kicked off, appropriately enough, with a rousing full band set by the young Josiah Viland. Although Viland was not even born when True Tunes opened, he did grow up with echoes of it reverberating in his head. (His mother, Jenn Gunn, who was in attendance, was a backing vocalist in the band that became The Wayside,) Although his band, The Spectators, was not able to play, Viland pulled a brand new group together and wowed the audience with a tight set of classic rock and pop obviously inspired by Elvis, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys. Hearing such fresh, and yet classic, sounds from such a young group was certainly an auspicious way to open the proceedings.

Jeff Elbel took the stage next, with John Bretzlaff, his partner from both Farewell To Juliet and Ping in tow. The two offered FTJ and Ping songs as well as stories of their exposure to True Tunes and Elbel’s early frustration trying to get JJT’s attention for his band and his hand as a writer. Farewell To Juliet did eventually get some ink in True Tunes, and Elbel became a regular contributor to the magazine, including the cover feature on Terry Scott Taylor. Elbel, who is now a well-respected music journalist for the Chicago Sun Times, was then interviewed by JJT for an upcoming episode of the TT Podcast. (He later turned the tables and interviewed Thompson after his Wayside set.)

John and Michelle Thompson, aka The Wayside, with Elbel on bass, were next on the bill. Having once been a sort of “house band” for True Tunes, The Wayside opened for countless bands back in the day (well, someone could count them, but not us.) They performed five new songs before John settled into the hot seat to be interviewed by Elbel. The conversation focused on the early days of True Tunes as well as plans for the future.

Glenn Kaiser was up next, with a deeply soulful set of his now classic blues. In his introduction Thompson reminisced about the very first public True Tunes event, a “Tour Party” that included Kaiser’s Resurrection Band, Charlie Peacock, and Chicago area metal band Sacred Warrior. Talk about a full-circle moment! Kaiser followed his set with a sit-down interview as well. He announced that he has two full albums “in the can.” One being a collection of social justice themed protest songs and the other directly related to the prison ministry work that he is so invested in these days. The latter should release later this year, with the former being timed for some time closer  to the next election.

The evening closed out with a rousing set by the “mystery artist,” Chicago’s Michael McDermott. Cited by many as one of the most important songwriters working today, and long a True Tunes favorite, securing McDermott was a major coup. After his half-hour set he also sat down for a conversation with John, which will be included on a future episode of the podcast as well. McDermott headlined an Americana fest the night before in Chicago, which is why his identity had to remain a secret.

Excerpts from the on-stage conversations will be featured in upcoming episodes of the True Tunes Podcast.

The festivities continue on July 20th when Altar Boys front man Mike Stand makes a rare Nashville appearance, alongside Jimmy Abegg and The Choir at Gallery South!

All told it was a wonderful evening with old friends, and new – and no shortage of stories about the impact True Tunes had when it sprung onto the scene in 1989. Central to the whole night, though, was an ongoing excitement about the future. “This conversation got interrupted,” Thompson said. “But we’re back. We have better tools than ever, and more need than ever. There’s a whole new generation – or two – that are eager to explore music, and art in general, with an ear out for the deeper echoes. We’re going to do our best to recapture the best of what we had in terms of energy and passion back then, but add in a whole lot more wisdom, experience, and knowledge. This version of True Tunes is as much for artists as it is for fans – and there’s really little difference anymore. A night like this pumps me up, for sure. This is gonna be fun!”